#and then they just doubled down and we’re like ALL GALRA IS BAD!!!!!

[laughableillusions]

Does anyone remember that episode in VLD where Allura was racist to Keith bc it was found out he was half-Galra

[braincoins]

For the Prompt: shallura and ryoumelle, double date, festival

((y’know for someone who claims to prefer Gen, here you are with TWO SHIPS!! ‘course you also know it’ll mean Twinganes fun. I’M ONTO YOU!))

A major victory, and well worth celebrating! The Castle of Lions headed back to Oriande, the safest place in all the universe to have what Lance called “an absolute blowout” of a party, and the Diaspora (under the supervision of Coran and Lance) had put together a hell of a celebratory festival: games, rides, music, tons of food... everyone was having a great time.

So it was strange for Romelle and Ryou to look over and see the Princess and the Black Paladin looking a little... restrained. They looked at them, then looked to each other, and a decision was made in that moment: divide and conquer. But instead of going to her cousin, Romelle grabbed hold of Shiro and hauled him away. Before Allura could protest, Ryou swooped in. The two pairs couldn’t know it, but their conversations started out... oddly identical.

“What are you doing?” This from both Allura and Shiro.

“We need to talk,” Ryou and Romelle declared. Romelle pulled Shiro aside into a quieter location, away from her boyfriend and his girlfriend.

“Is something wrong?” All business, all (possibly-hideous) ears. At least they were listening.

“I should ask you that. Everyone else is having fun!”

“I’m having fun,” came the defensive reply.

“Yeah, you sure look like it,” was the sarcastic response. Ryou wouldn’t have dreamed of being sarcastic to Allura before, but they’d spent some time together and, besides, he figured it would be a surprise, and therefore throw her off her game.

“I am! It’s just...”

“Just what?”

And here the individual chats began to diverge. 

“There’s so much more yet to do,” Allura confessed, looking down at her hands. “This was an important victory, yes, but it isn’t the end of the fight. And I can’t help thinking... a-about those who aren’t freed from the Empire yet. They’re out there being oppressed, possibly tortured and killed, and we’re having a party.”

“You okayed having it, right?” Ryou asked her.

“Yes, because it’s good for morale, and the paladins were so insistent, but... well, I just can’t help it.” She fidgeted uncharacteristically, glanced around as if her brief moment of uncertainty was surely the center of attention. 

-----------

“We won a battle, not the war,” Shiro said with a sigh. “And, truth be told, I don’t know what our next step is. When this is over, people are going to be looking to us to lead again, and... I don’t know where to lead them to.”

“I bet the Empire is in the same boat,” Romelle pointed out. “They probably don’t know what next strike to make against us, either.”

“That just means that it’ll be a surprise when it comes, and even though the Coalition is huge and the Castle’s almost full now, we’re still a much smaller force compared to the galaxy-spanning Galra Empire. We can’t afford surprises.” He glanced around, to make sure his negative statements hadn’t been overheard.

-----------

“Look, I don’t know how Alteans work,” Ryou admitted, “but for humans, we need down time. Sleep and rest are when our brains take all the information we’ve learned and sort it out, slot it all into its proper places.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he could guess where she was headed.

“And before you say it, yes, this counts as rest. It’s a break from the stress. When you have something you’re worried about, sometimes you stop trying to find a solution and just tell yourself ‘think, dammit! Think of something!’ And that doesn’t help! But after you step away from it for a bit, sometimes you can come back and see things clearer.”

“What you’re saying,” she summarized, “is that this is better in the long term.”

“Exactly.”

“Even if lives are lost in the meantime?”

He sighed heavily. “Lives are lost every day, Allura. A lot of those are just... just normal deaths. Old age, a sickness, a bad injury. You can’t prevent those. And if you fight every single moment of every single day, you’ll burn yourself out, become an easier target. And then the Galra Empire wins, and wins forever. 

“You can’t know who’s dying of what, and you can’t save everyone. But you can make the decision that saves more lives - including yours and Takashi’s.”

“I know.” She was nodding sort of absently. “I know you’re right, but it’s hard sometimes...”

“Hey,” he said, changing tack abruptly to snap her out of it. “stepping back and thinking on it helped get Takashi his first date.”

She whipped around to face him. “REALLY?!” she asked, eyes wide with hopeful expectation at yet another “Younger Shiro” story. 

Ryou grinned. Works every time.

-----------

“Well, who says the next step has to be an immediately offensive one?” Romelle asked, with the confidence born of being on the colony’s ruling council. Sure, she was the youngest member, but she’d still been helping to lead her people for the last few years.

“What do you mean?”

“Training!” she declared. “Split the paladins up into groups. Let Keith teach hand-to-hand fighting, have Lance run sniper drills, get Hunk to show off improvised building skills, and Pidge to improve your hackers’... hacking.” She was still getting used to the human terms and how to use them. “Separate your crew into either skills they already have that they need to improve or skills they need to learn, cycle them through the various ‘classes’ taught by the paladins. And while they’re doing all that...”

“...Allura and I can be looking at what our next objective can be,” he finished for her, nodding along.

“Exactly!” She beamed. “And everyone will be better trained when you’ve decided! You can do all that here, just outside of town, near the Castle.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Romelle. Having some idea of what to do next helps me focus on today.”

“Good!” She grabbed his arm again and hauled him back towards where they’d left their significant others.

-----------

“Shiro!” Allura said brightly as she saw her cousin pulling him in their direction. “Did you really ask the girl you liked if she wanted to ‘visit your planet’ while wearing silver ping pong ball antennas on your head?”

“What?!” He snapped his gaze to Ryou and his twin brother’s shit-eating grin. “WHY would you tell her that?”

“I was using an anecdote to illustrate a point,” he replied evenly (though still grinning widely). 

“Answer the question!” Romelle piped up. “I wanna know now, too!”

Takashi sighed. “Technically, no. I wore old-fashioned ‘alien’ antennas from an old Halloween costume and asked two people if they wanted to visit my planet, because I had a crush on both Amaia and her cousin, Jonan. She rolled her eyes at me and he just laughed.”

“But you still got a date with Jonan,” Ryou pointed out. 

“Did this ‘Jonan’ want to know about romantic compatibility with an alien species?” Allura asked, barely able to contain her mirth.

“No, that’s a Takashi line, through and through,” he declared as Shiro turned red all the way to his ears.

Romelle snorted. “I distinctly remember you asking me about...”

It was Ryou’s turn to go crimson. “Hey, uhh... look at that game! With the... uh...”

“Laser versions of Galra power rifles,” Shiro said. “Yeah, let’s go play. Pretty sure Allura can’t accidentally pick up the wrong end of a gun that’s stuck in place.”

“Ha ha,” she said dryly, but they all laughed and she was arm in arm with Shiro, smiling, as they went over to the booth.

“You’re pretty good at this,” Romelle whispered to Ryou as she took his hand.

“I learned from the best,” he replied, kissing her cheek quickly.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 60: By Firelight

Lance is a good husband. Keith is *mostly* cooperative.

First  Previous  Next

Lance is sitting in front of the crackling fireplace, his own cloak wrapped around his shoulders, Keith’s draped over his lap. It’s unbelievably cold, like every night since he’s been here, but staring up at two slivered moons crossing paths above him, Lance can’t bring himself to care.

He’s neglecting his duties, but he hasn't really had the chance to look at the moons before, never stared up at the sky and seen another body so very near. On Altea, it’s so, so easy to feel like there’s nothing and nowhere else. It’s so easy to feel alone.

Sometimes, he wonders if that’s why his people looked to the stars before the Galra. Perhaps the moons made them feel less alone. Then again, maybe not given that the first thing they did when they finally achieved space travel was go conquer other worlds…

Ah well. To each their own. Not like the Alteans didn’t have their collection of occupied territories-

“Hey.” Keith, smiling at him, braid drawn over his shoulder, end disheveled from anxious fiddling. “I didn’t think you’d be up.”

“I thought about retiring, but I wanted to stay up and watch the moons.”

“I see. Can I join you?”

“Of course. Want some dinner?” When Keith nods, Lance hands him one of the last remaining bowls he’d set beside himself for passersby. “You might want to scoop from the middle. I haven’t stirred it in a while and it’s cold, so it’s probably the only bit that isn’t scorched or chilled.”

Keith smiles, ladling some of the stew into the bowl. “Thank you for cooking.”

“Someone came by and shoved some ingredients and a recipe at me. I don’t think that they were expecting me to do a good job, but I did. Or so I’m told.”

“I bet that made them mad,” Keith chuckles, moving aside the red cloak in Lance’s lap so he can sit sideways against his chest. Lance pulls the cloak up over Keith’s legs to help him stay warmer. He’s shivering a little, but seeming unbothered otherwise. Accustomed to the cold. He tosses another log on the fire anyway, watching sparks dance against the starlit sky.

“The only thing they need to be mad at me is you, beloved. We both know that.”

“They don’t need that to be mad at you. They shouldn’t be mad at you at all. You’ve done nothing to them.” He takes another bite of Lance's stew.

Lance smiles, kisses the base of Keith’s large, fluffy ear as Keith’s tail finds his ankle. “Sometimes nothing is just as bad.”

“I suppose… This really is good, by the way. You did a wonderful job.”

“Thanks, beloved.”

Keith sets the empty bowl aside, turns to sit between Lance’s legs, facing the moons. Lance pulls the cloak up to the Galra’s chest to keep them both warm. “The moons will be new soon.”

“Both of them?”

“Yeah. It’s something that happens roughly once a centaphoeb… I was born under the new moons. It’s the darkest night you’ll ever see,” Keith whispered.

“Hm.” Lance stares at the sky, at the gaping voids in the stars where the looming silhouettes of the moons black out the sky. “Sounds terrifying.”

“Existentially, yes… Last time it happened, I was all alone. It was so dark and scary.”

“I can imagine.”

They sit quietly for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s company, listening to the crackling of the fire. Lance knows Keith needs it, just as much as he knows he hates to ask. Keith’s not one to make himself that vulnerable, to actually use the word ‘need’. He knows the Galra is just itching to go back to his usual self-sufficient ways. Keith’s not the type to enjoy being tethered to any one person, not even Lance.

“I feel like by the time your season’s actually over, you’re going to be sick of me,” he murmurs.

Keith’s fingers lightly squeeze his wrist. “I could never be sick of you. Though sometimes I do miss solitude. Nothing against you, obviously. Just sometimes I want to be alone for a little while.”

“Thace says it’s not good for you to be alone.”

“He’s probably right,” Keith murmurs, sighing. “But people can be… so much. Sometimes I just need silence.”

“I trust you to know what you need, when you need it.”

Keith drags Lance’s hand -the one not around his waist- into his lap, toying with his fingers beneath the blanket. “Are you ready to tell me what happened this morning? I could tell you’d been crying.” He kisses the underside of Lance’s jaw. “It worries me when I see you cry. You usually bury all that in your work.”

“Romelle doesn’t recognize my sister anymore,” Lance whispers. “I just- We’ve tried so hard to bring her back, and nothing works. My father says that it’s not in her best interests to try anything else. She suffers for it, and it doesn’t work. I agree with him, but it hurts. For decaphoebs, she seemed fine. Thriving, apart from a few headaches. Running around with me, Allura, Adam, and Lanval, getting into trouble… I miss that. I miss the four of us just being able to have fun together.”

“Growing up sucks,” Keith whispers.

“It really, really does.” Lance’s eyes search the sky, looking for familiar stars, but it’s hard to tell which ones are which from this new angle. “How was your day? I know this morning wasn’t fun.”

“Well, I accidentally called my mother a breeder, so… Could have been better.” The Galra chuckles.

“I take it that’s a bit of a derogatory term?”

“Not just a bit. Basically, I implied all she’s good for, or that bearers are good for, is pushing out kits.”

Frowning, Lance twists his head to look his spouse in the face. “Is that really what you think of yourself?”

“Sometimes. I mean, I am expected to bear your children. It’s kind of the reason I was selected. Well, that, and my uncle wanted to get rid of me.”

“Keith.” Lance winces at his sharpened tone, at the slight droop to Keith’s ears. “What exactly do you think is going to happen when we have children?”

“I don’t know… I guess I assumed you’d be running the kingdom and I’d be raising our kits? But I don’t want that. That’s fine for some people, but I want to be able to do other things. I want to be other things-”

“Do you really think I could run a kingdom by myself? I mean, I’m flattered, but there is no way I could do everything I could do without you. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. Listen.” Lance pushes some hair out of Keith’s face, trying to reach the luminescent eyes underneath. It falls right back into place. “We’re partners, beloved. Everything we do, we do together.

"You don't have to worry about me being absent or anything like that. I’m not my father, Keith-”

“I never said that! I know you’re not your father!” Keith’s alarm softens to something far more gentle. “You could never be your father, Lance. You’re too… you.”

“Yeah,” Lance whispers. “I know we’ve only known each other for a year, and we’re still learning a lot about each other. I mean, I learn new things about you every day. But I know you well enough to know that you could never be content being just one thing. Be everything you want, and if what you want right now isn’t parenthood, we have time. We can wait until your next season, a decaphoeb, a centaphoeb- However long you need to be ready for that. Then, when you are ready, we can do that.”

Keith tips his head against Lance’s chest, snuggling closer under the cloak. There’s always going to be a bit of conflict within himself, Lance knows. Keith is easily the best thing that’s ever happened to him, but the circumstances under which they met will always sting. The best he can do for his spouse is make sure it never happens again.

“What do you want, Lance? Are you ready?” Amethyst eyes stare up, glowing gold, glittering and almost hard, stubbornly waiting for an answer.

“I am so ready. I’ve wanted to be a father since I was a little kid.” Lance grins, thinking of all the times he imagined being a parent. “But like, I’ve got a couple milophoebs of life ahead of me, and so do you. We’ve got time for both of us to be ready first. We’ll live big, full lives, Keith. No matter what.”

The Galra’s still staring at him, but his eyes are soft, warm even with the unsettling glow of his night lenses. Lance isn’t sure if he ever truly found that nighttime gaze frightening, instead of mesmerizing. He knows it doesn’t frighten him now. How could it, when Keith’s looking at him with so much love? What could Lance have done to ever deserve it?

“Lance?”

Lance jolts from his thoughts. “Keith?”

“I love you.”

“Aw-w, Ke-ith.” Lance grins, presses their foreheads together just to hear him purr. “I love you too. To Daibazaal and back. Literally.”

“Literally.” Keith presses a smiling kiss to his lips. "Thank you, Lance. I- I feel better now."

"I'm glad. Tell me when you decide?"

"I'll tell you when I ready."

"Good." Lance beams down at his spouse, even as their cloaks slip away. As their lips meet again, Keith rises onto his knees, threads dark purple fingers into silver-white hair, the very tips of his claws scratching at Lance’s scalp. His own hands find Keith’s cheeks, cradling him close. Lance can’t help but giggle at the feel of Keith’s thin, raspy tongue, the way it feels against his. It’s just so different from his own, smooth tongue.

Sighing, Lance seeks out more, chasing after Keith’s taste. It’s delicious, intoxicating, the most he’s had after months of sudden nothing. So when Keith draws away, he follows a little before he remembers.

“Sorry,” Keith murmurs, hands trembling in Lance’s hair as he presses their brows together again. “I’m sorry.”

“Never,” he whispers, thumb grazing Keith’s cheek. “Come on. We should get some rest. It’s super late.”

“Yeah. Especially since we’re training with the Blades tomorrow.”

“Ooh, I wonder if Adam will do some training with me. It’s been ages.” Because he’s feeling generous, Lance scoops Keith up into his arms. He only gets a glare and an elbow for his trouble. It’s just as good. Or at least amusing.

“Adam can fight? I just assumed he nags his enemies to death.”

“Oh, yes. He uses a double-ended polearm. He has multiple different ones, with different heads on either end.”

“He would have that- Can you please put me down now? I’m not a baby!”

“I’m trying to be romantic!” Lance sets his spouse down, tugging on the end of his braid so Keith knows he’s playing, not upset.

“You can be romantic by letting me walk and then cuddling me for the rest of the night. How’s that?”

“...Sounds really nice, actually.”

“Then let’s go.”

Settled down for the night, Lance rubs the base of Keith’s ear. It’s not something he really needs anymore, but it seems to make him happy, and definitely makes him smile, so why not? The way Keith purrs, tucks his head firmly under Lance’s chin as he twists his tail back around his ankle just seals the deal.

Nothing will ever top this.

“Goodnight, Lance.”

“Goodnight Keith.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

[olkarianprincess]

Can you write a shiro x pidge and one-sided Pidge x loter were there on opposite sides of the war Pidge is Gaara and betrothed to Prince lotor shiro is a pilot of Voltron

1

Huff. Huff.

Shiro doubled over the moment he rounded the corner. Inhaling as deeply and quietly as he could, he attempted to catch his breath. He couldn’t relax, though. They were still on his trail. The dark alleyway was a temporary sanctuary from the alien police force, but stopping also meant losing his momentum.

All too aware of the sweat pooling beneath his armor—of the painful tension in every muscle of his body—he waited in silence. The footsteps grew louder. Closer. In one hand, he clenched his bayard, ready to strike. In the other-

The sphere was gone.

Suddenly, everything melted away. The pain, the sounds, the worry of being caught—all gone. After all, none of it mattered if he had lost the one thing it was all for. Frantically, he searched the small satchel looped around his torso, and then the ground. The sphere was nowhere to be found.

And then there were footsteps.

On instinct alone, he spun around, but he was unprepared for what he saw.

At the end of his bayard was a single, cloaked figure. No police. No guns aimed for his head. Just an entity shrouded in darkness.

“I think you dropped this,” the mysterious stranger said.

Shiro paused before he looked down to their extended hand. A reflection caught his eye. Barely visible, beneath the shadow of a hood, he saw a yellow visor. Behind the visor, two piercing eyes.

And in the outstretched hand was the sphere.

Realization, followed by relief, swept into his body as the air did in his lungs. Without hesitation, he snatched the sphere and tucked it safely into his satchel. His eyes were only off the figure for a moment, but when he looked up, his strange ally was gone.

When Shiro peered out of the alleyway in hopes of spotting them, he saw nothing but the bodies of unconscious, bruised police littering the ground.

2

Music filled the grand room and, although he was certain it sounded like a fanciful masterpiece to the planet’s resident aliens, it was utter torture for Shiro’s human ears and acoustical tastes. Still, he forced a smile on his lips and waited, eyes glancing around the ball.

The wine, or whatever deep purple liquid it was that swirled about in his glass, wasn’t half bad, and he did recognize a few of the attendees. But Shiro was still bitter. This wasn’t supposed to be his mission.

Lance was the one that suggested they make a covert exchange with their informant. Lance was the one that insisted it had to be at a diplomatic ball. LANCE was the one that emphasized how much he wanted to go.

And yet...

Shiro tried to push away the bitter thoughts that attempted to take over his mind. He knew Coran had his best interests in mind. He also knew that he and Coran had very different ideas of what a “much needed relaxing break of a mission” looked like.

With a sigh, Shiro abandoned that train of thought and focused on finding his contact. Unfortunately, being a super secret matter of intergalactic importance, team Voltron got very little information on what their ally looked like. There was but one clue: the contact would wear a flower pin. They’d at least been given a photo. If they hadn’t, Shiro was certain that Matt would’ve gone on a full out rant about how disappointed Colleen would be that a group of intelligent aliens didn’t recognize not only how common flowers could be in decorative attire but what variety of flowers there are across inhabitable planets. Fortunately, the green lion’s paladin had only done a mini-rant.

Two hours into the ball, Shiro had seen no flower pin. Awkward conversations were plentiful, as were suspiciously jiggly finger foods. But no pin. With a sigh, Shiro pressed his back into the column behind him. He was about to contact Allura to see if the plan was a bust when something caught his eye.

Across the ballroom floor, in a perfectly tailored Galra-equivalent to a suit, stood a handsome gentleman with a gold flower pin on his chest. Wolfs-bane, Shiro recalled Matt saying. That’s what the flower resembled. He stared for but a moment, and startled when brilliant yellow eyes stared back.

A genuine smile on his lips, he moved swiftly across the dance floor. On the other side, his companion awaited with an extended hand. Warmth bloomed in his chest, as did a different feeling. Familiarity. He felt as though this was not the first time they’d met.

“May I have this dance,” Shiro asked as he delicately took the other man’s hand into his own, pressing a soft kiss to the back.

“That’s what we’re here for,” the Galra replied.

“Oh is it?” Shiro asked.

He would never tell his friends, but he was enjoying the opportunity to flirt with a pretty stranger. The Galra had a short, slim body, but was clearly in good shape. His mess of deep purple, puffy hair reminded Shiro of Matt, although Matt didn’t have two soft cat-like ears hidden beneath his cut.

“I thought a gentleman like you would be here for something else,” Shiro continued.

“Perhaps I’m here to meet a friend,” his dance partner replied.

“That makes more sense. For some reason, you don’t strike me as the kind of person to voluntarily attend these events.”

A delightful laugh spilled from the Galra’s mouth, forcing Shiro to turn his head away. It was hard to hide a growing blush when in close proximity with another person. So he switched tactics. The conversation changed, ebbing and flowing with the melody that surrounded them. Until, at last, the song ended.

“I think you dropped this,” his partner remarked with a grin.

Eyebrows furrowed, Shiro tried to decipher the words, but was answered by warm hands wrapping around his own. His heart skipped a beat and then his mind took over. The Galra drew away, but left something behind. Grasping the small device firmly, Shiro moved toward the edge of the crowd. He had to let Allura know that the data had been delivered.

3

Please be safe.

Shiro’s heart pounded heavily in his chest. If he hadn’t known better, he would’ve thought the beat alone was shaking the cockpit of the black lion. They hadn’t been able to respond. The distress signal came just after Haggar’s forces launched a surprise attack. There was no way for them to respond.

Shiro prayed to whatever gods would help him that the city was safe. The Rodlians had been one of the first members of the Voltron Coalition. They didn’t deserve to be punished for that.

The black lion entered Rodlia’s atmosphere. As they descended, smoke obscured the lion’s screen, and Shiro’s heart raced faster. Prepared to launch straight into battle, he was overcome with dread when the city became visible and no enemy was spotted. The worst, it seemed, had already come to pass.

Landing roughly, Shiro sprung from his lion-ship, ready to do everything in his power to find survivors. But the streets were not littered with victims of war. Here and there, buildings suffered damage, but the citizens seemed to be in good health, if not tired. Spotting him, the city leader came forward.

“What happened? We were attacked and couldn’t get here in time. Did you defeat them yourselves?” Shiro launched into inquiry.

“It’s alright, son,” the older alien patted his leg.

Her head only went as high as his thigh, and yet her voice commanded respect. Instantly, he felt a little better.

“We’re alright. Lady Pidge came to our aid.”

A bony finger pointed in the direction of a cloaked figure, several yards away. Shiro thanked the leader and apologized once more (to which he got a gentle head shake in response) before heading over to greet the one called “Pidge.”

“Excuse me,” he called out.

The figure turned at the sound of his voice, revealing a familiar face.

“Lady Pidge?” Shiro sputtered, “Oh shit I’m so sorry, I called you a man before, I-“

Pidge, the handsome contact he had danced with at the ball, waved off his words with a smile.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I don’t care.”

“Ah, alright. Well, what are you doing here?”

“The Coalition sent me. I’ll tell you more, but it’s going to cost you.”

Once again, the Galra had thrown Shiro for a loop.

“What?”

Pidge pointed and Shiro followed the direction of her finger...all the way to his metal arm.

“Let me take a look at it?” she asked, an intense sparkle in her eyes.

“Oh, okay,” he responded with a laugh.

Warmth filled his chest as he trailed after her towards a laptop (of sorts) situated at the base of a statue.

4

“No fair! How come Shiro gets a secret admirer?!” Lance whined.

“Yeah! How come Coran lets Shiro have two girlfriends and I get none?” Hunk joined in, a huge smile on his face.

“Hunk,” Keith shot him a glare, “That’s biphobic.”

“Oh, you’re right Keith, my bad. How come Coran lets Shiro have a girlfriend and a boyfriend and I get none?”

Keith collapsed onto the couch with laughter at Hunk’s response and even Shiro couldn’t keep himself from grinning. He scooped up the package Coran had deposited on the table and turned to make his escape, sparing Allura a brief glance before he went. She looked...done, to put a word to it.

In his quarters, alone and away from prying eyes, Shiro gingerly opened the heavy metal box. Of course he knew it wasn’t a present from a secret admirer. That whole bit of drama was entirely a product of Matt’s desire to stir up trouble. But he still didn’t know what it was or who it was from. All Coran said was that someone from the Coalition had sent it.

With bated breath, and a quick prayer that there was not, in fact, a bomb inside, Shiro pressed the buttons on either side of the box and watched as it clicked open. Inside, delicately wrapped, was a thin holopad. He activated and it glowed with life, displaying the message:

Thought you could use an upgrade.

(PS: I’ve included installation instructions.)

And below the message was a little icon of some cute gremlin face with swirly glasses.

Shiro set the device to the side and opened the compartment below the first one. He almost cried when he saw the gift.

Inside was a brand new, clearly custom-made, prosthetic arm.

5

“I’m still not comfortable going into the heart of the Galra empire, invited or not,” Shiro stated as they approached the massive space station.

“I’ve gotta agree,” Matt said, although his voice lacked its usual carefree tone.

“Relax,” Allura assured, “now that Lotor’s emperor, we don’t need to worry about the Galra attacking us. At least, not the ones under his command.”

“Oh yeah and what about the other 40% of Galra that aren’t?” he heard Lance mutter.

Apparently Allura heard him too, as was indicated by the thump and yelp that followed.

“Lotor is gaining more and more of the Galra’s allegiance each day,” Allura reassured them. “I’ve heard a large part of it is due to the support for his fiancé. Many of the Galra feel more comfortable about his rule knowing they’ll be married.”

“Must be some lady. Or dude. Or, ya know,” Hunk added.

“Quite right,” Coran chipped in. “Maybe you’ll get to meet them.”

Further conversation was cut off by their arrival. Boarding the station was tense, but otherwise uneventful. As they walked through halls radiating with purple light, Shiro couldn’t help but make a pattern of clenching and unclenching his fist. It was an uncomfortable situation for all of them, but Shiro would be lying if he said it wasn’t worse for him and Matt. In truth, there were several thoughts on repeat in his mind keeping him sane.

First was the knowledge that they’d receive valuable access to Galra tactical data and technological schematics. He’d be able to study it and come up with better plans to free the universe. Second was the thought of getting to punch Lotor in the face, should the emperor step out of line. It was an unlikely situation, but the fantasy brought him joy. And like that fantasy, his third thought, of potentially running into Pidge again, kept him going.

Lotor greeted them outside of the throne room and Shiro focused on taking deep breaths while his friends questioned the new Galra ruler. He could barely process what everyone was saying. It was just another mission, he told himself. It would be over soon. Hunk asked about culture and Lance exclaimed something that sounded like “a nanny,” but the full conversation didn’t register in Shiro’s mind. They were being swept into the throne room, Lotor monologuing some nonsense, and light flooded through the opening of the heavy doors as they stepped in.

Shiro blinked once, twice, and then his gaze locked onto a pair of familiar yellow eyes. Warmth flooded his chest. A smile danced on his lips. The tension melted away and suddenly he found himself able to focus. It was just in time for him to hear Lotor say:

“And I’d like to introduce you to my fiancé, Lady Pidge.”

The yellow eyes that had met his quickly looked away.

[ghostgetter]

hi idea i want to write but am too lazy to compile:

there needs to be a klance canon divergent au of lance idk, being manipulated by druid magic or possibly (and i like this idea better) post-undercover mission instructed by shiro and getting caught, trying to escape in his ship (not Blue) and it crashing and a galra leader blowing it up and Lotor (who, since i have watched one episode, is Bad To Me) finds him near-death after being begrudgingly ordered to kill him, but with n o m e m o r y of anything - he thinks his name is Tailor until Lotor comes to the conclusion by galaxy rumors that his name is Lance - and is thus coined a ~*~*~perfect right-hand man~*~*~, a perfect soldier, who has all the muscle memory of an excellent pilot and shooter but no recollection of his home or his family or his life or his friends, so nothing to hold him back from getting the job done.

And Lotor takes him under his wing to not exactly work with the galra (because he’s a prince damn it he has earned his place to take control of what he can and will not be ordered by shitty galra lieutenants) but still do Bad Things. He’s got Acxa and others and essentially overthrow governments for their team, collecting weapons and information and money and the like (but Lotor is sending most of this to Zarkon for control blah blah complications whatever)

Meanwhile the team is like, totally distraught. Nearly fallen apart. They have a funeral for Lance because they have no reason to think he’s alive. Keith, who had a fleeting moment with Lance a few days prior, who had developed feelings for him, blames Shiro for his death. Hunk’s furious with the team in general and demands they go home. Pidge is immensely sad and stops sleeping because she lost another brother figure. Shiro doesn’t blame Keith for being angry and agrees this is his fault. Keith’s being extra-“let’s throw my life on the line every mission who gives a shit anymore” until he and Shiro have a Serious Talk. Allura is reluctant but forces herself to attach to Blue, whom is also relectant (they later find out it’s cus Lance Is Alive and Blue Wants Her Paladin).

Anyway Kolivan, leader of the BOM, who Keith has been occassionally working under for more missions to kill himself in, comes to the castle of lions with news about the galra a few months after Lance’s death. He requests their help with stopping a side group of galra who don’t seem to be directly working with Zarkon but are on the map in a massive way and causing havoc and know team voltron wanna be involved. Allura is automatically in but Hunk is so fucking done he wants to go home. He wants to go to Cuba and see Mrs McClain and apologize and cry about their son. And then Kolivan pulls out a tablet that reveals a hologram of Lance.

Lance, in a bright purple uniform, a scar from his temple to his brow, hoisting a galra-styled rifle and perched on a futuristic building, aiming below, clearly unaware of his photo being taken. Alive.

And Keith snatches the tablet from Kolivan “when was this taken?”

“Three days ago.”

Anyway so Team Voltron and BOM team up immediately to get Lance but BOM’s goal is Lotor and the other galra Keith and Hunk (and Shiro, who is still very guilty) are all “we’re getting Lance and regrouping fuck this.” They end up on a planet untouched by Zarkon but in near chaos cus of Lotor’s team, and the BOM are chasing some of the galra in their ships, losing em, and team voltron are also in ships (not the lions), and Keith’s chasing Lotor but then his ship gets slammed into and it’s Lance, he just knows, so he has Shiro and Kolivan continue after Lotor while he chases Lance. He shoots out a cable that catches onto Lance’s ship and forces it to (roughly) land and he runs out of his ship to get Lance, who’s stumbling out

and Keith calls out to him and Lance shoots him.

Keith is able to dodge it enough so it grazes him but Lance quickly shoots at the cable attached to his ship to get it off and runs back in before escaping.

And in his sheer disbelief of what just happened, he hears on the coms that Lotor also escaped, and Hunk and Pidge’s ship crashed, and this was a fucking mess, and Lance looked right at him and just shot him, what the hell -

Anyway lots of heists and chasing and Keith has Pidge catch wind of Lance at an underground hover cycle race on a planet with lots of crime (Lance had ditched Lotor and his team for some air as things were getting Tense between him and Lotor, who was usually very on top of Lance in a protective, possessive way that was kinda creepy but also not necessarily Bad, unlike now where Lotor is being possessive and gross and Lance was starting to question things because Blue was trying to communicate with him through quintessence as the Castle Ship kinda hovered nearer and nearer and Allura was trying to expand it???? idk i don’t watch this show does this make sense lmao) and Keith heads off there alone and sees him in his natural habitat and it’s almost like???? he was the same person? It’s post race and he rips off his helmet, cocky and smirking at an alien that he just beat. mouthing off to him and shooting finger guns at the crowd and winking and Keith’s heart soothes because shit, it’s Lance.

And Lance is getting ready to leave - he’s collected his winnings and such and he’s pulling out and Keith drives up to him and takes his helmet off and Lance double takes. And is like “um, hello?”

And Keith has, no idea, maybe it’s the cocky smirk he saw, but he revs his engine and says: “I hear you’re pretty good at racing around here.”

Lance laughs, sudden startlement pushed aside by amusement. “I’d say I’m the best pilot they’ve seen.”

“Wanna test that theory?”

And Lance is confused because like, he shot this guy? “Do you have a death wish or something, man?”

“Maybe,” Keith smirks. “I just wanna race.”

Lance blinks once, twice, then scoffs. Turns forward, “Fine. Your funeral.”

“This’ll be fun,” Keith turns forward as well. “Lance and Keith, neck and neck, remember?”

And Lance looks at him, because no, what the fuck? No he doesn’t.

Anyway they race through the city streets. It is indeed: Lance and Keith, Neck and Neck. Lance comes to the conclusion that this Keith is immensely fucking good at racing. But so is Lance, who bypasses him on a few turns, of course until they start getting tailed by the city’s law enforcement. And Keith, who’s fucking crazy, is able to turn his bike around and force them to crash, and then pass Lance in reverse, and take the lead.

And win.

And Lance is pissed but he takes this loss and pulls out into an open field and Keith and him bicker a bit about the race and Keith criticizes him but also “but you got better with the accelerating. You just break too much on turns. You do that when you pilot, too.”

“I’m confused. So you know how I pilot, now?”

“Yeah, I know how you pilot. I know you.”

“No, you don’t,” Lance argues. “You don’t know me.”

“You’re a pilot, you’re good with a gun -”

“Everyone knows that,” Lance cuts in. “Everyone on this planet knows that. I made a name for myself here. That doesn’t mean you know anything about me—”

“I know you’re from Cuba, on Earth.” Keith argues back. “I know you have a large family. I know you love the ocean, and that you miss rain.”

Lance is quiet, then, “I don’t remember rain.”

“Maybe not. But I can help you remember it.”

And at this point they’ve gotten closer and they’re talking and Lance asks where he got the scar on his face “if you know me so well” and Keith tells him the story, breezing over their moment and tells him about Shiro, and fighting the galra, and that Lance is a paladin of -

And in comes Lotor, his ship coming in from above and landing, him and another Galra, and call out to Lance, in a calm, orderly fashion and Keith and Lance both freeze. Lotor tells Lance to meet at the randezvous point and Lance hesitates until Lotor repeats himself, and Lance sighs, looks at Keith and salutes him, and gets on his hoverbike with one last look before driving off to get to the ship he docked and fly off.

And then Lotor and Keith face off. Not fighty but more argumentative. And Lotor expresses just how much control he has over Lance, who’s so flighty lately since Voltron got involved and it’s agitating, and Lotor offers information on inside Galra war plans in exchange for Keith and his team to back off.

“And Lance?”

Lotor eyes him. “He stays.”

“Then no.”

And Keith takes out his sword because he’s honestly had it with Lotor and then he sees Lotor brought more than just one Galra, but another humanoid-alien, who comes out aiming a laser at Keith. And then bam bam Hunk appears from Yellow, who he took down to follow after Keith because fuck you, Lance is his best friend he wants him back, canon bayard loaded and trained on Lotor.

Anyway no harm comes from it and then after a battle happens with the Lions and Lance being forced to eject from the warship with a few others and join the fight and Lance is Not Feeling This (he feels super connected to Blue and Lotor is on his ass about Keith and Lance Does Not Remember fuck off). Keith sees this and has Red get close to Lance, with Shiro and everyone yelling at him, and he propells to Lance’s ship outta the jaw of Red and has Red back outta the line of fire, and somehow blah blah, gets into Lance’s ship. And Lance is like ?????? but then immediately sees that Lotor is aiming a canon at them and they’re gonna blow up and they do, until Red comes in and snatches them up. Keith is unconscious. Lance is confused. He sees Team Voltron on the vid cam and doesn’t know what’s happening. He tries to explain what Lotor’s doing and that Keith got knocked out with the blast and he’s so confused and why is the yellow guy crying, what’s going on, until Allura tries to get Lance to pilot Red, and Lance argues with her a bit while settling Keith in what looks like a seconadry pilot chair that miraculously popped up. And then Lance, like, hears this Lion-thing? Speaking to him??? And he pilots Red and Lotor escapes and they go back to the castle of Lions, get Keith into a pod, and everyone hugs Lance, who still doesn’t???? Understand????

Anyway. Long story short. He re-meets the team. Joins the fight. Pilots Blue again, who he confesses to have been hearing in some sorta abyss for the last month. Has a heart to heart with Shiro. Cries with Hunk. Re-falls for Keith. Big battle. He gets his memory back later. The end.

[thespacenico]

·:*:·ﾟ★ winner takes all ★ﾟ·:*:·

- 2k word oneshot - romellura - getting together - commission for @/lunarriee on twitter!

The entire school is buzzing with excitement when Allura arrives the morning of the big game. 

Okay, so it’s not that big. Sure, they’re playing against their rivals, Galra High, but technically speaking it’s just like any other district game. Except for the fact that both teams have the same record with ten wins and one loss, and whoever secures victory tonight gets to go to the playoffs and try for the championship next month.

So yeah, no big deal. Only it is a big deal, and Allura’s got a lot riding on this—not only the potential championship, but also some things… unrelated to said potential championship.

Lance is already waiting at her locker as Allura makes her way down the hall, bouncing up and down on his heels with a grin, both hands tugging at the straps of his backpack. “Hey!” he greets her once she’s close enough, his smile widening mischievously. “Big day, huh?” 

Allura pointedly avoids his gaze as she twists the knob and opens her locker to exchange a few books, but she can’t quite hide the heat rising to her cheeks. “I suppose you could say that.”

“How do you feel?” 

“I feel fine.” 

“Are you nervous?”

Allura shoots a half-hearted glare in Lance’s direction. “Do you have to be quite so obvious about it?” 

Lance snorts and he shrugs, clearly amused. “What? Double meaning, ‘Lura. Anyone else would think we’re talking about the game.” 

“So, let’s keep it that way,” Allura whispers harshly, shoving another book into the depths of her locker. 

“C’mon, you can’t blame me for wondering. I just wanna make sure you haven’t chickened out, that’s all.” 

“I haven’t,” Allura says firmly, at the same time she pulls the last book she needs out of her locker, and a small pink slip of paper that had been on top of it falls to the floor between them.

They stare at it. Allura recognizes the lopsided heart drawn with a sparkly silver pen at the top right corner, right next to a doodle of a volleyball and a smiley face. Lance must recognize it too, because he looks up with yet another smile that’s much too smug for Allura’s liking and hums. “Looks like you’ve got fan mail.”

“Shut up,” Allura mutters, bending down to pick it up and leaning away when Lance tries to get a better peek. She holds her breath as she carefully unfolds the paper, eyes quickly scanning the writing scribbled across the page in a neat cursive.

Hi Allura!! Just wanted to say good luck in the big game today!!! You’re going to do great!!! I’ll be right there in the front row tonight cheering you on!!!!!! I believe in you!!! You got this!!!! Spike it in their faces!!!!! >:) I’ll see you in class!!!!!!!!

— R

“Wooow,” Lance whistles, effectively snapping Allura back to the present and subsequently allowing her to realize how miserably she has failed to hold back a goofy smile, hopelessly endeared by the excessive use of exclamation points. “You’ve got it bad.” 

“Would you stop it,” Allura huffs, and Lance bursts into laughter as she shoves at his shoulder, at which point Allura can’t help but keep on smiling. “Let’s go, we’re going to be late for class.” 

They part ways halfway down the hall like they usually do, Lance disappearing into his classroom with a teasing smile and a wave that Allura obligingly returns before continuing on her way. She regrets not checking her reflection in the mirror hanging in her locker now—she doesn’t do much with her hair on game days when she knows she’ll be putting it into a bun later, but she hopes it looks presentable at least. It’s a bit ridiculous, but her heart rate picks up as she nears her own classroom, excitement and anticipation stirring in her stomach and making her palms sweat. 

God, Lance is right. She has it so bad. 

Someone’s calling her name the moment she enters the room, and Allura is utterly helpless to the smile that crosses her face at the sight of Romelle, eyes bright as she waves excitedly and gestures for Allura to come sit by her, as if she ever sits anywhere else. Her hair is pulled back into two braids today, complete with a pink ribbon tied around the end of each. It’s as endearing as her love of exclamation points, as endearing as everything else about Romelle that Allura takes note of every single day. 

Which is why she’s made up her mind to ask her out after the game, if and only if they win. 

And she really, really, really wants to win.

。·:*:·ﾟ★。·:*:·ﾟ☆

It’s close—but they win.

Allura serves the ball into the deep left corner to score the point they need to pull ahead by two and win the third match. The crowded gymnasium erupts with cheering, and even as the rest of the team surrounds Allura and squishes together with shouts and whoops of celebration, the only person she can seem to see is Romelle, standing on the front row and yelling and jumping and smiling, just like she said she would be. 

She can’t stop smiling all the way back to the locker room.

Usually the team goes out to celebrate together after a big win like this, but since this means they’ll be going to the championship, they’re back to practice first thing in the morning. Their coach congratulates them, updates them on their new practice schedule, and sends them on their way. 

Allura snatches her things and practically trips out the door in her haste to leave the locker room, only to find that Romelle is already waiting for her in the hallway outside. Well, more like Romelle finds her, because the only reason Allura doesn’t fall face first to the floor is because of Romelle’s hands grabbing her shoulders and keeping her upright. 

“Sorry,” Allura blurts, although the rest of her apology dies on her tongue the moment she looks up to see Romelle grinning down at her, eyes bright and sparkling.

“You did amazing!” Romelle cheers, jumping up and down a few times in excitement before throwing her arms around Allura’s shoulders. Allura can only be thankful that her back is to the locker room, so the rest of her teammates coming out can’t see just how much her cheeks have darkened. “That was the best game ever, you actually spiked that girl in the face!”

That pulls a shaky laugh out of Allura, and subsequently gives her the confidence she needs to mimic Romelle and wrap her arms around her, leaning into the embrace more than she should probably let herself. She did, in fact, spike someone on the other team in the face for a point. The girl was fine, no broken nose or anything, but she does feel rather badly about it. “Uh, yes. I didn’t quite mean to, but since I did, we can just say I did it for you.” 

Romelle pulls back but doesn’t let go, hands remaining on Allura’s shoulders and Allura’s just above Romelle’s waist. “So? Are you going out to celebrate with the team?” 

“Oh. Um…” Allura glances over her shoulder as her last few teammates trickle out of the locker room, chatting excitedly to one another about the game as they walk down the hallway. “No, we have practice in the morning. Never too early to start preparing for the championship.” 

Romelle almost looks disappointed for her, a slight pout to her lips as her shoulders slump. “Aw, that’s too bad. Wins like this always deserve a special something of some sort.” 

Allura bites her lip, heart rate picking up as the voices of her teammates fade and disappear altogether. It’s just the two of them now, alone in a relatively secluded hallway after a big game, and Romelle is talking about special celebrations. Now is her opening, she just has to take it. 

She swallows, averting her gaze and nudging at the gym bag slung over her shoulder with her knee, suddenly hyper aware of their proximity. “Actually, um… Romelle, I was sort of hoping—er, I thought maybe, we could go somewhere.” 

Romelle’s eyes light up. “Oh! I think Lance and Keith are still here, do you want to go with them, too? I can go get them—” 

“No, I—” Allura struggles not to stumble over her words, clearing her throat and shifting uncomfortably under the weight of Romelle’s confused gaze. “I mean, usually I would, but I was thinking. That this time, it could just be you. And… and me.” 

She can envision the gears turning in Romelle’s head during the silence that follows, and even then she still can’t make herself look up. It’s sort of mortifying how quickly her heart is beating, both horrified and excited at the prospect of what exactly this would mean depending on how Romelle reacts. There’s not exactly any coming back from this. 

“Oh,” is what Romelle eventually answers. She says it softly, more softly than Allura has ever heard her say anything, with an air of realization. There’s another short moment of quiet, and then: “You mean like… a date?”

Allura finally manages to tear her gaze away from the floor, and her heart skips a beat at the expression on Romelle’s face. Because if she didn’t know any better, she’d say Romelle almost looks… hopeful? She swallows again. “I would like it to be,” she admits quietly. “If—if that’s okay with you.” 

Romelle stares at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open as if she can’t quite believe what’s happening, and Allura isn’t sure exactly how to interpret that. All she can do is stand there and wait, and think about how Romelle’s hands are still on her shoulders and if she hasn’t moved away then that must be a good sign, but then again she’s never been shy about physical contact and being close to people has never bothered her, in fact she forgets about personal space sometimes, but that’s just a Romelle thing and everyone knows that about her and loves it about her and—

Allura’s ridiculous spiraling inner monologue is interrupted by Romelle’s mouth on hers, and after that her brain pretty much stops working completely. Her eyes fall shut on instinct, arms tightening around Romelle’s waist now that the space has been closed between them, and before she knows it she’s kissing back. Romelle’s fingers are slipping through the hair at the nape of her neck, and her nose brushes Allura’s cheek and Allura literally can’t comprehend that this is happening right now. 

They break apart too soon, but it may be for the best, because Allura’s heart is beating so fast now she’s pretty sure she’s at risk of passing out. Her eyes flutter open as she catches her breath, but it only catches in her throat when she sees just how brightly Romelle is smiling at her, dimples and all, hands moving to cradle Allura’s cheeks. They simply stare at each other for a few moments, and then Allura clears her throat again. 

“So… that’s a yes?”

Romelle’s smile grows and she giggles, and before Allura can even recover, Romelle is taking her hand and tugging her down the hallway, bouncing up and down with each step and giggling some more the whole way. 

“I know the perfect place, this diner has all-you-can-eat pancakes and they’re the best pancakes in town, plus they have raspberry syrup! And you can get hot chocolate and if you ask for extra whipped cream they put a mountain of it on top and by the time you get to the actual hot chocolate it’s not hot anymore so it’s more like chocolate milk, but it’s so good, you have to try it…”  

She rambles on and on and on about the aforementioned diner all the way down the hallway, all the way into the parking lot, and all the way to Allura’s car, and Allura smiles the whole way.

If she didn’t feel like a winner before, she certainly does now. 

[poor-sickies]

What about fevers with Lance and Keith *together* (like at the same time? Or is that too much?) Could you do that? ouo

I am back! Kinda! I sprained my ankle really badly and had to be resting these past few days, so I took the opportunity to finish this! This is one of the classic “caught rain/snow and now we’re sick” kinda fic, so I hope you like it :)

cold outing

word count. 2592 words

prompt: fevers

Read on ao3

*

“I hate this s-stupid planet.”

Lance hugs his arms close, rubbing them up and down, trying to somehow block the dry cold wind that blows against him.

Keith lets out a humorless chuckle, moving forward hunched over himself, gritting his teeth as the relentless cold keeps hitting his skin through his clothes.

“I don’t t-think it matters” he says, “if you hate it or n-not. It’s just gonna keep being c-cold.”

“We’re almost t-to Red anyway. When I get to the castle, I’ll s-slip into a hot b-bath. And I’ll only leave after two hours.”

“Good for you,” Keith retorts, dragging his feet through the sloshy snow, “I just want some sleep.”

The Galra base they had returned from, six full hours after Red landed in Killeon, a snow planet deep within the Dardian quadrant, had been unoperational, but at least they had still managed to save the data logs. With some luck, those could be useful information for later.

They both hope it will be worth it.

The snowstorm was already bad when they had arrived. This planet doesn’t have much vegetation, but the little it does had been blowing strongly with the wind, powdered white from the flakes that fell from the sky.

Landing with Red closer to the base hadn’t been possible - there was a cave nearby that was ideal to keep her hidden. Leaving her out on the snow had seemed dangerous with a Galra base so close, and seeing as they didn’t currently have any support from the castle, they had decided to play it safe.

It was more or less a thirty minute walk from the cave to the Galra post, but after leaving the base, the snow had stopped and it was pouring rain, cold water with some ice on the mix, making the ground wet and sloshy.

And soaking both Keith and Lance to the bone.

They had taken thirty minutes just to get halfway to Red, and the paladin armor was starting to weigh on them, the black undersuit completely soaked. Fortunately, their wrist gauntlets are still working, to lead them the right way, because with all the snow and fog, they don’t see any further than a few meters.

“T-There. I see it.”

The outline of the caves appears slowly into focus, and they make an effort to walk faster.

Red opens her jaws right away as soon as they get there, urging them to get inside. The cockpit is unusually warm, an attempt to try and dry them up, but the or air comes up hot and almost suffocating on their face.

Lance collapses on the pilot seat, before ordering Red to go back home, and Keith stays behind him, on the floor, too exhausted to move.

-

Upon arrival, it all goes by in a numb haze. Dragging their feet, Lance and Keith make their way out of Red, and towards their respective bedrooms. Both get their soggy clothes off, dropping it off in a corner of their room to be washed later, take a quick warm shower and lay in bed, aching and exhausted.

They don’t actually get to sleep right away, because Shiro and Allura come back from their mission a while later. Fortunately, the post mission debriefing is quick and to the point. Everyone is tired and it’s late, so all of them shuffle to their own rooms to get some sleep.

-

Lance rolls over in bed, his sore muscles protesting as he moves.

It’s the middle of the night, he’s alone, and his sore throat is keeping him awake.

It feels like he swallowed sandpaper and broken glass. Lance coughs weakly into his elbow and sighs in frustration.

It was a long day, and exhaustion tugs away at him trying to pull him under.

But then another coughing fit brings him back up, doubling forward as something tickles again in the back of his throat.

His head aches with the effort, and when he’s finally able to stop coughing, his chest hurts as well.

He reaches for his bedside table, and turns the alarm towards him.

It’s seven AM, earth time, and the others would be up soon. Lance swallows painfully, and props himself up to stand and go out the door. There’s no point staying in bed if he can’t rest.

Walking feels even worse than laying down somehow. It’s harder to focus on keeping his feet moving, and his coordination is completely off. His muscles hurt, and it’s not easy to drag his limbs along when they feel like deadweights.

To his surprise, the lounge isn’t empty when he gets there, despite being so early. Coran is frantically opening and closing cabinets, with bundles of fabric in his arms.

“What’s goin’ on…?”

Coran looks behind his shoulder.

“Lance…” He trails off, clearly surprised. Lance isn’t sure why is presence is so unexpected, but Coran walks towards him with a worried look on his face. “Oh, I should have figured…”

Coran touches Lance’s forehead with the back of his hand. Lance closes his eyes, focusing on the cold feeling of Coran’s skin on his face.

“You’re ill as well… come on, let’s get you to the infirmary.”

“Sick…?” Lance questions, as Coran nudges his shoulder to guide him. Now that he thinks about it, he does feel warm.

“Well, after yesterday’s ordeal it doesn’t surprise me,” Coran explains, “and I should have known after I saw the state Keith was in… you were both in that planet after all.”

Lance frowns. “Wait… Keith? What’s going on with Keith?”

“Ah, don’t worry too much. He just woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. Similar to the symptoms you seen to be having.”

Lance lowers his eyes. “Oh.”

Suddenly, he feels much weaker, and Coran has to steady him for a moment.

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

“It’s alright, lad. We’re almost there.”

Surely enough, there’s a bed set up in the infirmary, where Keith is curled up, shivering below a layer of blankets. Shiro sits on a chair by his side, rubbing Keith’s arms to warm him up.

“Coran,” Shiro calls out, “did you get more blankets?” Then he looks off to the side, noticing Lance with a surprised expression. “Are you sick too?”

Lance nods, hazy, and lets Coran guide him closer to the bed Keith lays in.

“Blankets,” Coran hands the bundles to Shiro, who in turn drapes them over Keith’s shivering form. Lance is gently pushed to another nearby mattress, and takes the opportunity to lie down.

“Ir seems that human bodies do not deal so well with cold,” Coran comments sadly, as he covers lance with a blanket as well.

Lance frowns, as he pulls the blanket closer to him. “We don’t deal that badly, that planet just sucks.”

Shiro sighs, hands still around Keith’s arms. “Well, it seems like you two just got a bad cold. Hopefully you’ll be okay within a few days.”

“Unless it turns to tonsillitis,” Lance adds with a mumble.

Shiro grimaces. “Hopefully not.”

-

When Lance wakes up again, his fever seems to be worse. He rolls over, his blanket kicked away in his sleep, and lifts his tshirt a little. His skin is sensitive and hot and sweaty, and his throat still hurts.

On the other bed, Keith looks asleep, no longer curling up beneath the sheet, but his flushed face is enough to tell that he’s got a fever too.

“Lance! Hey, you’re awake!”

It’s Hunk’s voice, to his right. He rolls over again, slowly, and sure enough, there he is, plopped on a chair with a tablet in his hands.

“How do you feel?”

Lance shrugs. “Not too good. I think my fever is higher now.”

Hunk frowns, and leans forward to touch lances forehead with the back of his hand.

“Yeah… it is,” he concludes, before getting up. “Try to drink some water,” he says, handing him a water pack with a straw, “I’ll go get Coran.”

Lance closes his eyes. With Hunk gone, there’s only the small breathing noises coming from Keith’s bed to break the silence.It’s relaxing somehow, so he lets himself being pulled back to sleep, water pack forgotten at his side.

*

It’s only a matter of time until the others move Keith and Lance to the living room.

“The sofas are big enough,” Hunk argues, “and we can check on them at the same time.”

No one disagreed, but Shiro and Pidge made sure to bring more pillows and blankets to make it extra comfortable.

Both od the paladins are wrapped in fluffy blankets, sleeping peacefully in opposite ends of the sofa, feet touching on the middle.

“I’ve already told Allura, and she’s going to stop by a peaceful solar system. With two of us down, it’s not a great idea leaving us vulnerable to any attack,” Shiro says.

“They look so peaceful,” Pidge comments with a sly smile.

*

“Achooo! Achoo! Ugh…”

Lance reaches out to pick up another tissue from the table. With an involuntary kick, he’s finally able to stretch enough, but he winces when his foot hits Keith’s side.

He hears an annoyed grunt coming from the bundle of blankets in front of him, and blows his nose, waiting for the inevitable complaining.

“Ow- Lance…” Keith says hoarsely. “Why did you just kick me!?”

It’s no secret for anyone this stupid cold is irritating Keith to no end, and Lance understands it better than anyone. Even though Keith did spend more time in the cold, and maybe being prone to migraines absolutely sucks in this situation, but Lance feels miserable too. Having Keith snap at every little thing is really getting in his nerves. He can’t help being sick!

But happy about his circumstances or not, he’s stuck here with Keith, at least for a few days. If he can keep each other’s presence amicable, Lance will at least make an effort.

“Ugh, Keith… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Could you be more careful then?? I’m  trying to sleep.”

Lance rolls his eyes and puts the tissue away.

“Yeah, yeah… go back to sleep.”

Lance rolls over and buries his head on the pillow, hunching over his shoulders to keep the blankets closer. His throat burns all the way up to the back of his mouth, and a slight brush of the covers against his nose is enough to-

“Aaa..choo!”

“Lance!!”

*

“Oooh, what’s that you’re making?”

Hunk turns his head to see Pidge curiously slipping into the kitchen. He puts down the spoon, and grabs a sharp knife and some white fruits from under the cabinet, placing them on the counter, ready to cut.

“Oh, you know… since we’ll be stuck here for a while, I figured I’d experiment a little with the some of those fruits they offered us in Arus… and Lance and Keith look like they need some nice broth, to get their energies back and all that,” he explains with a gentle smile, as he expertly cuts the white fruit on the cutting board, and sweeps the pieces down to fall inside the bowl.

“Cool.” Pidge jumps up to sit on the counter. “Find out anything remotely close to garlic yet?”

“Nah,” Hunk sighs, “that’s gonna be a hard one… also-”

He turns around, slipping a baker glove on his hand and opens the oven, taking out a tray with some pink cookies.

“They finished baking a few minutes ago, though the tray is still hot. Taste one.”

Pidge frowns a little, but takes one and tries it.

“I know it’s pink, but I think I may have figured these out.”

Her eyes brighten, and she looks up at him.

“Gingerbread?”

“Not really, but it tastes close, right? Lance loves gingerbread. I know Keith prefers cinnamon, but we don’t really have that here… maybe he’ll enjoy these when he’s feeling better. I got another batch coming up anyway, so you can keep those.”

“Awesome! Thank you, Hunk!”

“No problem!” Hunk smiles, as he picks up the cookies from the tray, one by one, hissing when they burned tips of his fingers, and putting them on a plate. “I’m gonna see if those two have killed each other already.”

Pidge chuckles, still chewing on her cookie. “Lance is whiny as heck, and Keith is a thousand times grumpier than usual,” she says, “good luck.”

*

“So how are you two feeling?”

Hunk sits down next to Lance’s legs, and places the plate of cookies on the edge of the sofa. Despite looking terrible, both Lance and Keith seem at least intrigued by the cookies, and gingerly roll out of the sofa to get one.

Lance suddenly grips his cookie tighter and squints at the lights.

“A - Achooo! Ugh…”

Hunk watches as he pitifuly scrambles for another tissue, and doesn’t miss the way Keith groans.

“My throat hurts from sneezing,” Lance says, after blowing his nose once again.

“My head hurts from his sneezing,” Keith complains, burying himself deeper in his blanket, chewing on his cookie.

“Wha- Keith!!”

“You’re loud.”

“At least your fever is gone, right…?” Hunk asks with a forced smile, adjusting the blanket around Lance’s feet.

“No.”

“I think it’s coming back.”

Lance goes back to his reclined position on the sofa, leaning against a pillow. Keith reaches for the plate once again, and takes another cookie.

“These are really good,” he says quietly, his voice low and raspy.

“That’s not fair, I can’t even taste them…!” Lance pouts, “they feel crispy though…”

Hunk laughs. “I finally got the oven temperature right… you’ll be able to taste them soon enough,” he says, patting Lance’s leg.

*

“Keith…?”

No answer.

His fever wasn’t so bad during the day, and with the others keeping him company and distracting him, it was actually bearable.

But now it’s dark, and everyone is sleeping, and Lance cannot stop shivering.

He has three blankets on top of him, which he’s hugging close, and Pidge had even brought his jacket for him to dress, just in case. But even in his pajamas and the jacket, he can‘t get comfortable.

And, admittedly, he does feel bad for trying to wake Keith. He’s sick too, and needs to rest, even though he spent most of his day sleeping…

Eh, it’s still bad.

But Lance stands up anyway, blinking away the black spots at the edge of his vision, hugging the blankets around his shoulders.

Keith lays close to the back of the sofa, leaving enough space Lance to sit down next to him.

He gives his shoulder a light shake, but he doesn’t wake.

He’s not too warm, at least, which is a good change from his feverish state during the day, but that also means he’s getting his needed rest after all that.

Lance shivers again.

He shakes Keith again.

“Hm…? What - Lance.”

Keith groans.

“What do you want…?”

He doesn’t sound mad, just tired. Rolling over, he lays on his stomach with his head on his arms, and stares at Lance, squinting.

“H-Hey man… sorry for waking you up…”

“You’re shivering,” Keith notices. “You should be in bed.”

“That’s the thing, I, uh… it’s cold. Can I lay here?”

Keith only stares back in silence for a moment.

““With me…?”

“Ugh, yes. I can’t warm up at all on my own, and you’ve been pretty much behaving as a furnace the whole day…”

Keith doesn’t interrupt his rambling, much to Lance’s surprise. Like before, he’s probably too tired for that now. He sighs, and scoots over a little.

“If you steal my blankets, you’re out.”

[calligraphist-artemisia]

The Smallest Blade (Part xxiii)

Summary:  AU. Kolivan knew raising a half-Galra cub wouldn’t be an easy task, especially while running a super secretive organization dedicated to bringing down a corrupt empire. What he didn’t take in consideration was how much the boy would change his life.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune

- - - - -

xxiii.

They had less time than they expected.

Winters on any planet were difficult to calculate, but that was proving especially true on the volcanic world of Venadh, with the magma ever-shifting beneath the surface, which began to tremble under the building pressure.

“I think we should reconsider,” Regris said as Keith prepared to leave the ship. “If it erupts while we're here, I'm not sure we can escape in time. Our mission will be a failure, but the empire won't be able to get their hands on the weapon either.”

“And if the war continues for another two-thousand decaphoebs, the Blade of Marmora will have to worry about it all over again,” Keith responded. He put on the helmet and tested the sensors, making sure everything was functioning the way it should before he headed out. The read-outs were clear on the visor, so he picked up the device meant to detect the radiation given off by the weapon and turned it on as well.

“Keith, we cannot take the risk. What would Katla say if she were here?”

“Katla would tell me exactly how much time I have to get out there, find the weapon, and get back in time to leave,” Keith snapped irritably. Mentioning her was a low blow and Regris knew it. “Are you going to help me or are we going back to the base empty handed?”

In the end, Regris checked on the data Keith needed, reporting back an approximate eruption time of near forty doboshes, which gave them thirty to be on the ship and breaking the atmosphere so they could escape in time. Keith set an alarm and headed out.

Even with his protective suit, the heat that hit him the moment he stepped foot on the surface was immense and he staggered back. He lost precious ticks as he recovered and then as he turned on the detector and let it determine the direction he needed to go. It beeped once, directing him towards a massive volcano which had what appeared to be large, round tunnels dug through it.

“Regris, I think I have to go in,” Keith reported.

“Keep an eye on your time. Eruption on course for thirty-four doboshes.”

Keith nodded, though Regris couldn't see, and headed into the volcano, following the radiation trail that belonged to the weapon. The heat was even worse the deeper he walked and he could see orange light shining through the cracks. After ten doboshes, his radio began to turn to static in his ears and he tried to reach Regris, but got no response.

He should have turned back. It was too dangerous to continue going deeper and there was no guarantee he would be able to make visual contact and get back to a point where he could report his findings to Regris if he did.

Something called him deeper.

Not a voice, but a feeling. Like a gut feeling that if he went just a little further, everything would work out fine. Everything he was looking for was right ahead.

The tunnel began to curve as the countdown turned red in his visor, warning him that he had ten doboshes left to run back to the ship. He could do it if he tried, but he pressed on instead. He was so close to finding it, he could feel it.

More cracks appeared in the walls and Keith swore, finally jarred out of the almost mesmerizing sensation he was feeling. The panic began to set in and for a moment, he thought about turning to run back, despite all logical thought telling him he would never make it back – and then a roar reverberated through the caverns, making everything around him tremble and begin to break apart faster. Magma seeped through the cracks and suddenly his suit was barely working to keep the heat at a manageable level.

Another roar spurred him into running forward, throwing himself to one side as a chunk of solid rock sloughed away from the wall and magma surged forward.

Keith nearly tripped as he sprinted into a massive cavern and leaped over a jagged wall of hardened magma, only to stop dead in his tracks as he realized what sat in the very center of the cave.

A huge red lion made of metal, which bowed its head to him as he stared back at it, its glowing eyes regarding him with curiosity as the volcano ripped itself apart around them. A strange sort of purr, tinged with a ringing metallic sound, came from the beasts mouth as it nudged its lower jaw towards him, as though inviting him to reach out.

Keith slowly pressed his hand to the underside, gasping as images of four other lions flooded his mind. He jerked away before he could be shown anything else and the red lion lashed its tail in irritation.

“I-I don't understand,” Keith glanced back, watching as more and more magma seeped into the cavern. “Are you the weapon the empire is looking for? But then... what you showed me – does that mean there are more like you?”

The red lion held its position.

“Okay,” Keith muttered to himself. “Okay, so there's a giant red lion and the empire wants it because they think it's some kind of weapon?” He looked at the lion, hoping it would give him a sign that he was on the right track. Which was ridiculous. It was a machine, it couldn't really tell him anything.

Except it had given him that vision. Somehow.

“Can you get us out of here?” he asked instead.

Still nothing.

Keith's temper flared. “If I touch you again, will you give me some kind of response or am I going to die here talking to myself?!” He didn't wait for a response that time and smacked his hand against its lower jaw, at which point he found himself sucked into a vision for a second time.

Four other lions – in green, yellow, blue, and black – raced alongside of the red one, flying together until they began to shift in shape, coming together to form an even larger bipedal robot. From there it was flashes of the robot in action, sometimes with canons, sometimes with a shield, and others with a flaming sword.

The images faded away gently, leaving behind a strange, tingling feeling in the back of his mind.

The red lion bowed down lower and opened her (not it) mouth, allowing him inside.

Keith could almost hear a soft voice whisper to him as he found his way to the cockpit and settle down in the seat. Red light lit up around him as she came to life and began to move with little input from him, and then they were blasting through the side of the volcano, escaping from a painful demise.

“We need to find Regris,” Keith said, scanning over the data presented to him on the HUD. He zoomed in one what he thought was a shuttle, though his worries increased when he realized it was still within the planet's atmosphere. At the speed he was going, he wouldn't clear it in time. “There! Will we be able to pick him up?”

The red lion roared her assent and they swooped in, flying alongside of the shuttle. It took Keith a few ticks to connect to the frequency they used on missions.

“Regris, it's Keith, do you read me?”

Regris swore loudly. “What the zahk is that!?”

“I'll explain later. Right now I'm opening the, uh, cargo doors?” Keith double checked to make sure he was seeing things correctly. “Dock your ship and we'll get out of here. We don't have long.”

“Fine, but you get to explain this mess to Kolivan after everything you just put me through.”

Keith closed his eyes, already dreading the lecture he was going to have to sit through on top of a lengthy debrief. If he thought being grounded for three phoebs was bad, it was nothing compared to the punishment Kolivan would deal out once he learned out how recklessly Keith acted. It didn't matter that he found what they were looking for or that the mission was a success.

Regris would certainly not be painting a pretty picture of the way things went down either.

“Right,” Keith reluctantly agreed. “I'll tell Kolivan.”

[nexthecryptid]

This is Home Ch. 1

Summary: 

A pack called the Galra are up to something, and it's somehow tied to the disappearances of creatures, and the increase of demonic activity. Keith had somehow stumbled into the danger when he found his mother, making the choice to stay away from his friends to keep them safe. But in the end it didn't even matter. They've got targets on their heads, and the Galra are slowly closing in on his home town Arus. He isn't sure how to face his friends... Two years was a long time to be gone. ... There are rumors that are floating around VLD University, crazy ones. While some of them Lance could tell was him or his friends, there are others that were... inexplicable. To make matters worse, he's having dreams again, dreams about someone who just vanished. It felt like he was being haunted. Lance didn't know he was going to have other things to worry about until the ghost revealed himself.

...

Prefer to read it on A03?  Read it Here!

. Next 

“You won't ever lose me Keith.”

…

Lance’s eyes snapped open, nearly choking on the air he inhaled almost too quickly as he was shoved into consciousness.  He couldn’t help but whine, his eyes stinging from the light that bled into his room through his window. He was tempted to pull the sheets over his head, wanting nothing more than to just go back to sleep.  But he had things to do, and chances were, he wouldn’t have been able to go back to sleep anyway. With a defeated sigh, he rolled out of bed, letting out a loud and obnoxious yawn.  

He grabbed his phone from under his pillow, pulling the cord out before checking it.  He swiped away most of his notifications, either being one of his game apps or social media telling him to check out such-and-such.  He hummed a song he had been listening to the night before, walking around his room to start his morning routine. He chucked his work outfit onto the bed, opening his calendar to double check when his shift was. 

His eyes fell on the day highlighted in red, his humming cut short as a wave of emotions crashed into him.  It was the weekend before classes started, a weekend left before he was thrown into another year of projects and essays, assignments piling up with the stress that school gave him.  But he wasn’t thinking about school, wasn’t thinking about how it was his last year and if he was going to graduate or flunk.  

No... the only thing Lance could think about was… 

“Because I don’t want to lose you Lance…”

Lance’s jaw tightened as he let his phone drop onto his desk, sitting heavily in his chair as he tried everything to not think about it.  But that’s not how the mind works.  Everything he could think of somehow always related back to him .  He ran a hand through his hair, groaning as he let his head fall to the desk.  With a small ‘ow’ he huffed and rested on his chin, eyes closed as he began humming again.  

A familiar blue flower came into view when he opened his eyes, a sigh of defeat escaping him.  He sat up and scooted closer, picking up the fake flower from the pen holder and turning it slowly.  He brushed his fingers against the petals as if they were delicate, petting them into place as the song he had been humming changed.  He touched the necklace that laid over his chest, running his thumb over the crystal for comfort. He could feel the sadness welling behind his eyes again, but he smiled regardless, letting himself fall back into the memory.  

There were so many nice things to remember about Prom night.  His best friend Hunk had went with his new girlfriend at the time, both of them awkwardly talking when they had arrived.  After a while though, Shay had shyly asked him to dance, and the two seemed to relax, enjoying themselves as the first date nerves fluttered away.  Pidge had been working the lights and sound, not really one for dancing. They seemed to enjoy themselves though, helping out the DJ whenever he needed a break or talking to him as the students partied on.  Since Shiro and Allura had already graduated, hey hadn’t gone. But they were texting them every so often to check on them like worried parents. And Lance…  

Lance had gone with Keith.  

They were practically inseparable the entire night, never leaving each other’s side for long.  Initially they had just hung back from the main dance floor, finding themselves a table and talking about things he couldn’t remember.  Lance did most of the talking though, often cooing over an outfit, and Keith seemed content with just listening to him. But when he had made a comment about some of the couples dancing, humming along to the songs that he knew, Keith had suddenly got up.  

“Keith?” He asked, watching as his friend moved over to in front of him.  

“Wanna go dance?” Keith asked, holding his hand out for him.  He wasn’t sure if it was the lights or if he was just blind, but was pretty sure Keith was flustered, avoiding his gaze as he waited for Lance to respond.   

“I have never seen you dance before.” Lance commented, taking his hand and following him out to the dance floor.  

“That’s…  Uh…” Keith cleared his throat, looking at him only when they had found themselves a spot on the dance floor.   

“Well?” He asked, raising a brow, stifling a few giggles at the face his prom date made.  It was like he had eaten something sour.  

“I…  I don’t actually know how to dance.” He admitted, awkwardly holding his arms out before letting them fall to his sides, his shoulders tense.  

“That’s okay!  I’ll show you.” Lance assured, noting that Keith was putting himself in a very uncomfortable situation.  He was stepping out of his comfort zone… for him.   He wanted to make it as fun as possible.  

It was obviously awkward at first, Keith just watching Lance and trying to copy his movements.  But after a while, a few jokes and teases later, Keith was starting to loosen up, dancing along to the beat.  It didn’t matter if it was good or bad, it only mattered that they were having fun .  Even when the crowd grew, Keith only moved closer, Lance holding his hand to keep from losing him.  

When the music slowed and people started to walk off for their own reasons, Lance figured they would do the same.  But Keith didn’t move to leave, instead stepping closer and placing his free hand on his hip, smiling so warmly that Lance had lost any thought of stopping him.  He placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a quizzical look as they began swaying.  

His heart nearly stopped when Keith began leading him into a slow dance.  

“I thought you said you didn’t know how to dance?” He said quietly, trying to keep his composure.  

“It’s more accurate to say that I don’t know how to dance to the music you dance to.” He chuckled.  

Lance was pulled from his thoughts when his alarm went off, letting out a soft sigh out before gently sitting the flower back in its place.  He took his time as he went through his morning routine, continuing to hum the song that reminded him of Prom.  

Once he was fully dressed in his work clothes, he grabbed the bag that was hanging from his chair, deciding to take his jacket as well and headed towards the door.  He patted himself for a second before turning back, swiping his phone from the desk, before leaving his room and heading into his kitchen.  

Checking the time, he was pleased that he was leaving just on time, grabbing his keys and wallet he had left on the kitchen counter the night before.  He stuffed them into his bag, never once stopping as he grabbed his shoes from the hallway closet.  

“Three….  Two… One…” He whispered as he slipped his shoes on, looking down at his phone in time to see it light up with a call.  

“Hello?” He answered, already stepping out and locking the door behind him.  

“Good Morning Lance~!  I’m outside.” Hunk called through the phone, making him snicker a little.  

“On time as usual.  I’m on my way down now.” He hung up, pocketing his phone as he went down the stairs.  He passed by a few students as he did so, greeting them with a wave and a polite smile.  

As he exited the apartment complex, he couldn’t help but feel something off.  It was like there was some sort of shift in the air, like someone, or something had done something.  Or maybe… like something was going to happen.  It made him pause, his steps slowing as he took the chance to look around.  It seemed normal enough. Students were walking to and from his building, some choosing to hang out on the lawns that sat in front, others rushing off to class. 

A loud hon startled him though, making his heart pound in his chest.  A second one drew his attention to the source, spotting Hunk waving his arm out the car window with a large grin on his face.  

  “Hey Lance!  Come on! We don’t want to be late for work!” He called.  Lance gave himself a moment to relax, shaking his head as if he could shake the feeling out of his head.  

“Sorry!  I guess I got lost in thought!” He laughed as he ran up to the car.  

He’d worry about it later.  

…  

“Okay!  I’ve got a Beach Cheeseburger with a side of onion rings, the Onion Cheeseburger with the side of season fries, and an order of Dino Nuggets and a side of grapes for the Queen of Dinoland!  Can I get you anything else?” Lance declared, setting the plates down to their designated person, making sure to give a wink to the small girl who giggled over her food.  

“I think we’re all set for now?” The father said, looking to his daughter and son for confirmation before smiling back at him.

“Perfect!  I am off for the night, so, this lovely lady here will be helping you for the rest of your meal.” He said, winking to the waitress who stood beside him.   She laughed and rolled her eyes, bumping her shoulder with his.  

“Hello!  If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me over.” She said sweetly, the family giving their thanks.

“Have a wonderful night!” Lance said before leaving, trusting Nyma to care for his customers.  

He hummed along to the song that was playing overhead, heading towards the backroom.  As he passed by the other tables, he noticed that his friends had gathered at their usual table, raising a brow and quickly walking over.  

“I’m guessing we’re eating dinner here tonight?” He asked as he walked up, not bothering with greeting them.  

“You’d guess correctly.” Shiro chuckled.

“We figured it would be nice to eat dinner together before our Senior year begins.” Adam said, who was sitting beside him.  

“Ugh, don’t remind me.  We’re all going to die.” Pidge grumbled, looking up from their phone.   

Lance laughed a bit, reaching into his apron to grab his notebook.  

“Are you guys getting the usual?” He asked, ready to start writing when Allura placed a hand on his arm.  

“Oh don’t worry about that Lance.  Luxia stopped by and already took our orders.” She reassured.

 “Damn she’s good.” He huffed.  Hunk walked up then, already out of his work clothes and holding his bag.  

“Did you already switch Nyma over to your tables?” He asked, taking a seat besides Allura.  

“Yeah.  I just wanted to get everyone’s orders in, but it seems the Queen as already did so.” He snickered, Hunk snorting at the nickname Lance had given their boss. 

“Damn she’s good.” Hunk muttered.  

“That’s what I said!”

…

After dinner, they had all settled into a conversation about the upcoming year.  Schedules were exchanged in order to make future plans to hang out, or at the very least to study together.  It was crazy to think about really. They were only a year away from graduating, but it felt like they had only just started school.  But three years blurred by and here they were, with only two semesters left in their programs. Shiro and Allura had already graduated, and Lance had to admit that he was jealous.  They had barely seen the two graduates and when they did see them, they had both looked like they were dying. Lance wasn’t ready for all of that.  

“I’m not ready to be old like Shiro and Allura.” He huffed, pushing his empty plate so he could lean against the table.  

“We’re not even that old!” Allura argued.  

“Allura, we’re already graying.” Shiro joked, pointing to their hair.

“It’s okay Dad.  We’ll be sure to put you in a very gold old people’s home.” Lance said, patting him on the shoulder.

“We are not sending Dad into a group home!” Hunk argued.  

“Thank you!  I’m glad someone here loves me!” Shiro whined, reaching over to hug Hunk.  

“I love you.” Adam said casually, the group snickering as Shiro began sputtering, clearly flustered.  

“I’ll make sure you and Adam are-”

“Oh Lance!” The voice that cut Hunk  him made him tense. He looked away from his friends and spotted who had spoken, unconsciously scooting closer to Adam.  

“Lotor.” He managed to say politely, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from grimacing.  The smile Lotor wore was too polite to be real, his eyes holding a look that made Lance nauseous.  

“How are you?  How was your summer?.” He hummed in question, Lance jumping when he felt Lotor place a hand on his shoulder.

“Um good.” He mumbled, gently shrugging the hand off.  Lotor didn’t seem very pleased by that, simply leaning in a little.  He could feel all eyes on them, noticing Hunk shifting a bit in the corner of his eye.  If he didn’t finish this quickly, he was pretty sure his friends would get involved, knowing full well that they didn’t have a problem defending him.  Before he could say anything else though, Lotor spoke.  

“That’s good to hear!  Did you see your family?  How are they?”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but in case you weren’t aware, you’re asking a lot of questions for someone who’s only Lance’s classmate.”  Pidge said bluntly with a look that made Lance feel like he should call an ambulance.  

“I’ve just noticed that you tend to hang around school or work here during the summer and was just curious.  There’s a few rumors that go around you know, and I simply want to make sure you’re alright.” Lotor didn’t even acknowledge Pidge, continuing on as if there wasn’t five people glaring holes into him.  If Lance didn’t like him, he’d probably be impressed. But now he was curious too.

“Rumors?  What kind of rumors?” He asked.  

“That you haven’t gone home to see your family because you’re waiting for someone to come back who’s been gone for two years…?  The same person who left his own brother.” It was like he was being tested, his reaction being the answer to Lotor’s questions. He got what he wanted too, because Lance didn’t respond.  

“Oh dear…  Lance-” 

“I think you should leave.” Hunk had stood as he spoke, standing over him.  

Lance winced, trying to tell them that it was okay, but his mouth felt like it had been sealed shut, his tongue suddenly made of lead.  He gripped his necklace harshly, unable to move as his body seem to freeze in place. His breathing stuttered, Lance doing everything he can not to start hyperventilating.  Some part of him was still aware though, a voice sounding clear and muffled at the same time trying to talk to him. He couldn’t focus though, staring at them but not really seeing them.  Somehow though, when Lotor started talking, he heard him loud and clear. 

“I’m going to do you a favor and say what everyone’s too afraid to say-”

“Lotor don’t-”

“It’s been two years since he’s abandoned you all.  You have to face the truth.. Keith isn’t coming back.” 

Lance’s eyes widened, the words hitting him like a punch to his gut.  He grabbed the cup in front of him, completely forgetting what he had been drinking, and threw it in Lotor’s face, his body shaking as he glared at him.  He wasn’t sure what emotion to really feel, hurt or angry, but his body seemed to move on it’s own accord as he lifted the glass up. He was ready to go as far as hit Lotor, but someone grabbed his arm before he could, pulling him back into the booth and holding onto him.  Hunk had moved in front of him at some point, blocking his view of Lotor as he took over the situation.  

His chest hurt.  

“Leave.” Hunk practically growled, his fists clenched at his sides.

“Look, I’m only trying-”

“Excuse me, I believe that he has asked you to leave.” A voice said softly.  Lance looked to see their boss smiling sweetly, her hands clasped together in front of her as she stood on the other side of the booth.  

“And you are?” Lotor asked, the want to punch him flaring up again.  But Adam had a tight hold on him, and Hunk would have stopped him before he could even get up.  

“Luxia.  You are causing a disruption in my Diner and preventing my customers and my employees from having a peaceful meal.  If you can’t remove yourself independently, I will gladly find someone to escort you with no problem.” The way she spoke must have thrown him off because the other didn’t respond right away.  

“...Forgive me.  I’ll be on my way now.” Lotor said, his voice tight.  

“I’ll be sure to keep him from you all in the future.  If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” Luxia said, her voice soft and genuine as she looked to them.  She was like a mother and Lance couldn’t help but smile at that. She followed after Lotor, probably making sure to keep her promise.  

Lance listened more than watch as Lotor walked away, relaxing when he heard the familiar jingle of their door.  He was let go then, the movements hesitant as if he was going to get up and chase after him. He’d be lying if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind now that he was free but he wasn’t going to win against Hunk who was still standing protectively in front of him.  

“Thanks for stopping me from doing something I probably would have regretted.” Lance said to Shiro, leaning into the other’s touch as he rubbed his back.  

“Any time.” He responded.

“God what an asshole.” Pidge sneered.  The group hummed in agreement.  

“Let’s head home for the night.” Hunk suggested, rubbing the back of his neck.  

“I believe that’s for the best.  I’m sure we could all use some rest after all of…  that.” Allura said, slipping out, Hunk helping her up.  

“If he’s out there still, I’m going to stab him.” Pidge warned, getting up.  Lance snorted.  

“Please don’t encourage them.” Shiro sighed.  

“Sorry Dad.”

… 

They all gathered in the parking lot after they were done paying, walking each other to their car per usual.  Allura had offered Pidge a ride home, the both of them getting into Allura’s car and driving off first, Allura having to work in the morning and Pidge being the closest one to her.  Adam and Shiro walked him and Hunk to Hunk’s car, an old habit they all had after hearing some bad stories on the news.  

“Lance, can I talk to you for a second?” Shiro asked.  Lance swallowed nervously, looking to Hunk and motioning him to get in without him.  

“What’s up?” He asked, waving to Adam who had gotten in their car.  

“What…  What Lotor said…  Do you believe him?” He asked, his question clearly hesitant.  But he kept his emotions in check, Lance unable to get a read on how Shiro was feeling. 

“No.  I don’t.  I don’t believe in an asshole who’s only been trying to harass me into giving him the time of day.  What I believe in is one of my best friends and your brother! I believe in Keith and he told both you and me that he was coming back!  And Keith doesn’t go back on his word. That idiot is too stubborn to go back on his word. And when he does come back, you and I are going to kick his ass for making us worry about him!  He’s going to come back! He has to! You can’t listen to Lotor! You can’t give up on him Shiro! You can’t!” He choked back sobs, wiping his tears away furiously.  

“Hey, hey breathe.  Breathe Lance.” Shiro said, quickly pulling him into a tight hug.  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think that. I know he’s coming back.  Lotor’s wrong and I know that.” 

“Why won’t he come back Shiro?  Why?” He sobbed, holding onto the other tightly.  

...

[whatarubberchicken]

The Bodyguard’s Tale -Chapter 5

The sh*t hath hit-ith the fan... ith.

<<Previous - Ao3 or ff.net - Next>>

Chapter 5

It took two more days for the accursed heat—or rut or whatever, Keith had already decided he hated it—to run its course. That was two days of pain and longing and loneliness—Lance didn’t make another appearance, and when Shiro was able to come see him, he kept his visits short because Keith got more and more snappy as the days went by.

Finally, he was able to resume his duties, with no small amount of relief. (And maybe it was just his imagination, but Hunk looked relieved too. Apparently, Lance had been extra snippy as well.) To his surprise, Lance actually gave him the silent treatment for a whole day, even after Keith tried to apologize for what had happened.

The day after that, he went to the prince’s chambers, fully intending to clear the air. Nothing major, he could do this. He just had to explain that he hadn’t been in his right mind, and nothing they’d said or done should be—Wait, where was Lance?

He wasn’t in his room.

He wasn’t in any of his usual haunts in the castle.

“Lance?”

Keith was starting to get nervous. Had Lance actually been kidnapped? During his time here, he’d been led to believe that nobody hated the royal family and his job was purely for ceremony! Surely—

“Hey, Keith,” Shiro called cheerfully, strolling down the halls with another ambassador. Keith wasn’t sure if their name was really Pidge or something else, he couldn’t figure this person out. (But they were from Olkarion, so maybe that was the point? The Olkari did love their puzzles….) “I thought you were with Lance.”

“I’m looking for Lance,” Keith corrected. “Have you seen him?”

The two ambassadors shared an ‘eek’ look.

“He was heading for the space port,” Pidge said. “Said he was meeting you there.”

“Oh, quiznak.” Keith took off running. Once he got to the space port, he searched every passenger vehicle he could find, praying that Lance hadn’t gotten a note from somebody claiming to be Keith so they could kidnap him and—wait, weren’t those the new prototypes King Alfor was designing?

Keith paused in his search to look more carefully. Why was the blue one activated?

Blue just happened to be Lance’s favorite color….

He raced over and entered the giant blue lion (Alfor had said they were a tribute to some kind of ancient Altean lion god or something) just before the jaw snapped shut. Even though Keith had never been in a ship like this before, he somehow knew exactly where to go.

Sure enough, there was Lance, sitting in the pilot’s seat.

“WHAT do you think you are doing?!” Keith snapped, storming up behind him.

Lance looked surprised to see him. “Aww, Blue, why’d you let him in?”

“Are you talking to the ship?!”

“Of course,” Lance said, stroking the side of the chair lovingly. “My pretty girl is very sensitive, you know. Not everybody sees me as ‘just their job.’”

Keith facepalmed. “We’re not even going to delve into everything that’s wrong with that statement—just, get up, we’re leaving.”

“No way!” Lance said, settling himself deeper into the seat. “I was just getting a feel for her!” He grabbed the controls.

“Lance, this is a prototype that your father has been working on for decaphoebs!” Keith pointed out. “Even if he gave you permission to fly it, which he won’t, it’s not equipped for—”

The rest of his statement was cut off by a loud roar, and then Keith was forced to grab onto the back of Lance’s chair as the lion blasted off. Lance whooped with excitement as the space port dwindled away behind them. With so many loops and swoops, even without gravity, Keith was starting to get a little dizzy.

“You are the worst pilot ever!!” he yelled, his teeth jarring together as Lance grazed yet another asteroid. “Did you even take a class on how to fly one of these things?!”

“Of course not!” Lance shouted back, not an inch of remorse in his tone. “As you said, they’re prototypes! And it’s almost like it’s on autopilot—”

“AUTOPILOT AROUND THAT MOON, THEN!!”

“WHOOPS!” The Blue Lion lurched out of the way at the very last second. “Oof, that could’ve been bad.”

“BAD?! YOU ALMOST FLATTENED US!”

“Relax, Keithy! Has anyone ever told you you’re a very uptight kinda guy?” Lance teased, glancing up at Keith from where he still had a firm grip on the controls. “Hey, I know! Let’s take this baby to the Space Mall!”

“La-ance,” Keith groaned, but there was nothing he could do. Blue didn’t respond when he tried to wrench the controls away from Lance. And that was when he remembered King Alfor’s speech about how these ships would choose their own pilots:  if you could get it to start, you could have it. But he didn’t think the king meant for his son to take the thing joyriding! Ugh, maybe he could spin this as some sort of training exercise?!

And secondly, he was kind of offended that Lance still considered him uptight. He’d loosened up a lot since he’d come to live on Altea! Didn’t Lance remember the Klanmüirls? Or the narwhals? None of the other Galra Commanders he knew would ever stand for that sort of thing!

The next thing he knew, they were actually at the Space Mall and Lance was getting out. Great. How was this his life? The good part was, they didn’t need to lock anything, because the Blue Lion put up a particle barrier as soon as they were clear, the bad part was… well, Lance in a space mall was like a kid in a candy store.

He wanted to go everywhere. At light speed.

After the fifth time Lance ran away from him, though, Keith was starting to sense a pattern: light speed was only being used to get away from his bodyguard. He quickly grabbed the prince in the hallway before he could dart off again.

“Look, I get that you’re mad at me—” he started.

“What?! Mad at you? Why, in all the cosmos, would I be mad at you, Keithy?!” Lance said, loudly and sarcastically.

Keith felt his eye twitch. “Can we not do this in public, please?” he asked quietly.

“Why not? Am I making you uncomfortable? Am I—” To Keith’s surprise, Lance cut himself off with a deep breath and a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought….” He trailed off with another sigh.

“You just thought what?” Keith asked, curious at the way Lance was blushing. No, surely not….

“Nevermind,” Lance said. He spotted something over Keith’s shoulder. “WHAT is THAT??” he exclaimed, pointing. Keith turned to look, only to find himself being pulled into a shop that sold all kinds of things. Knick-knacks, appliances, you name it. And it all came from—

“Earth?!” he exclaimed, as the salesman tried to get them interested in a strange-looking water fountain that doubled as a chair. “All of this comes from Earth??” He was suddenly much more interested in the merchandise. And, oh man, they HAD to get Shiro something!

Lance, meanwhile, was enamored with a large, benign-looking animal that stared out at them peacefully and occasionally said, “Moo.”

“I love her!” he squealed, hugging the animal. “I’m going to take her, and keep her, and hug her, and—”

“That there is a Kaltenecker,” the salesman said proudly. “One free with every purchase!”

Lance’s eyes gleamed.

“You can get ONE!” Keith said quickly, before Lance could buy out the whole store. Lance pouted, but Keith stood firm. “One for now,” he negotiated. “Just to make sure you can take care of her and she doesn’t come with any weird… surprises.”

After a bit more whining, Lance agreed, and for their purchase, they bought Shiro a rectangle with some weird drawings on it that the salesman insisted was an entertainment box. (Keith didn’t see how such a thing would be entertaining, but maybe Shiro would know how to work it.)

Then, Lance was starving, and they had to get some food. Keith agreed, but he didn’t think Kaltenecker enjoyed Lance’s attempts to serve her whatever Vrepit Sal’s had given them. He also had no idea what she was chewing on….

“Is that a cow?” they heard a familiar voice exclaim. Keith and Lance looked over, and sure enough, there was Shiro, heading straight for them. Followed closely by Pidge and an irate-looking Hunk.

“She’s my new Kaltenecker!” Lance said proudly.

“Kaltenecker?” Shiro repeated, looking at Keith.

“I don’t know,” he said, throwing his hands up helplessly. “It doesn’t seem like it’s gonna eat him, so I figured it’d be okay.”

Shiro at least had the decency to laugh into his hand.

“Oh man,” Hunk said, also examining the creature, “I dunno how this is gonna do in the Klanmüirl enclosure, but hey, I’m sure we’ll work something out.” He turned to Lance. “So, bad news, your dad says you’re grounded.”

“Awww,” Lance groaned.

“And good news, he’s so stoked you got a Lion running, it’s probably not gonna be for long,” Hunk continued.

“Yes!” Lance fist-pumped.

“More good news, you activating a Lion seems to have kicked them all into gear, because the Yellow one chose me, and Green chose Pidge here.”

Beside him, Pidge waved absently, looking more interested in the little box they’d gotten for Shiro.

“REALLY?” Lance looked delighted.

“Yeah, so as soon as you get home, we’re gonna have to do a bunch of tests and stuff, but until then, more bad news…,” Hunk bit his lip and looked uncertain. “You guys didn’t just happen to bring Allura with you, did you? ‘Cause nobody can find her or Lotor anywhere.”

Lance sat straight up. “Allura’s missing?!”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Hunk said, waving his hand dismissively. “More importantly, what the heck are you guys eating? Is that even food?!” He examined their lunch with expressions that ranged from “interested” to “horrified.”

Lance and Keith exchange a glance that needed no words. Their siblings weren’t the type to just go off without any warnings to anybody, that was their MO. Allura and Lotor were too… responsible. Whatever had happened….

“You’re right, Hunk,” Lance said, quickly. “Let’s get some real food back at the castle! I wanna see who else gets a Lion. You want one, Keithy? You know you do!” he teased.

“No, I’ve got my hands full with you,” Keith grumbled. (Yes, he did. He really did. He’d seen how quickly and effortlessly Blue had responded to Lance’s handling and he was certain he could do better…. Oh, how he wanted a chance!)

“How about you, Shiro?” Lance was asking, talking fast to cover up his nervousness about his sister’s disappearance.

“I thought I felt something from the Black one,” Shiro admitted, still absently petting Kaltenecker. “But King Alfor assured me it wouldn’t move until the others were paired off. Something about it being the leader.”

“Cool! Well, lead on, Captain, Sir!”

“Ha ha, Lance,” Shiro said dryly, as they all headed back towards the entrance. “Tell me, what are you going to do with a cow, anyway?”

“I dunno,” Lance said, giving it another hug. “What do you usually do with cows?”

“I could teach you how to milk it.”

“Really?! What’s that?”

Shiro’s explanation left Keith a little weirded out, but Lance seemed eager enough to try. Not that he got much of a chance. After flying the three Lions back to Altea, they were greeted by an excited crowd in the Lions’ hangar at the space port, all of them eager to try for the remaining two. Black and Red’s shields remained up, however, even when Lance tried to push his way to the front of the crowd.

Keith, already nervous about potential assassins in this crowd, got the signal from Alfor to get his son out of there, and quickly pulled Lance away. It didn’t matter if the prince was complaining that he could hold his own. Nor did it matter that Hunk and Pidge had carefully separated themselves already to try to take control of this mess. Even the fact that Keith could hear a low rumbling in the back of his brain that sounded like purring when he looked at the Red Lion… his first and only priority was Lance’s safety. Altea had already lost its heir today, they didn’t need to lose the spare too.

Fortunately, the king and queen joined them in Lance’s room soon after, before Keith and Shiro ran out of ways to keep him distracted. Queen Melenor ran straight to Lance and threw her arms around him, sobbing. That was the first indication they’d gotten that something was truly wrong.

“We thought maybe Lance had convinced Allura to take him with her,” Alfor said, looking pale and shaken. He laid a heavy hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Thank you for always taking such good care of my son.”

“Sir?” he said, unable to keep his questioning tone to himself.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked, his voice wavering as he started to panic. “Where’s Allura? Mom?! Dad?!”

“All we found was a note!” Queen Melenor burst into tears again and hugged Lance even tighter.

“It seems she and Prince Lotor have spent their time together—when they were supposed to be courting—researching how to get to Oriande,” Alfor said, regretfully shaking his head.

“Oriande?” Lance yelped. “But that’s—that’s a myth!” Keith could tell: now Lance was truly panicking. “And, even if it wasn’t, all the stories say it’s a… a….”

“A one-way journey,” Alfor finished for him. “Which is why, if we don’t find them soon, we may have to declare your sister missing… indefinitely.”

“NO!” Lance cried, wrenching himself away from his mother. Keith quickly caught him in his arms—not tight enough to cage, just enough to ground him—and led him over to a small padded bench nearby. Lance sat, still shaking his head in denial but not trying to get away from Keith. “No, no, no… there’s has to be way—the Lions! Dad, could we use the Lions to get to her?!”

“We don’t even know which way they’ve gone,” Alfor reminded him sadly. “I, too, looked for Oriande in my youth, but I never even came close. I finally forced myself to abandon the hunt when your mother became pregnant. And now, I—” the poor king swallowed and looked away, “I regret every bedtime story I ever told you two about that place.”

Both Lance and Queen Melenor hurried to reassure their king that, no, none of this was his fault. They loved him and they’d get through this as a family. Meanwhile, Keith stood off to the side, watching silently.

Lotor. Lotor was missing too, but instead of being anxious or worried about him, all Keith could think was, ‘Dammit, brother! You’re going to cost us the alliance! What were you thinking?!’

Was that normal? Surely, he should be upset, right? Crying and worried about his family like Lance? Why—why wasn’t he?

He heard Shiro come up behind him and looked over when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?” Shiro asked.

Keith thought about it for a moment. “I’m worried about Allura,” he finally confessed. “And I’m a little annoyed at Lotor. I’m sure he talked her into it, after all. He’s been obsessed with Altean lore ever since we were kids.” He looked at his friend. “Is that…? Shouldn’t I be worried, or panicking, or something? I mean—” Keith faltered. “He’s my brother! I’ve always been loyal, to him and the Empire, but…. Is there something wrong with me?”

“I doubt it,” Shiro said, the knowing smile back on his face. “Think about it. If it was Lance who was missing, what would you do?”

“I’d pull out all the stops to find him immediately,” Keith said, not even having to think about it. “I’d use every resource I had until I found him. No matter how long it took.” His chest constricted painfully just thinking about a scenario like that.

Shiro was giving him that look that said he was almost there in getting the correct answer; he just needed to dig a little deeper. Keith thought about it.

“But… that’s just because he’s my responsibility, isn’t it?” he asked, almost desperately. “It doesn’t mean anything….”

Shiro gave him a much softer smile, his eyes twinkling with laughter. “I didn’t say anything about that,” he pointed out. “But fine, if you want to play that game, imagine if Lance wasn’t your responsibility. Would you still feel the same?”

“I—I don’t know!” Keith exclaimed, much too loudly. It caught the attention of the royal family, who realized the two were still in the room with them.

“Think about it,” Shiro whispered, as King Alfor made his way over to them.

“Ah, Prince Keithyr,” he said uneasily. Keith winced. Oh, right. Now that Lotor was gone, he was expected to take on ambassador duties for the Empire, wasn’t he? This was gonna get awkward. “Our most humble apologies and deepest condolences go out to you and the Empire as well. Forgive me my momentary lapse in protocol—”

Yep. Super awkward.

“Please, your majesty,” he said, holding up a hand to forestall any further ‘niceties.’ “You don’t ever need to apologize to me. Officially, I can’t apologize to you either, but—” he sighed, “unofficially, I want to kick my brother in the….” He trailed off with a vague handwave, very aware that it was against protocol to swear in front of the local monarch.

“Quiznak?” King Alfor finished for him with a small smile.

Keith shrugged helplessly. Yeah. That. Thank God the Alteans had come up with such an all-inclusive word.

“I’ll need to get ahold of the Emperor, to see how he wants to handle all of this….” Ugh, his list of responsibilities had just grown exponentially!

“Yes, I’ll need to make a statement as well…,” King Alfor trailed off, no doubt making his own list of new duties in the light of this tragedy.

Keith only half-paid attention, he kept glancing at Lance. For any other disaster, he’d be over there, making sure the prince was comfortable and didn’t do anything stupid… maybe offer him a friendly shoulder to cry on, or a bowl of his favorite comfort food. Now, all he could do was watch as Lance buried his face in his hands, trying to stifle his sobs.

And Keith hated it.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under A Purple Rain prt 44 full draft

Sitting in the pilots chair Keith was finishing up as he wrapped Lance’s welted wrist to prevent his husband from scratching at it further. His nails had turned the site into a bloody mess as they’d walked, Lance claiming he didn’t notice how badly he’d hurt himself until Keith was cleaning the wound up. Rather than opening their own medical supplies, Keith was his using the supplies on the pod in an attempt to do everything by the book. If the princess lodged some kind of official complaint over their behaviour, Keith would be able to show her the footage of him bandaging Lance’s wrist, and administering the on board antihistamine shot into his husband’s thigh with the injector gun. Kissing the bandage before securing it with a claw clip, Lance rolled his eyes at the action as Keith tried to be romantic about it. Keith didn’t need to look up to his husband’s face to know he had. He knew Lance well enough to know that was how he’d react. Ensuring the bandage was in place, the half Galra rolled Lance’s sleeve back down “All done” “Thank you. I don’t think I needed a bandage though” “You scratched your wrist up. It could have got infected if you’d left it”’ “I’m fine. You’re worrying too much” “You literally said you hated being itchy. Has the shot kicked in?” “No. If anything I’m itchier...” “I don’t know how long it takes for these kind of things to kick in” “Neither do I. I guess all that’s left is to head...” Lance didn’t get to finish his sentence as their surroundings shook with an ear splitting boom. Rushing from the pod, Keith grabbed his blade from his boot. Ahead of him was a rising plume of smoke, the sky reddening alarmingly before there was another great boom and the ground shook again. Turning back, he found Lance’s on the ground near the pod, both hands on his stomach, torn between the cause of the explosions and his husband, he shook his head slightly before hurrying back to his husband where he threw himself down beside him “Babe? Hey, babe?” Lance was wheezing, as if he couldn’t breathe. His fingers digging in to his stomach as he let out a gasp “Lance?!” “Something... something wrong. I can’t... I... ugh... it hurts!” “Babe?” “Uh... Keith.. it hurts... the twins... something’s wrong... I fell... it hurts... it hurts...” “Babe, in a scale of one to five how does it feel?” “Hurts... hurts so bad... I need... my meds... somethings wrong...” Keith glanced back over his shoulder, the pod wasn’t that far away, but it’s unique signature could probably be detected from a distance “... something’s... I think I’m bleeding” Doubling over, Lance hissed in pain. In the distance another boom came, accompanied by screams from the people in the temple. They were too exposed like this. Lifting Lance, Keith carried him to the temple wall. Sitting him down as carefully as he could, then taking his husbands face in his hands. Lance was panting like a fish out of water, his grip on his stomach so hard that his fingers were partly white with the effort. Fuck. Fuck. He needed to get Lance’s medication... finding his husband staring past him, Keith shook his shoulders gently “Lance?” “K... Keith... what’s that?” As the sky turned red around them, Keith reacted without thinking. Throwing himself over Lance, rubble flew over the top of them as more people screamed. Counting to ten ticks mentally Keith leaned back to assess his husband. Dust and dirty caused him to cough, his eyes watering as the irritants wafted through the air. Lance was shaking hard, his eyes scrunched up. Keith couldn’t hear much of anything other than the ringing in his ears and screaming. The wall behind Lance was mostly in tact, the openings other side of it were no longer chiselled for perfection, rubble strewn from the temple to the pod. “Keith! Lance!” Supporting Krolia, Curtis had his arm looped around his mother’s waist as he lead her over to them. A deep cut somewhere in his hair line as blood ran down his face. Leaning Krolia up against the remaining wall, his mother was rubbing her stomach as she forced down deep breaths. Fuck. That was right. He had two pregnant people he had to protect. He wanted to stand and rush to his mother’s aid, but Lance was now openly crying as he gripped his stomach... and where the quiznak was Shiro? He couldn’t see his brother. Other people were stumbling out the cloud of debris “What happened!?” “Lance fell!” His ears gave a weird pop as he yelled, Keith suddenly free to hear himself yelling “Curtis, you help Lance up. Get mum and him into the pod. I need to go find Shiro” Trying to release his hold on his husband, Lance grabbed his arms “Don’t go!” “Babe, I have to get your medication and I have to find Shiro” “Don’t leave me! Please, don’t leave me!” “I’ll be right back. Curtis, I need you to get him to safety” On his hands and knees, Lance reached for him as Curtis moved to intercept him, Keith’s arms torn through his jacket by his husband’s grip as he freed himself “No! Keith! Don’t leave me! Keith!” Screaming for him, Keith wanted to give in. But he didn’t know if Curtis was injured further than the blow to head... that’s why he’d changed his orders. If Curtis got Lance to the pod then he could get him his medication to stop whatever was happening due to the fall. He was faster and more mobile than his future brother-in-law. He needed to find Shiro. He needed to make sure his brother wasn’t harmed. He couldn’t lose him on this piece of shit planet... but Lance... His instincts were roaring at him to get his pregnant husband to safety. As the sky started to burn red, everything moved in a blur. Krolia grabbing Curtis by the arm and pulling him around the corner of the wall as Keith threw himself at Lance again. The wall and the side of the temple they were on dissolving into blackness as he was thrown off his feet by the blast. Pain tearing through his body so intensely he felt as if he was being doused in flame. Lasting a handful of ticks he unconscious as he smacked the ground hard, towards the twisted burning pile of metal where the pod had exploded within half a tick of the last blast. Lance thrown with him, both unconscious under the wall fragments. * “Keith!” Lance didn’t know how long he was out for, some enormous weight was laying across his body. His stomach had hurt so badly, feeling as if he’d chugged two litres of spoiled milk, each wave of cramping agony. His arm was stretched out, reaching for his husband. The hand that clasped his wasn’t Keith’s, Shiro’s robotic hand curling around his “Lance? Lance, can you hear me?” Groaning groggily, Lance’s eyes felt glued together with the grot of the dust and debris, never mind his throat “Don’t rush it. You’re ok. We’re back on Daibazaal. Kosmo’s on your legs...” Groaning, Lance lost the strength to hold his arm up, Shiro bending closer as he lowered Lance’s arm. Trying to open his eyes, his eye lashes stuck, another groan coming from his lips “Lance?” “Mmm... m’ eyes...” “Your face is a bit of a mess. Keep them closer for a tick” Dampening a tissue, Shiro wiped his gritty eyes clean, Lance grateful for the careful touch. As he’d work, he’d been dying to ask about Keith and his twins... he remembered explosions, and the pain, but had no idea how they ended up on Daibazaal “That’s better. You’re probably thirsty too. You’ve been out for the last two quintant. You spent a night in the pod... You came out sooner than we expected...” Lance coughed, wishing he could reply properly and not be half choked by the lump in his throat “Right. You’re probably thirsty. Hold on” Pouring him a glass of water, Shiro stabbed him in the nose with the straw, apologising as he finally got the straw into his mouth instead of up his nose. Knowing the drill, Lance took a couple of small sips before forcing himself not to gulp down the rest. There was a small clink as the older man placed the glass back down. Shiro looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept since the party “Shiro... sit...” “It’s ok, Lance. I’m fine standing. You have no idea how good it is to see you awake” “Ngh... just sit. You’re too tall” Reluctantly Shiro sat on the very edge of the infirmary bed, Lance’s hand slapping his thigh as he tried to find Shiro’s hand again. Thankfully Shiro took his hand before he blindly smacked his brother-in-law in the crotch “You need to stay still. You’re going to pull your IV line out if you keep moving” “You haven’t slept... I can tell...” And the only reason Lance was functional at all was because he was high as fuck. He could tell by the lack of pain, and the way his eyes kept shooting open every time they started to slide closed “I’m fine, Lance” “No... you’re not. ‘ can tell... where’s Curtis?” “He’s here. Concussion and minor injuries from rubble. Keith is still in the pod. Kolivan’s somewhere around here too. Krolia went into labour” “Is she ok?” “For the most part. They’re waiting until after she’s given birth to put her in a pod...” “Keith’s gonna be a big brother...” “Yeah. You should rest” “I’m ok... can’t feel anything bad” “That’s because you’re on medication. You’re still under observation. You had a serious bleed. The pod’s stopped it for now, but you need to remain calm and in bed” “Don’t want drugs, Shiro... please...” “Sorry. I know you don’t. I know, but it’s for the good of your twins” Lance appreciated Shiro was trying to answer him, but it was all going through one ear and being caught in his foggy mind without processing “Where’s Keith...?” “He’s in a pod, Lance. You were too” Shiro sounded tired. His back and side look tired... Shiro wasn’t facing him properly, probably because he was so tired “You need rest, Shiro. You don’t look good” “I will soon” “You’re no good if you’re sleepy” “You’re the one who should be resting” “Curtis will worry if you don’t... where is he?” “In the bed next to yours. He hasn’t woken up yet” “You should go sleep next to him” “I’m going to stay awake until he wakes up” “No... you should sleep... you need sleep... where’s Keith? “He’s in a pod. You need to get to some sleep” Shiro sounded so tired. Lance wasn’t that sleepy. He kept forcing his eyes open for some reason... and something warm was across his waist. Standing up, Shiro moved his arm, then patted the bed, Kosmo crawling up to huff at him as he dropped his head on Lance’s shoulder. Wrapping his arm around his fur son for him “Get some rest, Lance” Shiro didn’t look back at him as he walked away. Lance letting his head loll sideways so he could see Kosmo. Whining softly, his fur son pushed his nose up to his cheek. He’d missed his dopey boy... if Kosmo was with him, maybe Keith would be there soon? He hoped so... he couldn’t feel anything and he wasn’t sure what to think... He wanted Keith... but he wasn’t able to move to find his husband. He’d have to wait until Keith found him. * Wheeled by Shiro, Lance was confined to a wheelchair if he wanted to go anywhere. Keith was still in the pod, it’d already been one seriously long quintant since he’d woken up. Shiro was dozing in the chair beside his bed, waking when Kosmo yipped happily over Lance coming too. Krolia had asked Shiro to bring Lance to see her when he woke again, that was the only reason he was allowed this slice of freedom. Hitting the hand reader, the door slide open softly. Lance wrinkling his nose at the smell of sterility and disinfectant. Unaware of all the small lies told out of love, the Cuban thought he was going to see Krolia sitting up nursing her new child, instead he got Kolivan holding his child looking out of his depth... in front of Krolia, Curtis and Keith. All suspended in pods behind him. Feeling their sons moving, Lance bit his lip as he looked to his husband behind the glass. He hated pods with a passion. He hated them so fucking badly and now Keith was trapped behind one. His family were all trapped in pods. “Lance. Shiro...” Yep. Kolivan was way out of his depth. He looked as if he’d aged 10 years and not in a good way. Lance might be ready to break down crying at the sight behind him, but he was trying his god damn hardest not to “Hey, Kolivan. Congratulations... and who’s this?” Kolivan cast a glance to Krolia, before looking back down to his child. There was fondness in his face as he adjusted the blanket around the baby “K-... Yora, her name is Yora” Kolivan stumbled, Lance catching that there was something there. Yora... so close to “Yorak”... Yorak. The near name of the son of Krolia and her former lover. For that reason, Lance guessed her official name was still being decided “Hey, Shiro can you give Kolivan and I a moment?” “Lance?” Shiro had been “protective” of him, his every move watched by the man. Reaching up, he patted Shiro’s hand “I’ll stay in the wheelchair, you don’t need to worry... I have a feeling Krolia left a message for me, and Kolivan’s the one to pass it on. 5 doboshes max...” “Kolivan?” “I assure you no harm will come to him” “Maybe...” Shiro didn’t want to let him out of his sight. Lance knew there was more happening than what Shiro had told him. All his questions were met with the request to rest. But there were only so many vargas he could sleep, so many times Kosmo could nuzzle into him before giving him that sad whine because Keith wasn’t there. It wasn’t like his sleep was restful. His dreams were of Keith, so he didn’t want to sleep. He couldn’t get the scene of him screaming for his husband not to leave him from his mind. Of course, if something had happened to Shiro he never would have been able to forgive himself, but now it was obvious that Shiro was physically fine, he was angry that Keith had wanted to leave him... Emotionally... emotionally Lance was sure Shiro was on the same damn ship of depression he was. Feeling just as useless as they were forced to wait for the pods to evict the ones they loved the most “5 doboshes. No more than that, you’re not supposed to be out of bed for long... and I promised the medical team I’d monitor you” “Kolivan’s like my father-in-law already. Go take shower and get something to eat. I promise I won’t leave this room until you return” “I don’t want to be away from you...” “Kolivan is capable of hitting the call button if I need help. Go clean up. You’re not much of a silver fox with that greasy hair. I’m pretty sure you’ve still got bits of rubble in there” “Not as much as you do... I’m fine, Lance. Maybe we should...” Lance shook his head. He wasn’t having it. Shiro wasn’t fine. He wasn’t fine and he was a whole ocean away from being so. Even if he wasn’t fine, he might as well be clean and depressed instead “I’m not allowed to shower properly. You are. Now shoo. I’ve got a baby to meet” He wasn’t supposed to stand. Again, Shiro dodged his questions... he was getting pretty fed up with it all “If I find out...” “Not getting out of the chair. Pinky promise. Good hand and all” Shiro sighed, Lance not expecting him to kiss the top of his head as he moved his hands off the handles off the wheel chair “You’ll call...” “Kolivan will call. Now go clean up. Curtis will worry about you if you don’t at least pretend to look presentable” He knew he was being cruel using Curtis’s name, but it finally spurred Shiro into moving. He knew he’d hurt Shiro, but he also knew Shiro needed to take a little time to cry out what he was feeling, once he had, he’d be back. The Cuban didn’t need to turn back to know Shiro paused at the door before leaving him and Kolivan alone. Freed from his “babysitter” Lance wheeled himself carefully over to the chair that had been placed in the room. To him it looked as if it’d been added for Kolivan, or by Kolivan, as it a blanket lay folded neatly on cushion. Being as bad as the rest of them, Lance was confident that Kolivan hadn’t slept since they’d returned “I won’t tell Shiro if you don’t” Climbing out the chair, he nearly snagged his IV cannula on the way. He’d been freed from the drugs pumped into him for this unplanned trip, so was determined not to be hooked back up any time soon “Lance...” “It’s fine, Kolivan. I got the feeling you need someone to talk to, and honestly, I could use some honesty too. Here, you look a little out of you depth with Yora” Kolivan raised an eyebrow, Lance patting the space beside him as an invitation to sit “Krolia said you’d notice that immediately” “Mumma K knows us both way too well. I’ve got nieces and nephews and someone in the family was always having a baby, or a friend of a friend was. Kids were always in and out of the house. Plus, I’ve kind of got two on the way...” Finally sitting beside him, and not before Lance had started to feel stupid for patting he cushion for so long, Kolivan pulled the tip of the blanket back to reveal Yora. The little baby girl was every bit as beautiful as her mother, luckily for her “Oh, wow... She’s gorgeous” She had the same facial structure as her mum, with her marks. Her wispy hair was white, like her father’s. Tiny hands balled into tiny fists as she scrunched up her eyes, then let out a loud wail. Kolivan seemed startled by the noise. The poor man head over heels in love with his tiny daughter, with no idea how to care for her properly. As far as Lance knew, Yora was his first “I’m sorry... She’s been unsettled since Krolia went into the pod” “And she said I’d be able to help you out? Pass her to me” Passing her over, Kolivan’s size difference was almost comical. Yora seemed to be about the side of his head, all swaddled up carefully in her blue blanket. Supporting her, Lance smiled at the screaming cutie. He could feel his breasts starting to leak again at her crying. He couldn’t help but coo over her, wishing Keith was here to see this “I know. I know, it’s so hard when you’re so cute. Yes. Yes... I know, darling girl. Now, has daddy fed you? Or is he waiting for mummy?... oh wait... Are you a smelly little girl? Saved it all for your big brother-in-law? Kolivan, have you got nappies and wipes for her?” Yep. It was definitely a nappy change. As adorable as she was, she didn’t smell terribly adorable as cried harder “Uh...” Poor Kolivan was definitely new to this “Kolivan, she needs a nappy change. Did Krolia show you how?” “I... she did...” “Ok, don’t tell Shiro about this. You go get her things while I lay little miss down. I’ve changed more nappies then I can count” “You shouldn’t be exerting yourself” “I’m not. Krolia knows I’ve been around babies. She knows you probably need a bit of a helping hand. Plus, this little one makes a nice distraction from Keith being a pod. Don’t you, sweet girl? You look like your mummy, but you’ve got your daddy’s hair” Kolivan cleared his throat. Right. He was probably feeling instinctually insecure over having someone else handling his daughter and telling him how to take care of her “Don’t worry, I’m talking to her, not you. I’ll talk you through it if that’s better... She’s your little girl, you want to do everything for her. I get it. She’s such a little cutie. Maybe you can impress Krolia with your new skills?” Lance wished he had photo of Kolivan holding the nappies and wipes. He looked incredibly uncomfortable as he knelt in front of the chair, baby Yora laying on the blanket Lance had moved to cover the cushion with while Kolivan was fetching the supplies. Talking him through how to change a nappy, Lance felt he might as well have been talking Kolivan through how to diffuse a bomb with the level of concentration across his face. Yora wasn’t impressed by it all, while Lance couldn’t keep his eyes off her beautiful little face. Her lilacy-purple skin was something else. She looked so soft and warm, and a little on the chubby side. Kolivan had never had to deal with the black tarry poop of a newborn, the sight cheering him up far more than Shiro had managed to. Getting her changed, Lance talked Kolivan through how to swaddle her back up so she felt safe and warm, grateful to be allowed a second hold while Kolivan cleaned up the mess he’d made. As her cries petered down, her brilliant purple eyes blinked up at him. Lance finally breaking down into tears as he moved his finger so her hand could grip on “You’re very skilled with infants” “She’s a pup. Krolia taught me that much. But yeah, my big brother Luis and his wife Lisa have two girls and a boy. And my family is kind of massive so I used to baby sit a fair bit. She really is gorgeous, but I have to say, I’m not a fan of the name” There was few moments of silence, Lance wondering if he’d pushed too far. He knew Kolivan was also unsure of the name. Sitting back beside him, Kolivan leaned over, almost looming over his baby girl “What’s wrong with her name?” “It makes you uncomfortable. I know you adore Krolia, and I know you respect her, but I also know that Krolia wanted to call Keith “Yorak”. I kind of feel like it’d be like me calling one of my children “Allura”. I know Keith would be ok with it, but I’d also always wonder if he really was... Does that make sense? I don’t want to sound rude, but I also noticed it before. You hesitated. She’s beautiful, and “Yora” is a pretty name, but I kind of feel it’s not the name you want to give her. Like a name of your own... You can tell me to be quiet if you think I’m being rude, and stuff...” Kolivan let out a soft sigh “Krolia and I have discussed this” “I know you have. Mumma K and I had a talk to... Especially because... well, you know about that favour I asked for. What would you have named her?” “I don’t really know. She’s so much smaller than I expected... I’ve never...” A flustered Kolivan was kind of sweet and cute in its own way, not that he’d ever say that out loud. It was Krolia’s job to fawn over him “What about... Kora? Instead of Yora? It’s close to Yora, but it’s more like... your own? ‘cause it’s like Kolivan, so that’s the “Ko” and “Ra” from Krolia... ok, so it’s not the same, but she’s half of you and half of Mumma K. Keith says I talk to much when I’m tired, so if I’m talking too much then just tell me” Even in “New Dad Mode” Kolivan was slightly scary. Lance felt he had to keep talking because Kolivan wouldn’t fill out the gaps in the conversation or initiate it if he didn’t. An awkward silence was likely to kill him right off if Shiro’s worrying was to be believed “Kor-ra... Korra... I shall think about it” “It’s probably stupid listening to me though. Keith and I are terrible at talking, but you and Krolia talk. She loves you... and you’re supposed to be able to tell the one you love these things. I promise she won’t be mad” Yeah. He’d definitely overstepped by bringing up the Kolivan wasn’t sure over his daughter’s name. Lance was sure he’d shoot anyone who insulted either of his sons’ names... but someone had to tell Kolivan to talk to Krolia and that it was okay to, that he had rights and that was perfectly okay “You’re handling this rather well” “Which bit?” “All of it” Lance snorted, he wasn’t handling things, not at all “That’s because no one wants to be honest with me. Every time I ask Shiro what happened, he tells me to rest. I remember the explosions. I remember needing help, but then it all goes black... I know something’s wrong, if it was only a bleed then the pod should have helped... They won’t let me out of bed. They keep pumping drugs I don’t even know into my system. I can’t even look at the pod’s. Keith’s right there, behind the glass and I have no idea when he’s going to wake up. I can’t... I can’t do anything without him. I can’t... I can’t raise our sons without him... How can I make plans for what comes next when I don’t know how long it’s going to be, or if he’s going to be ok. Or what even happened to him when does. I remember Curtis being ok... but he’s in there too and now... Korra helps... How was Krolia? Was she hurt?” “Not having all the information always causes issues when strategising ones next move” Letting out a sniffled laugh, Lance wasn’t able to picture a more “Kolivan” answer to his feelings if he tried. Kolivan wasn’t good at this whole “feelings” thing “Yeah... yeah, it’s like that... Keith says I’m bad at sitting still. He was right... he is right” “Is”, not “was”. Keith wasn’t dead. Keith was right there... Trapped. Keith couldn’t talk to him. He couldn’t reassure him. He couldn’t demand answers from Shiro over what happened. He couldn’t feel their twins moving. He... He hadn’t even met his baby sister. Wrapping his arm around him, Kolivan’s “hug” lasted a few ticks before they both mentally agreed that it was awkward and the Galra removed his arm from Lance’s shoulder. His skin crawled from the contact, as his stomach rolled. Patting Korra gently on her bottom, he lost his battle to his tears. Keith was supposed to be there to be the third person to meet the little girl. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t quiznakking fair. Why didn’t he get to know what was going on? “Please don’t cry...” “I’m sorry, Kolivan. I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on and I hate it” “There was an attack on the planet you were visiting” “I know that. But Keith and Curtis were both ok. Keith was going to find Shiro... I don’t understand why this had to happen” “Keith shielded you from an explosion. You had a fall and started bleeding, then you were thrown in the explosion. You lost quite a large amount of blood, Veronica making the call to prioritise your life over your pregnancy until you could be placed in a pod. Keith was thrown in the same explosion, suffering broken ribs and cracked skull as well as numerous small cuts and abrasions. He had not regained consciousness before being placed in the pod. Curtis suffered a broken femur, protecting Krolia, as well as debris abrasions and concussion. Sudden trauma induced Krolia’s labour, she was monitored through the birth, then placed into a pod after birth. She has been there for 6 vargas now, and is expected to be released tonight. She asked that you be told and brought to meet our daughter. The Shiro’s arm was damaged slightly, but was attended to by Hunk on the scene. Hunk and the previous members of Keith’s team were unharmed, evacuation procedures activated with the first blast” “And the twins?” “I do not know. Your bleed was profuse. When you were released from the pod so early the assumption would be that your life, and those of you children, are not in immediate risk. I do not have the results of any scans conducted. Shiro is most concerned. He was hesitant to allow you to come here” “Don’t take it personally... He... knows a fair bit about my issues... Thank you for telling me... What happened to the inhabitants of the planet?” “The Coalition will be offering them no aid. They ordered the attack to solidify the idea that they were in desperate need of military strength. Our alliance with them had become null” Lance blinked a handful of times as the words sank in. They’d angered the princess so much she’d done something incredibly stupid and reckless. She could have lost her own life in the process, not to mention the lives of her people... and the lives of their friends and team mates. It was her fucking fault that his family had been hurt. He shoot have shot her and Krystaal when he’d had the damn chance “Will they be punished?” “No. They caused this issue and they must be the ones to sort it out in their own terms. They weren’t alone in planning this attack. Rather, they were approached during the tour and offered a large sum of resources for their cooperation in a similar plan. Having already set their initial plan in motion, the request was accepted. The ruling family admitted the circumstances with some gentle persuasion from the Coalition leaders. Harming three former Paladin’s and risking a forth has not failed well for their interplanetary relations” “So there was a leak in the group. Do you know who it was?” “We have two suspects in custody. One claims they did not mean for it to go this far. The second refuses to talk” Lance knew he was going to sound paranoid and possibly like a jealous husband scorned, but he had to know “Was it Krystaal? He left the party for an extended period of time... after pulling some bullshit with Keith” “He will not speak” Confirmation. Lance’s shoulders slumped as he closed his eyes. He’d known Krystaal was a piece of shit, but to go that far... Why the quiznak couldn't he have been blown up? “Shiro knows about him being detained, doesn’t he?” “He does” That meant everyone other than Keith and Curtis knew. Keith was going to be crushed all over again, in a completely different way “He hasn’t said anything at all?” “No. He’s kept his silence. His quarters have been thoroughly searched. Nothing incriminating was found in the room. On his person we found various recordings taken through the tour. There is also another issue. Your confession has been sent to a variety of media outlets. It confirms you killed Klearo. Some facts have been released regarding his dealings with child trafficking and extortion. Generally it has been accepted that he deserved his death, at least through the Galra empire it has. Some are calling it a lie to cover the murder. Some are also questioning why he was not brought before a jury for a public trial. A video of Krystaal and Keith sharing a kiss was also submitted, as were photos of Shiro comforting Keith. There has been backlash against what went to print. Yours and Keith’s popularity took a slight dip in some sectors, yet for the most part, you are both still seen in a favourable light” Now he was starting to shake. Korra didn’t appreciate his mood change, Lance passing her over to her father as she started to cry. Clenching his fists, he pushed them against his eyes “I’m going to shoot him. I’m going to shoot him in the goddamn dick. He’s ruined Keith’s life enough. Keith’s as thick as a bag of bricks when it comes to realising someone has taken an interest in him. We all saw the way they were. The way Krystaal was... He fucked Keith right over. He thought they were friends. He probably even thought they were more than that. Fuck. Shit. I need to stop swearing in front of the baby... Quiznak...” Realising how upset he was growing, Lance forced down a slow deep breath, following with a second then third. He couldn’t shoot Krystaal if he threw a seizure right now “Perhaps it is time I called Shiro to collect you...?” “I want to stay” “Lance...” “It’s a... When one of us was in a pod, we always tried our hardest to have someone waiting for them to wake up... I want to wait for Keith. He’d wait for me...” “Keith would wish you to rest” “I want to stay. He... he thought I would dump him because Krystaal kissed him. He was in tears, scared I’d abandon him. Not being here feels like I am” “I shall remain. As shall Korra and Krolia once she is released. To Keith you are his most important person” That was because they were a couple of idiots completely and totally in love with each other... but then Keith had chosen Shiro over him... Lance didn’t want that to be their last memory “He’s mine too... Don’t ever forget to tell the ones you love that you love them everyday. If he... the last time... I was screaming at him not to leave me to go find Shiro... It hurt so bad and he still left me... he wouldn’t even stay when I was losing the twins... some important person I am” “I’m going to call Shiro. You are visibly growing more distressed. It is best you do not think of such things as a measure of his love for you” Lance took that to be Kolivan’s polite way of telling him to shut up. Kolivan was the leader of the whole damn empire. He didn’t need Lance’s snivelling whining. If he’d been the Galra man, he probably would have kick himself out too. No wonder Shiro didn’t want him to be here alone. Everywhere he went, he always had to take it too far and ruin everything for the people around him.

[goldstonegolem64]

Book 1 Hope retunes Chapter 41 Shipyard showdown By GoldstoneGolem64

“ i like how we were at the rebel base for a total of fourteen  before we when on this mission “ Hunk said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes 

“ Yeah why are we doing this so early in day “ Lance asked

“ And why are we doing this with two of members down “ Shiro asked  

“ Well it’s a simple mission to destroy the shipyard before it moves again and with the help of the rebel pilots that are helping us i think we can handle it” Allura said 

“ And Jay are still here to help were just not going to flying with you on this mission  “ pidge said as she was sitting at one of the consoles 

“ And unlike you guys and your loins.Val can  move and acted on her own .” Jay said as he was looking at a screen “ Also will be arriving shortly so get ready”  

“ Yeah stay safe out there “ Pidge said 

“ Will try “ Shiro said as he Keith , Lance and hunk left the bridge 

“ So how long till something bad happens and the plan goes to shit and we have to bail them out “ Jay said as a he was put on his duster over the his Salvager  armor.and readying himself to book it towards the hanger  

“ I give them ten- Twenty minutes tops” Pidge said as she was adjusting her  prosthetic leg 

“ Can both of you show a little more faith in are friends?”Allura said 

“ We have faith in them but are track record shows that no matter how simple the mission seems something bad is going to happen no matter what and we’re just getting ready for the inevitable” Pidge said 

“ Also i want to try out that crazy time stopping ability VAl as” Jay said 

“ Wait VAl can stop time ?” Pidge said excitedly 

“ Not really from what i readed from O’ryna notes and blueprints call it the chrono nexus it manipulates time in a senses it slow everyone else down and pushes Val’s system and the pilot’s body to there limits” Jay shuder remembering the first time. Followed by rubbing the scar across his forehead.” maybe after this mission you can see it” 

“ Cool” PIdge said as she watched four lion and a small fleet of rebel fighters flying towards the gas giant they appeared in front of which was the current  location of galra shipyard.

With the Other paladins 

“ So what’s the game plan Shiro” Lance asked 

“ You ,Hunk and I will take the front pulling their fire towards us and destroy any warship that are guarding the shipyards  while Val, Keith and the other rebel pilots hit the top and bottom  disabling it engines and it's radio towers so it can’t call for help” Shiro said as the broke through the planet's atmosphere the purple clouds of the planet were a bright purple with lighting cracking within them along with eel like small eel like creates moving with in them

“ Ok if we weren’t at war this would be a pretty cool place to show my parents “ MAtt said as he looked around 

“ yeah the universe never ceases to amaze me” Adam said as he looked around as well. But as he looked around he notices something else moving in the clouds something metal looking at them but as he looked at it it quickly disappeared into the clouds . Hey Guys something might be something out there watching us .“ 

“ Alright everyone stay on your toes and stick to the plan the best you can and keep you eyes out for anything out of the ordinary there might be something out there. Allura are the scanners picking anything up?”   Shiro asked as the group slip up into the three teams

“ Were not picking up anything up here beside some spikes in the atmospheres magnetic field. But that seems to be normal for this planet” Allura said 

“ All right then “ Shiro said as he Hunk and lance broke through the cloud line and saw the shipyard. IT didn’t look like much to them  it was just a huge floating purple  octagon that was about three times the size of castle of loins.

“ Hey guys is it just me or are there no warships in sight ?” Lance said 

“ Yeah that’s a little unnerving “ Hunk replied 

“ There may be no warships here but remember daring the mission briefing it said the shipyard had it’ s own defends so don’t let your guard down “ Shiro said as cannons and anti air guns turrets towards them and opened fired on the as well as hundreds of fighter poured out  along with two warships of the hangers

” looks like we got there attention”  Hunk said as he returned fire 

“ well then lets give them a show “ Lance said with a smile as he fire the blue lions frost cannon 

Shiro smile as the duel jaw blade of the black lion appeared in the black lion mouth as he charged toward the closes warship at top speed started cutting through the fighter like a hot knife through butter as he swore through the sky something felt a miss as he go closer to  the warship. He noticed that  the warships were just firing of their ion cannons in random derations and the fighters were just flying around not shoot at all even the shipyard had stop fire and it just floated there. He then notice how decrypted the shipyard looked it looked like it was falling apart “      Something isn’t right about all this

“ This is seems way easier than we thought. Now whens the trap going to be set off “ Lance said as he dodged an ion blast from one of the two warships followed by him freezing ion cannon as it was charging casing it to explode. 

“ Yes lance is correct in his obsession this seems way to easy “ Val said she and her team were doubling back to the castle .seeing how suspect this situation  

“ Yeah somethings is going on here “ Keith said doing the same 

“ Hey  guys have you notice how weird  the fighter and the warship are moving?” Hunk asked as the fighter and the warship  stop moving 

“ Hey guys not to Alarm you but besides you guys there is no one alive in that area. “  Jay said over the comms  as he was looking around the surrounding area for hided warships or other things.

“ Alright everyone back to the castle Now “  Shiro ordered but as he did a cage of crackling electricity appeared around trapping Shiro, Lance, Huck and serval rebel fighter in side of it .While Val ,Keith, Adam, Matt and the rest of the rebel fighters on the other side of the cage.

“ What is going on here “ 

“ What do we do “     

“ It’s game over man game over.”

“ Everyone shut up and calm down  we don’t know what’s going on yet. But we will get out of th”

“ No you won’t .Well not unless you surrender to the empire” A voice said over the comma. Everyone looked around trying to find the signal location “ If your looking for me I’m sitting on top of the one of the warships” 

Everyone turned around looking towards the warships and watched as a robeast decloaked in front of them sitting cross legged on top on the warship with the ion cannon still in tacked “   Hello there “ The robeast waved at the paladin 

The robeast was of the same design as the robeast the team fought on the balmera. But instead of red it was a dark purple with yellow line going up and across it’s body as well as the head itself  was that of super tactical droid from star wars 

“ Who are you “ Shiro asked 

“ Ah A negotiator good to see your not shooting first. I lost a lot of deals and killed a lot of customer that way. We’ve meet once before at that rebel base my bigger companion whipped out “ Skyver said as he’s robeast stood up “ I Am Skyver Creaser White wing the 3rd . But please call me Skyver” then the robeast bowed to them “ And I'm here to make you an offer you can’t refuse “As the were bowing Val turn invisible and tried sneak back to the castle only to be grabbed by two set of hands and were held in place “  You truing to run away now. Thank The great winged one I brought friends “ 

As he said that two more robeast appears both looked like a factory made   version of the Valkyrie in her Combat form. They were pure white with no desiring  features besides the heads that looked like they were from robotech with one purple eye in the middle of the face .On there back was a single engine with two set of jet fighter wing attacked to them 

“I’m guessing the other two are going to the castle to retrieve the other members of this little rebellious gang I guess” Skyver said 

At the castle of lions 

“ What is going on down there. Shiro, Lance, Hunk anybody report “ Pidge said “ Jay you got anything ?” No Reponses”   Jay?” Pidge turned to look at Jay to see that he was zone out “ JAY!!” she yelled snapping Jay out of his stupider

“ Get the Shields up and fire everything “  Jay yelled as he did the particle barrier turned on and as the barrier formed up something collided a top speed  with one of the barrier pieces  as it appeared and with a visible ripple to the barrier it appeared in front of them  Along with another one that appeared next to it seeming helping it’s team mate 

“ What are they?” Allura asked 

“ I don’t know don’t care Pidge we need you to get down there and help them out. One of the guys from the rebel base massacre is here and has Shiro, Hunk and lance trapped with them  As well as two more of those thing are holding onto Val preventing them from getting here” 

“ Well give you covering fire “ Allura said 

“ Alright then guys remember just like Val I can turn invisible but it would help”  pidge said as she with help from Jay walked towards  short cut door to her lion “ Wish me luck” Pidge said as the door closed behind her 

“ Good luck” Jay said 

“ May the goddess be with you “ Allura said as she ready the castle defends and open one spot in the barrier so pidge could get out “ I’m sorry I didn’t send you with them “ Allura said to Jay 

“ It’s alright Allure you were just looking out us it’s no big deal . Coran we ready to fire. Also sorry for not talking to you I just been real stress out since this mission started “ JAy said 

“ It’s alright and were ready to fire “ Coran said he lock on too the two robeasts  that were punching at the particle barrier in front of them then it suddenly disappear catching them by surprise 

“ Then Fire at will !!”  Allura yelled as a huge beam fire out the tip of the castle of lions followed by the beam fracture into eight different beams.

The two robeast were caught up in the onslaught of beams and that allowed pidge to slip by them

back with the other 

“ So what is your deal then?” Shiro asked trying to by the team time to figure out a plan to get them out of this 

“ Well it’s simple surrender to the empire and pelage your loyalty to emperor Zarkon and what ever back water planet you all come from in be spared a terrible fate of being destroyed “      Skyver said 

“ An if we don’t take this offer what happens then ?” Lance asked 

“ Well then “ The robeast waved it’s right hand and black metal disks detached themselves  from every fighter along with the warship and attached themselves to the robeast an a field of electricity  surrounded him “   Will see how you fare against my war machine”  Skyver said 

“ We just call them robeasts “ Hunk said 

“ That is a stupid name “ Skyver said 

“ Screw you it’ s a great name.” Lance said 

“ No it’s not “ Skyver said annoyed 

“ Yes it is “ Lance yelled back getting closer to Skyver’s robeast 

“ No it’s not “ Skyver yelled back  

Then an augment broke out between the two of them

Keith looked around the area not wanting to jump the gun in this moment because all the people that could get caught in the cross fire. Then he notice two of the black dots near each other and thought if he destroy them he could free the other but he needed Val’s help to pull this plan off. “   Damn if only pidge or jay were here  they could figure it out “  as Keith said that a message appeared telling him pidge as on her way and get ready to help Val escape. Keith look up from the message to see the green lion quickly come in and out of clocking. He then turn to look at one of the two white robeast and aimed his molten and fired

The red beam slammed into the robeast causing it to let go  of the Valkyrie. That was followed by a Green beam slamming into the other causing Vines to burst out and entangled it. An the moment She was free Val throw her engine into top gear and flow straight towards the castle of lion. that was followed by lance point blank fired his ice beam straight into the robeast electrical shield causing three of the metal disks to freeze over and explode leaving an opening . which gave Hunk ,Shiro and the rebel fighter with them to open fire on them  

Skyver was surprise “   God damn it!!” as Skyver yelled at the onslaught of fire. He raised his right arm to block the shoots and used his left hand to redirected three unused disks to replace the broken ones and  them were in place his barrier was back in place he yelled orders to his suburbanites   “ K -8 kill the rebels and grab the red one. K- 4 break free and help me “ Skyver yelled as the cage around him flickered as more of his disk start to fall around him and they were covered in vines and roots. He recalled what ever disks were felt and used them to reactive the fires here and the one war ship “  Damn I fell for one of my own tricks “ he sigh “  I didn’t want to fight but you left me no choose  “ Skyver said as the disks on his back detached from him and moved toward the destroy the Shipyard and started to strip it of it’s metal and as it did the metal started to spin around the robeast add another layer of protection to him. “ But hey lets have some fun then “ an with a filch of the wrist all the metal that orbited him were launched forward at the lion. 

As the metal flow Hunk and Shiro tried to dodge the metal only to both of them be tackled and held in place by the other robeast. The metal shards slammed into them and attached themselves to the two lions . Then the robeast was hit by lance’s mouth cannon casing it to let go of both lions and to turn it’ s attention towards lance only to have a frost beam hit it square in the face casing the robeast to claw at the ice trying to get the ice of it 

“ At first I though this was going to be a problem” Pidge said as she fire another green beam at the warship causing roots to over take the ion cannon and the top of the ship destroying the some of the disks controlling it 

“ Don’t get cocky Sis were not out of the woods yet” Matt said as he shoot down two Galra fighters  as well as being shoot at by another “ Can someone get this guy of us “ matt asked 

“On it “ Adam said as he chased after the Galra fight in his repaired and upgraded mf fighter and shoot down the fighter tailing Matt “ Ok remind me when we get back to thank team behind repairing my jet “ Adam said with a smile 

“ Your welcome “ Matt replied as he was on the team that repaired the Mf jet. “ Hey guys Shouldn’t you make Voltron will cover you guy “ As he and Adam fire on the third robeast in the back. the shoot exploded on contacted causing the one of the robeasts four wings to fly of which caused the robeast to spin out of control  into a random direction before it righted itself and turned around and looked toward the rebel fight that were now swarming them

“ Alright team lets  form Voltron” Shiro said 

“Oh no you don’t” Skyver said as an invisible force pulled both Shiro and Hunk towards him then throw them back at their teammates causing the five lions to slammed togther. Then he pulled both lions back to him and launched them back at their friends

"What is going on with this guy .what can he do and why is he able to throw the black and yellow lion like rag dolls “  Keith said as he dodged  the yellow lion being throw at him 

“ I’m guessing it has the power of magnetism and anything those disks touch get magnetized and is under that robeast control”  Pidge said 

“ then how is it controlling Shiro and Hunk then “  Keith said as he fired the red lion’s molten cannon only for a wave of scrap metal appeared and blocked it followed by the molten slag to be thrown at him 

“ Look out “ lance yelled as he fire of the freeze ray freezing half of the melt slag while Keith dodged 

“ I’m guessing when that robeast that lance freeze the head over held onto Shiro and Hunk in place. Allowing that shrapnel storm to hit them the metal must have imbedded themselves or attached themselves to their lions “    Pidge said as she dodged The black lion being thrown at her 

“ Ok them how do you get us out of this then?” Shiro asked as he tried to fight against Skyver’s control which on made the black lion spin out of control “ Leonidas do you have an idea to get out of this “ 

IN the back of Shiro mind “ No and to be honest I never thought I would see situation again “ Leonidas said supersized and a little happy to see something from his past with the first group of paladins.

“ Wait you’ve seen this before?�� Shiro said surprised only to get no response “ Great just great”

“ Uh Shiro I didn’t know who your talking to but we have another problem “ Lance said as he looked towards the robeast he fought earlier and watched as it broke it’s head free from the ice and grabbed at a hilt at it’s side and pulled out a blade followed by the other robeast firing off a beam from it’s eye scaring of the rebel fighter that were swarming it. It then turned to look at the three lion and it’s eye started to glow 

“ Jay where are you ?” Pidge asked 

“ I’m going to be there after I get rid of the two robeasts that are harassing the castle just hold out a little bit longer.” Jay said over the comms 

“ Will try “ Keith said as he summoned red jaw blade and readied himself for a fight 

Back at the castle of lions 

The two robeast were using their weapons to try and blast and bash at the particle barrier. One had a crackling purple energy scythe and the other had twin what looked like pistols that was firing small ion round into the barrier. As the one with the pistols stopped firing to let it’s weapons cool down. Something tapped it on it on it’s shoulder. It turned around and was meet with a shield bash to the face which made pushed them back only to nearly avoid being implied by the spear by a now visible and in combat formed Valkyrie ready to rip it apart 

“ Are you series the empire is just now there not ever trying to hide the fact that their copying you partner” Jay said jokingly as He brought up the shield to block two on coming shot 

“ Well imitation is the best form of flattery “  Val said happy to see that she was being the one used for a mass produced model of robeast 

“ Yeah but still This could have some bad implications for the future if there using you as the base for a mech army.” Jay said as he stabbed at the robeast in front of them 

“ That is true but let’s not focus on that right now and focus on the two in front of us right now “  Val said as the other robeast charged towards them to help it’s partner 

“ OK” Jay  said as he dodged a scythe swing and swung the spear to meet the follow up swing this robeast was going to make as they spun around. The two weapons collide causing sparks to fly. The two swung at each other and each time they collide more spark. The two were evenly match in there fighting style. But at stopped when the robeast over played it’s hand when it tried to get in closer by spinning the scythe around it’ s body and when it tried to bring the scythe down onto the Valkyrie’s head it was meet by the Valkyrie's Shield and when it collide with the shield it focused the scythe to fly back upwards leaving it open as the spear stabbed into the robeast gut then fired three shoot into robeasts gut leaving a huge hole in the robeast back. They both watched as the light in the robeast body dimmed and metal body went limp and let go of the scythe.

“Ok time for the next one “ Jay said as he pulled the spear out and looked for the other robeast that disappeared and with out missing a bit Val took control of the Valkyrie and let go off the spear and grabbed onto the scythe and spun an slash at the empty space behind them. As she did this the scythe stop middle swing and it looked like the metal was slowly disappearing. Then it start to reappear followed by the reappears of the other robeasts with the scythe imbedded  into the  side of it’s head. “Ok that was extreme and awesome “  jay said as the scythe was removed from the robeasts head

“ Inferior consumer models”    Val said as she took the weapon from this robeast and scanned them “ Alright let’s help the others”

“ Wait if were going I'm there we need a plan. Allura I'm going to need you to shoot at us at full power “ Jay said with a smile on his face as the wing closed around them 

“ Alright then “ Allura said as she aimed the castle particle cannon At the Valkyrie Then fired

Back with the others 

“ Oh this is going to make Lord Zarkon happy “ Skyver said as his two suburbanites had the three loins and the rebel fighters on the ropes as he kept the black and yellow lions along with all them remaining Galra fighters under his control “ To be honest I wonder how Voltron would have broken throw by barrier. “ Skyver smile as he watched this then he looked down to see how K-11 and k-3 were doing against the run away dragon only to see that he couldn't’ t see what they were seeing. Then came  a loud boom as something at break neck speeds entered the planet’s atmosphere “ Ah the angle of death has come to play. K-4 , K-8 leave the small fries to me and go handle the bigger prob-” Skyver was cut off when K-4 turned it’s head to look at the on coming threat only for it’s head to no longer be there as well as  K- 8 to be cut in half by a silver blur. And that was followed by something slamming into his barrier He looked towards it to see k-4′ s head now caught up in the barrier “  Thank the great winged one I'm not actually here Skyver said under his breath 

“ So you're the one causing my friend so much trouble “ Jay said over the comms. As an energy whip came out of the clouds and wrapped around a Galra fighters and throw it at the barrier causing it to explode and destroying the serval of the barrier’s control dish leaving Skyver open “ give them Hell guy’s” jay said as  another onslaught of fire from all the rebel fighter The red lion’s molten Cannon , The blue loin’s Frost ray and the green lion’s Gaia beam. The combination of all this fire it’s armor melting and suddenly freezing   and the sudden burst of roots and vines across it’s body causing the Polaris’ s computers to overload and explode causing everything under his control to lose power and freeing the Black and Yellow lions 

“ Oh great Just great I had a plan I had a deal and you lot had to throw it all away. For what a chance at a free universe new flash Ass holes There is no such thing as a free universe. “ Skyver yelled in anger  as He watched Voltron formed in front of them and watch as it summoned it’s sword. “ But to be honest I knew the out come and I didn’t play my cards right at all I should have been more caution I should have let you form Voltron first and then have my subordinates attack you. There were a hundred thing I could have done but hey no point in dwelling on the past see you next time “   Skyver said has Voltron brought it’s sword down and slashed the Polarize in two causing it to explode.

“ Six To Three”  Jay said 

“ Wait how do you have six I counted four of those white robeast and the only other robeast you beat was the one on the balmera“  Lance said

“ I count the red queen as a win but if it doesn't to you I won’t count it “ Jay replied

“ Ok guy we can argue about this later.  He just said see you nest time is that not Alarming to anyone “ Keith said 

“ Yeah that's alarming  but what about the fact that the empire is making is now making more robeast based on my the Valkyrie. Yeah they were easy to take out but still this is a problem” Jay said 

“ Yes that is we need to bring this up with General Asmo let get going. Back to the castle everyone “  Shiro said

“ Should we bring any of those thing back with us?” Pidge asked about the two defeated robeasts that were just floating 

“Just leave them here I already brought one on to the castle before I came to help you guy jay said as they flow back to the castle.

“ Alright then” Pidge said happy to hear that.

A few hours later back at rebel base the castle of lion’s landed and as the team started walking out of the castle they saw the familiar face of Ulza the blade of Marmora member

“ Hey Ulza what brings you here?”  Shiro asked

“My Master Wish to met you.” Ulza said 

[rueitae]

Stop, Drop, and Roll

A short kissing scene I really wanted to write (1350 words). So please have some fluff with a dash of danger. Read below or on Ao3

~~~~~

Lance shifts his rifle further up his shoulder. He swallows hard and his clammy hands drum over his weapon, his trigger finger twitching.

Pidge is late.

Not for the first time he curses the radio silence, forced on them by the Galra scanners inside the facility. Pidge has to disable them before they can call on the rest of their team to bring on the heavy firepower of the Atlas.

All the planning, all the assurances that Pidge is prepared and equipped for this infiltration mission does little to calm his churning stomach. Lance knows Pidge is brilliant, and excellent, and the very best person for this job…

But he knows one slip up, one miscalculation, one variable off - a visiting general or an unexpected pet project of the base commander - and it could all go south. There’s only so much he can do to cover her from outside, only agreeing to the arrangement due to the patrols that pass by Pidge’s exit in regular intervals. Twenty doboshes, long enough to circle the base at a leisurely pace on speeders. They’ll be coming around soon.

He lies his stomach in preparation for them, among the tall, teal grasses of his high ground. He’s shaded from the twin suns by an overhang, designed to be an imposing symbol of power to the native inhabitants more than functional for Galra who built it. His small hill overlooks a side entrance used to let drones loose to scan the planet for intruders. Like him and Pidge.

It had always been bad enough to watch his friends - his family - put themselves in danger, but it feels different now that he and Pidge have such a fresh a romantic relationship. There’s more on the line, a future together, the promise of their own family someday...

Lance prays Pidge delays her exit a little longer, just until the pirate guards are well passed them with no chance of doubling back and hearing their escape and -

An explosion rocks his concentration and the side entrance is engulfed in flame.

His heart catches in his throat. Was it gunfire? Where was… where is - ? “Pidge!” he screams, standing up.

“Lance! Catch!”

There’s Pidge, running with a limp along the length of the blade-shaped overhang, gasping for breath. Her helmet is missing and her bayard disappears into her armor. Laser fire zooms past her, and there’s a group of pirates chasing her to the edge.

The only way she has to escape is to jump.

And she does, right towards him.

Instinct over thought makes his legs move towards her and they meet, Pidge plummeting into his arms with enough force to bring him to the ground. He’s got her though. Lance wraps his arms around her as tightly as he can as if that would protect her from any and all harm.

Gravity takes them down the hill, tumbling over each other on the grassy ground.

Lance opens his eyes when they come to a rest. He grins, flopping his arms and head onto the ground in relief when he sees Pidge smiling in front of him. She’s beautiful to behold with his own eyes and not through his visor, his own helmet lost somewhere along their downward route.

“You’re okay,” he says, heart light.

Pidge matches his grin and rests her chin on her folded arms across his chest. “Sorry it took so long,” she responds. “They had a counter hacker, but I got the system offline long enough to call Keith. The others should be on their way.”

Relief already in place, Lance frowns and narrows his eye. “Hey wait a minute. You called Keith before you called me? Don’t I have boyfriend privileges?”

Her smugness glows about her face. “Only on non mission situations. Sorry loverboy.”

He has no time to be mad with her, not when his heart pumps when she puckers her lips and presses them to his nose.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he grumbles, looking away as heat rises into his cheeks.

“Aaaaand?” Pidge presses in a sing-song voice.

His mouth twitches into a tiny grin in the memory she invokes. He lazily eyes her without moving his head from its comfortable spot on the ground, heat moving from his cheeks to his heart. “And electrifying,” he says suggestively. His cheeks soften, his smile relaxed. “I was so worried about you.”

Pidge raises an eyebrow. “You’re sweet Lance, but I had it under control.”

“I know,” he amends, feeling guilty for his worry. Pidge is so capable and he doesn’t want to diminish her. They’re both Paladins after all, both in the same danger at all times. “I know you did I just - I love you so much and I can’t help but think what if there’s something we didn’t plan for and - “

She cups her hand along his jawline and turns him towards her. Her affectionate smile melts his heart and he’s puddy in her hands. “I know,” she says. “I love you for it.”

Lance finds the energy to stroke her hair, their arms caging their heads, creating a sense of privacy among the open tall grassy fields. It’s as if its only the two of them in the entire universe. So as Pidge’s face inches closer, he catches her lips with his own.

Lance loses himself in her sweet kiss, drinking in the moment and willing it to never end. He’s comfortable, at peace and relieved Pidge is safe in his arms. It’s as if they are back on Earth, with a quiet moment at home as their future children nap around them, relaxing on the couch after a long day at the Galaxy Garrison...

The buzz of powering weapons kicks him from his delightful fantasy. His eyes fly open to Pidge’s own, wide with terror. Reality kicks in and his heart clenches as they break apart, Pidge rolling onto her back beside him.

He grabs her hand in his, appraising the three pirates before them and hating himself for forgetting about the patrol so easily. He cracks a practiced grin. “Good afternoon, nice day we’re having huh?”

The hairs on the back on his neck stand on end and he lets out a heartstopping gasp as a barrel of a rifle taps at his head. “Up,” commands a fourth pirate from behind. “Hands where we can see them, Paladins. No tricks.”

A fight here isn’t worth the risk of their lives, not with knowing their friends on on their way. He stands. Pidge squeezes his hand before they separate, her eyes gesturing towards the pirate behind them.

She yelps as she’s grabbed roughly, jerked back and held firmly in the arms of a giant rock alien. “Hey!” she demands before Lance can for her. “Watch it!”

“Don’t you dare hurt her,” Lance growls. He’s pulled flush against another large bodied pirate, wiggling and tugging to test his restraints in protest. His heart thumps in fear, this is the worst of what he feared to happen to them on this mission, and it's all his fault. A hostage situation will ruin the mission.

His fearful thoughts last only as long as it takes for him to get a look at the leader of the pirates. The Galra man glowers at them. Lance sees him as more annoyed than mean spirited now that he sees the Marmora blade at his belt. Keith’s foresight is going to save them again.

(He doesn’t hate it as much as he would have in their early days - but it’s still annoying.)

Pidge has stilled and smiles his way reassuringly. She’s noticed too. It seems their capture will turn into an extraction.

“Bring them to the base,” the Galra leader orders, turning to lead them towards the building. He pauses and sighs in exasperation. “And get them a cell without a security camera. I don’t want to have to watch the humans mate.”

Lance’s face burns. Perfect conditions for a rescue effort, but next time he and Pidge are on a mission together, he’ll keep his affections in check until they’re actually back home on Earth.

[littlewhitetie]

Silence: Part Four

An anti-Galra nanoweapon leaves Keith ill and Shiro badly injured. It’s up to Lance and Allura to find them, take care of them, and get them home safe and sound.

(Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3)

“I need you to do something for me.” Keith’s voice is quiet, audible only to Allura as she helps him take small sips of water from his helmet.

“And what’s that?”

His glassy eyes brim with intensity. “You have to leave me behind.”

Her response is immediate: “No.”

Keith turns his gaze to Shiro, who lies unconscious beside them. His breathing is strained and shallow; pain lines his face, even in sleep. “You have to get him out of here.”

“And we will,” she assures. “We’ll get you both out of here.”

“I’m slowing you down. Allura, please.” Keith’s voice cracks. “I can’t be the reason he doesn’t get help in time. I can’t— I can’t…”

“Ssh, it’s going to be fine, Keith,” she says, setting the helmet down and stroking his too-warm cheek. He leans in, seeking touch. “It’ll be alright.”

Keith shakes his head. “My life doesn’t matter. But he has to live.”

She uses both hands to tilt his face toward her so he can see the full extent of her frown. “What do you mean your life doesn’t matter?”

“Shiro can fly the Black Lion. He’s a better leader than I could ever hope to be. You don’t need me around.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says. “Shall we ask Shiro what he thinks about that?”

He shakes his head. “Shiro’s biased.”

“That bias is called love, Keith. And Shiro’s not the only one. Even without all you do for the Coalition and the Blade of Marmora, we’d be devastated if we were to lose you.”

“You… would be?” he whispers, his voice threadbare. How long has it been since he’s received open affection?

Her words are deliberate and punctuated as she tells him, “Yes. You’re our family, Keith. We love you. So we’re not leaving you behind.”

“…Oh,” he whispers, bewildered.

“Now drink up,” she says, lifting the helmet again.

She helps him drink a little more before taking some water herself. It’s stagnant and doesn’t taste great—teeming with microbes, probably—but it’s necessary to stave off dehydration.

When she’s had her fill, she wraps her arm around Keith. He nuzzles her shoulder.

Footsteps announce Lance’s return, back from relieving himself. “You guys sure look cozy.”

“Don’t get jealous,” she says, the corners of her lips lifting. “Are you ready to get going?”

“Hold on. We should probably try to wake Shiro up and get some water in him first. Don’t know when we��re gonna see water next.”

“Good idea,” she agrees.

Keith slinks out from her reach and crawls over to Shiro, squeezing his hand with both of his. “Shiro,” he says, softly. When Shiro doesn’t budge, he shakes his shoulder. “Shiro.” His voice is louder this time, but no less gentle. “C’mon. Wake up.”

Shiro’s long lashes flutter open. “K-Keith?”

“Hi,” Keith whispers.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me,” Keith says. “You gotta drink something before we get going.”

“Oh,” Shiro says, faintly. “Alright.”

Allura pulls Shiro up to a seated position and holds him there while Lance brings the helmet to his lips. Just taking a few sips leaves him spent, and he’s asleep again within moments.

They set out, and once again, the cave is quiet with nothing but echoes of slow, shuffling footsteps and laboured breathing.

 The absence of external noise makes it all the more startling when a loud crack thunders through the cave. Bits of crystal start to rain from the ceiling.

“Get down!” Lance shouts, diving and shielding Keith with his body. Allura drops to the ground, covers Shiro, and prays.

…

Allura wakes to a splitting headache. An unrelenting pressure weighs down on her, making it hard to breathe. Everything hurts.

“—ura? Come on. Please, answer me.”

She needs more oxygen. She tries to take a deep inhale but chokes when sediment fills her lungs. “Lance?” she coughs.

“You’re awake! Thank quiznak. Are you okay?”

She’s buried beneath chunks of what must be crystal. It’s heavy, but she manages to shift. She can move her limbs, at least. “I’m alright.”

Someone else coughs, harsh and ragged. Keith. His voice is faint as he croaks between gasping breaths, “Shiro.”

Shiro. He’s underneath her. She has to get up, now.

She uses all her strength to lift the weight from on top of them, letting it fall to the side. She levers herself up and off of him, then tears his chestplate off and presses an ear to his thorax.

Silence.

“H-he’s not breathing,” she stammers. “I can’t hear his heartbeat.”

“Can you resuscitate him?” Lance asks.

“I— I’ve never done that before.”

“Okay. Then you’ve gotta this crystal off of me right now.”

A massive chunk of crystal pins Lance’s right shoulder down, trapping both him and Keith. She drags herself over and manages to lift it just enough for them to roll out from underneath.

Lance’s shoulder hangs wrong when he sits up, but he ignores it. He scrambles over to Shiro, stacks his hands over Shiro’s chest, and uses his weight to press down hard.

He lifts his hands, then presses down again. He does it over and over, finding a steady rhythm. Tears glint from his cheeks in the dim light. Whether they’re from distress or physical pain is unclear, but it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t stop him.

He opens Shiro’s mouth, holds his nose, and presses his own mouth to Shiro’s as he breathes for him. He goes back to chest compressions, then breathes for him again. He repeats this cycle, only interrupted when his own lungs fill with debris and he has to cough.

And finally, finally, she hears it. Shiro takes a stuttering breath. And another, and another.

Lance presses his fingers to Shiro’s carotid. “He’s back.”

Allura’s entire body sags in relief. Keith’s does too. She hadn’t even noticed his vice grip on her arm until it slackens.

Her heart drops down from where it was lodged in her throat… and continues to plummet as she follows Lance’s gaze. The tunnel ahead has been blocked off.

Lance’s lip trembles, false calm swept out from under him. “How’re we gonna get out of here?”

“By digging ourselves out,” Keith says, stumbling to his feet. He staggers over to the giant heap of crystals obstructing the tunnel and hauls one out of the way. The effort exhausts him and he pants for breath, which leads to him doubled over, coughing.

“Quiznak, Keith,” Lance says. “Are you okay?”

“None of us will be if we don’t get out of here,” he chokes.

“But moving all that by hand?” Lance says, incredulous. “That’s gonna take forever.”

Keith starts to pitch forward, but catches himself. “Then we better get started.”

…

Crystal by quiznaking crystal.

Most of the burden falls to Allura: Shiro’s unconscious, Keith passes out shortly after they begin, and there’s only so much weight Lance can lift with his dislocated shoulder. She’s never been more exhausted in her life—and that’s saying something.

She hauls the crystals out of the way, one by one, for what feels like decaphoebs. But eventually, cracks of light from the other side peek through.

“Have I told you how amazing you are?” Lance says, starry-eyed.

“Once or twice,” she says, wiping her brow with the back of her wrist. Sweat stings her eyes. “But I’d be open to hearing it again.”

“You’re freaking amazing, Allura.”

She clears the last few crystals from the opening to make a hole large enough to squeeze through, then drops to her knees.

While she tries to catch her breath, Lance goes to rouse Keith. “Hey,” he says, poking him. “Wakey wakey.”

Keith frowns, his eyelids struggling to open. He’s in a bad way, drained of colour save for the splotches of pink across his cheeks. “Ngh… what…”

Pulling off his glove, Lance pushes the sweat-plastered bangs out of Keith’s face and feels his forehead. He winces. “Fever’s worse.”

“‘M… I’m fine,” Keith mumbles. “Shiro? …Shiro…” He reaches over to Shiro and brings a clumsy hand to his cheek. “Shiro’re you okay?”

Shiro doesn’t wake.

Keith’s face crumples. “Shiro…”

“Shiro’s gonna be fine,” Lance soothes. “He’s breathing, see? Just let him rest for now.” He gestures to the narrow opening. “Think you can get up over those crystals and through there?”

Keith nods.

“Good,” Lance says. “Allura, can we get Shiro through?”

“We’ll manage,” she says. “You two go on ahead and help from the other side.”

“On it.”

Climbing over the pile of crystals while carrying Shiro isn’t easy, especially when he’s so fragile and she’s so worn out. Manoeuvring him through the small opening isn’t easy either, but they get there eventually.

When she crawls through to the other side, her stomach drop like a stone. Fragmented crystals are everywhere. They’re all shapes and sizes, from giant crags they’ll have to find their way around to heaps of rubble that will be gruelling to walk on. Plenty of ways to be trapped; plenty of ways to stumble and fall.

“…On the bright side, a lot of the things trying to kill us are probably dead?” Lance offers.

“That’s one way of framing it,” she says.

“You know me. Silver lining Lance.”

The cave walls blur in her vision. She’s ready to collapse, and carrying Shiro the rest of the way seems just about impossible. Lance is struggling with Keith, too. Keith is just barely standing.

But they’ve faced impossible odds before, and they’ll live to do it again.

She sets her jaw. “Let’s go.”

…

They walk.

And they walk.

One foot, in front of the other.

 On, and on, and on.

…

   …

Keith’s condition gets worse. His clarity fades. He can’t hold water down.

“I don’t… feel good.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Hang on just a little longer.”

…

   …

They can’t continue. Not like this.

There’s too much weight.

The armour, it has to come off. Allura’s… and Shiro’s.

It’s dangerous, but there’s no choice.

Defenseless, they press onward.

…

   …

“Shiro…? Is he—”

“He’s alright, Keith.”

“But… but he—”

“I know you’re scared. But everything is going to be fine.”

…

   …

“Where… where’re we going?”

“Home, Keith. We’re going home, I promise.”

…

   …

Allura taps into energy reserves she doesn’t have, siphoning her life force with each step.

She’s not supposed to abuse her quintessence like this.

Coran’s going to be so angry with her when he finds out.

If he finds out.

They need to make it back first.

…

   …

They collapse, and get back up again.

And again.

And again.

…

   …

There’s no end in sight.

                 …

Finally, Keith stops in his tracks. He tips his head up to the ceiling.

“You gonna throw up again?” Lance asks.

“No,” Keith manages, between heaving breaths. “Listen.”

Allura struggles to focus her attention beyond the buzzing in her ears, beyond the ragged breathing and her own pounding heart. But then she hears it. Hears them.

“The Lions,” she whispers. “They’re roaring.”

Lance’s eyes shimmer. “We… we actually…”

“We did it.”

The cave gradually gets brighter, the range of colours opening up beyond blue and pink. The morning sun spills into the mouth of the cave, warm and soft, refracting through crystals in scattered rainbows.

The Red and Blue Lions are waiting for them there, their jaws wide open. They’re restless, bonds thrumming with anticipation and protectiveness.

“I’ll take Shiro back to the Castle and get him into a pod,” Allura says. “I can join you two at the hospital when I’m done.”

“No need,” Lance says. “I got it covered. Just leave the flowers with me.”

Lance carefully unweaves the atraxeth sprigs from her hair. “I can’t believe we made it,” he says quietly, gathering every last stem and petal and placing them in his helmet. “We did good today.”

“Yes,” she smiles. “We did well.”

Lance raises a brow. “You correcting my grammar, Princess?”

She laughs. “I’m afraid I haven’t the patience for that.”

He gives her a lopsided grin as he ducks back under Keith’s arm, flower-filled helmet tucked into the crook of his good elbow. “See you back at the Castle.”

“Yes. See you at home.”

Allura hauls Shiro into the cockpit of the Blue Lion and sets him down. There’s no room for grace in her movements, and he hits the floor with a soft whump.

Shiro’s eyes flutter open. “A-Allura?” he whispers. His gaze darts around the cockpit. “We… made it?”

She takes his wrist, feels his weak pulse beneath his skin. “Yes. We’re on our way back to the Castle now.”

“Keith… and the Ferexians…”

“Lance is with Keith en route to the hospital,” she says. “They’ll deliver the atraxeth and get Keith’s cure.”

“Thank you,” Shiro rasps. “I kn-knew… knew you and L-Lance could…”

“Ssh,” she soothes. “Don’t strain yourself. Just rest.”

When she pushes herself up to stand, she teeters precariously. Just a little further. She drags herself to the pilot’s seat, and Blue lifts off.

She hails the Castle. “Coran?”

“Princess! Are you alright? I haven’t been able to contact any of you for nearly a full quintant! You—you look awful!”

“I know, Coran.” She’s so tired. Too tired for this. “I’ll be fine, but please prepare the healing pods. Shiro has sustained severe electrical damage, and Lance will need one as well for his shoulder injury. Hopefully, the Ferexians at the hospital will have something to bring Keith’s fever down, but it would be best to have some antipyretics on hand just in case.”

“Electrical damage? Injury? Fever? Princess, what happened?”

“Lance and I can fill you in later,” she says.

“But—”

“Please, Coran.”

“Alright.”

She closes her eyes and relies on Blue’s sight to guide them back to the Castle and through the bay doors. When they finally touch down, she hefts Shiro up in her arms one last time and carries him in.

The Castle’s corridors are far too long. They start to tilt in her vision. Slav was right. They should really have a more efficient way of getting around.

“Princess!”

Coran’s voice.

The med bay. They’ve reached the med bay.

She’s dizzy.

So dizzy.

She doesn’t drop Shiro, but it’s a near thing.

She sets him down and manages exactly one step before she hits the floor.

…

When Allura wakes, she’s cold, on her feet, and falling. She tumbles out of the cryopod and into Lance’s waiting arms.

“Lance,” she murmurs.

He smiles. “Welcome back to the land of the living. How’re you doing?”

She’s tired and heavy and hungry, but it’s manageable. “I’m alright, but what about Shiro and Keith?”

Lance shifts so she can see the cryopod next to hers. Shiro sleeps peacefully inside. His breathing is steady, biorhythms stable. At the base of Shiro’s pod is Keith, curled up with a large blanket. A bucket and water pouch sit off to the side.

The edge of the blanket near Keith’s head shifts, and the mice poke their heads out. She extricates herself from Lance’s arms and steps forward.

Hello, friends. Have you been taking care of Keith for us?

The mice squeak in affirmation.

Keith’s bleary eyes blink open. “‘Lura?”

“Hello, Keith.” She takes a seat next to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Better than before,” he says.

She brings the back of her hand to his forehead. It’s hard to gauge his temperature when her own blood is running cold from the pod, but he doesn’t seem so dangerously hot. He’s still sweating, though, and he chases her touch, holding her cool hand in place to keep it at his cheek.

He stiffens when he realizes what he’s doing and releases his grip. “S-sorry. I, uh…”

“It’s alright,” she assures him, and leaves her hand where it is. “Did you receive your medicine from the Ferexians?”

He nods. “’s pretty gross.”

“Coran would say that means it works,” she says.

“Coran says a lot of things,” Keith mumbles. “But the people at the hospital promised I’d be better in a couple quintants. More important, we got the flowers to them okay.”

“Yeah, they were super grateful,” Lance says. “We got enough to treat everyone who needs it, and they’ll have some left over in case they need it in the future.”

“That’s wonderful.” Allura’s lips quirk up. “Will they be throwing us a parade?”

Lance laughs. “Keith said no parade.”

“Why would we need a parade?!” Keith says, his brow furrowed deep. Allura has to stifle a giggle.

Her stomach takes the brief lull in conversation as license to growl loudly, tinging her cheeks pink. “Have you both eaten?”

Lance winces. “Uh, Coran made us some… gracolian flargnax?”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah, it was… not great.” Lance nods his head toward Keith and the bucket. “Didn’t sit so well with this one.”

She grimaces. “I can imagine.”

She lifts the edge of the blanket near Keith’s face, exposing the mice. “Friends, I believe Hunk has some trifolian lilyroot stored in the pantry. Would you assist me in making a broth for Keith?”

The mice squeak their assent and scurry off toward the kitchen.

“The mice can cook?” Lance asks.

“I’ll instruct them from here,” Allura says.

“You can cook?”

She gives Lance a playful scowl. “Are you doubting my abilities?”

“No, it just seems, like, unreasonable that you’re amazing at literally everything,” he says.

“I wouldn’t say amazing,” she says. “I’m no Hunk. But I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen when I was younger. I used to sneak down after hours, and our head chef would teach me to make things.”

“What kinds of things?”

He seems genuinely interested, so she draws upon honey sweet memories and relives her kitchen adventures. Lance listens with rapt interest and presses for details; Keith stays quiet but relaxed under her touch.

Allura directs the mice to wash, chop, stir, and heat. She has them turn up the flame, ready to sacrifice a little richness of flavour to get it in Keith’s system faster—he must be famished. It’s not long before the mice come back, pushing a floating tray with steaming bowls of pale broth.

“Whoa, that smells great,” Lance says. The mice’s little pastel faces light up with pride, beaming at him.

Allura helps Keith sit, propping his back against her, and Lance steadies his hands as he brings the bowl to his lips.

“’s good,” Keith murmurs, gratefully. “Thanks. And— thanks for getting us out of there. …Both of us.”

“Of course,” Allura says. “Do you remember what I said?”

He nods. A slight smile blossoms over his lips.

After Keith has finished most of his bowl, Allura and Lance drink their own. It’s light, refreshing, and desperately needed.

“It’s official,” Lance says, slurping down the last of his bowl. “You’re good at everything in the universe. And I’m not just saying that to flirt with you.”

“No?”

“I mean, I could be. If you wanted me to.”

She blushes and skirts. “Keith, why don’t you lie down and get some more rest?”

Keith shakes his head. “Shiro’s almost out.”

She looks at the display. Just a few more doboshes. “Was I really in the pod for nearly as long as Shiro?”

“Yeah,” Lance says. “Coran said your quintessence was severely depleted. Damaged your cells pretty bad. Sounds like he’s gonna give you a mother of a lecture after he’s finished up with Hunk and Pidge.”

She sighs. “It’s not as if there were any other options. He’ll have to understand.”

“But you feel okay now?”

“A bit tired,” she admits. “I probably will be for a few quintants. But otherwise, I’m fine.”

She pulls the blanket up and lets Keith rest his head on her shoulder as they count down the doboshes. Five, four, three, two…

When Shiro gets out of the pod, Keith barrels forward and wraps his arms around him, clinging tight.

“Keith! Are you okay?”

“‘m fine.” Keith’s voice goes quiet when he says, “You scared me.”

Shiro presses his lips to Keith’s hair. “I know. You had me worried too.”

“Good thing Lancey Lance and Allura were there to save the day, amirite?” Lance says, interrupting with a grin.

Shiro chuckles softly. “Very good thing. Did you—”

“Yep,” Lance says. “Got the meds for Keith and delivered the flowers. There’s more than enough to cure everyone.”

“That’s great to hear,” Shiro says. “Really great.”

“Yeah. They felt really bad about the nano-whatever, by the way,” Lance says. “They wanna make up for it. Said they’ll help the Coalition in any way they can going forward.”

“I guess that’s one way to gain support,” Shiro says. “I’ll have to let more planets accidentally almost kill me.”

“Mmph.” Keith’s voice is muffled, buried in Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro, no.”

Shiro laughs, his tone fond and warm. “I’m kidding, Keith. Don’t worry.”

Keith huffs. “Lie down.”

“Lie down?”

“You heard me,” Keith says. “You just got out of the pod. You’re tired, right?”

“I— well, yeah—”

“And I don’t want you going anywhere. So lie down. Please,” Keith adds in a whisper.

Shiro’s expression goes impossibly gentle. “Alright.”

Keith tugs him down to the floor and pulls the blanket over them both. Snuggling against him, Keith loops a protective arm around his waist. Shiro settles in and relaxes.

Keith lifts a corner of the blanket with his other hand and looks up at Allura expectantly in silent invitation.

Heart warming, she slips under the blanket beside him. It’s uncomfortably hot, but she’ll bear it without complaint.

She turns to Lance. “Well? Will you be joining us?”

He points at his chest. “Me?”

“Yes, isn’t that how the story goes? With all of us, together?”

“I— Yeah. Yeah, that was how that ended.”

She gives him a smile and taps the space beside her. “Tell me another story.”

[kcwcommentary]

VLD5x03 – “Postmortem”

5x03 – “Postmortem”

(A note in advance: this is a long one.)

We’re back on Olkarion, again. At least this time, the show has Ryner return. With how much time was spent on Olkarion last season, it was odd to not have any Olkari characters involved in the story then. Ryner expositions that Olkarion is serving as the capital of the Voltron Coalition now. If information like that had been provided last season, it wouldn’t have felt as strange for the show to have spent so much time on Olkarion then.

“So much has changed so fast,” Sam says. I don’t understand the purpose of his comment. This is his first time on Olkarion, so he has no past here to be speaking of any of the changes the Olkari are making to their cities. He even can’t mean anything about knowing about aliens and space travel since he’s been captured by the Galra for over a year. I get annoyed by empty dialog like this that postures as if it’s saying something significant. It’s not.

“I fear tumultuous times are upon us,” Ryner says. This is more empty dialog. It’s written and performed as if it’s some unnerving portent, but the Coalition just fought a huge, multi-front assault on the Galra Empire at the end of last season. The tumultuous times have been here for a while already.

A Galra commander, with confirmation that Zarkon is dead and having intelligence that Voltron is on Olkarion, orders his ship to go there.

Allura and Lotor speak alone. She is initially polite, bordering on formal, asking him if he’s alright, but she’s starting to cross into being less formal and more conversational with Lotor. She can sense that he, like anyone would be, is going through something significant with his having killed his father. She tells him, “What you did was for the greater good, and for many of us, proof of your intentions for peace.” As much as the earlier dialog was empty, this line is not. This line of dialog uses a double-voice, the first retaining Allura’s formality, but the second voice is her personally speaking. By “for many of us,” we know she specifically is saying for herself.

The rest of Team Voltron arrives. Lance seems jealous, still, and his jealousy is still uninteresting. Lotor informs them that with the death of Zarkon, the “most formidable Galra” are going to come together for the Kral Zera to determine who’ll lead the Empire next. If he’s going to be able to influence the Galra Empire, he’ll have to attend too.

Shiro points out that this is what they’ve been discussing doing with Lotor, and Pidge responds, “Yeah, but no one told us that would involve flying into a war zone.” Team Voltron is fighting against the Galra Empire, pretty much everything is a war zone for them and has been from the beginning of the show, yet Pidge is acting like they’re not in one. I can only assume she has not been paying attention (or is just being badly written here).

Allura says they don’t have enough time to plan, Lance agrees. Shiro is not wrong when he tells them that they don’t have a choice. Intraparty conflict can be really interesting in a story, but the sides of the argument all have to seem equally reasonable. Arguing that they can’t do anything to get Lotor to the Kral Zera because of how soon it will take place doesn’t make any sense since the whole point of them working with Lotor is so that he can assume control of the Galra Empire and serve as a check on the Empire’s normal brutality. Not helping him with the Kral Zera would be abandoning the whole goal they have been working for the past couple of episodes.

Pidge and Coran agree with Allura. This makes most of the characters’ motivation inconsistent. If they’re so willing to abandon this goal now, there was no point in the show spending the past couple episodes with them wrestling with the decision to ally with Lotor. This makes the story feel like it’s drifting back to the strange casualness that it had in season four.

The show has Shiro very definitively here say that he’s the leader of Voltron, and thus he’s making the decision. So Allura begins to rant about how Shiro “armed Lotor with [his] bayard without consulting the rest of [them].” This tells us something: Everyone except Shiro last episode wanted to give Lotor over to be executed by Zarkon. None of them had a plan, so the entire time they were watching as the Lotor/Sam exchange was happening, they were doing so with the full expectation that Lotor would become Zarkon’s prisoner. Shiro and Lotor are the only ones who actually operated with the understanding that Zarkon would trick them and that they had to have some plan in place to deal with it.

This makes all of the rest of our supposed heroes complicit and guilty because they were explicitly giving into Zarkon’s demand with no other plan. They were handing Lotor over to be executed, and the only reason that didn’t happen is because Shiro acted behind their back. I find the lack of heroism in most of our supposed heroes to be seriously disturbing.

Allura yells at Shiro, “You put the entire operation in jeopardy.” What operation? She had no plan, she was just giving Lotor to Zarkon assuming that Zarkon would give them Sam in return. Why were Shiro and Lotor the only ones who understood that Zarkon would trick them? I don’t understand why this show has decided to write these characters as being so oblivious.

Lotor interjects some truth: If he doesn’t take the throne, there is a good possibility somebody as bad as Zarkon will.

Because the scene indicates most of the characters abandoned both logic and morality last episode and continue to argue without regard to logic now, the scene feels like a distortion, hollow, and the conflict in it manufactured. This scene does not leave me with a good opinion on most of the characters in this show.

Speaking of low opinions of characters, Haggar continues to stand weirdly in the middle of a room. We see that she’s watching Lotor. Because we’ve seen her do this in 4x03 “Black Site” through Narti, we know she’s doing it through one of the people in the room with Lotor. It’s not hard to then put that with last episode’s initiating Stage Four of Operation Kuron to conclude she’s using Shiro.

Like last episode, Haggar again clichédly says, “My son,” like she cares about him. As I’ve said before, I do not like this retcon the show is doing with her character. Some Galra then attack Haggar, but she teleports away, laughs like a cliché villain, and then jumps down on them. She possesses one of the attackers and uses them to kill the Galra commander who sent them.

Ezor, Axca, and Zethrid are being held in a cell. Haggar frees them.

Meanwhile, the Galra who wants to attack Olkarion arrives at the planet and sends some “payload,” which he references the Olkari as being involved with, crashing into the surface of the planet. Ryner contacts the Castle Ship and says that they’re detecting an “unknown toxin” from the impact; how she knows it’s a toxin if it’s unknown is not explained. Purple mist floats around the trees, causing lines in the trees to start glowing purple and move toward the impact site.

Haggar has returned to her middle of the room, this time with Axca, Ezor, and Zethrid with her. Haggar says she is not planning to seize power of the Empire, specifically stating that “the Empire will only accept a ruler with Galra blood.” This continues to make her seem like she’s all about wanting a puppet on the throne, the same as her pushing for Lotor to take Zarkon’s place on the throne in season three. She says they need “a natural born leader.” I’ve commented on this idea before in a commentary way earlier in the show: There is no such thing as a natural born leader. No one is born as a leader. Leadership is a set of skills, and like all skills, it is something that has to be developed. Any time I see someone talk as if leadership is an inherent quality, I have to assume that that person fundamentally does not understand leadership. Maybe that’s why this show has had so much difficulty with the part of its story dealing with characters being leaders. Most of the work on crafting the show’s story comes from perspectives that don’t understand what they’re writing about.

Haggar wants someone “with an iron will to match his iron fist.” She tells the three to “bring him to me.” I get that the show is trying to be cryptic, set up yet preserve what it wants to be a surprise about whom Haggar is speaking, but leaving him unidentified in this scene doesn’t work for me. It feels too blatant that something is being purposefully omitted in the scene. Sometimes I just don’t like being able to so easily see the decision-making process behind some writing choices like I do here. It makes the supposed suspense of whom she’s talking feel artificial.

Meanwhile, Lance is getting in target practice. I don’t think we’ve gotten any sort of normal activity scene like this in a long time. I like having a scene of a Paladin practicing; it makes the story world feel realistic, like this character could be an actual person doing actual-person things.

That Lance’s bayard turns into a sword though and the resulting conversation he has with Allura is not as nice. The sword is not Lance’s established natural weapon. That doesn’t mean that he can’t ever use a sword, but it still feels a little off. Allura says the sword is like the one her father used.

I try to avoid the psychoanalytic mode of literary criticism because that mode creeps me out to no end, but it’s kind of unavoidable here. Since the show is moving Allura and Lance toward a relationship, and Lance has always been into Allura since the first instant he saw her, the show focuses on Allura changing from being bothered by Lance into liking him. I would much rather have her end up liking him because he realized his flirtatiousness was excessive and he grew out of that, and in so doing opened himself up in a way that Allura could then see something appealing in him. But instead, the show gives us moments like this for Allura to compare Lance to her father. This makes any attraction she eventually has for Lance not about her desires but about what she lost with her father’s death. I’m just not a fan of the idea of a guy being romantically appealing to a woman because he makes her think of her father.

With Lauren Montgomery having said in an interview that she considered having the show end with Allura being reincarnated as an infant – literally infantilizing Allura – and having Lance raise Allura, the boyfriend-father juxtaposition of this scene feels even creepier.

Their conversation drifts to Shiro. Allura says, “Shiro has been quite difficult lately.” I know the show wants us to agree with Allura since it’s beginning to advance some of the clone plotline, but it doesn’t work for me because Shiro is the only one of Team Voltron that speaks sense.

“Thank you, Lance. Speaking with you has actually made me feel better,” Allura says. “What do you mean, ‘Actually?’” he says. They laugh. Apparently, that was supposed to be a joke. I wonder if literally anyone who’s watched this scene laughed at that.

The show switches to the Holt family. It seems like Sam has been thinking that Pidge and Matt are going with him to Earth, but Pidge says that they have more work to do with Voltron and the rebels, respectively. Sam seems surprised, but I don’t really know why.

We’ve had three scenes, two of which were very casual, between this next one and the last time this episode was dealing with what’s supposed to be the main plot of the episode: the thing that crashed into Olkarion and is messing with the plants. I had kind of forgotten that this plant thing main plot was even happening because of the intervening scenes. That makes the tension and threat feel nonexistent, which is not a good thing for the main plot of a story.

The plants have been infected with what the Galra are calling a virus. It’s turned the plants into a giant cannon, which starts shooting at the Black Lion as Shiro’s trying to get a look at what’s going on in the forest. A shot of the Galra cruiser advancing on Olkarion makes Olkarion look like a moon around a gas giant planet. Maybe I missed this when Olkarion was shown in the past; has it always been in orbit around this gas giant? And if so, why is that gas giant never depicted in the Olkarion sky? You would be able to see it. The plants overtake the city, and everyone freaks out.

Matt and Sam run onto the bridge where Coran is monitoring the situation. Sam asks, “Where are the Lions?” like he’s been part of Team Voltron longer than the few hours that he’s been there. It feels so unnatural for him to make this comment.

The giant plant cannon has a giant mouth. Ryner’s reaction feels so artificial. “I don’t understand. That monster resembles one of our tree-mechs. It’s as if the forest is being corrupted,” she says. Having a character speak words of bafflement like this only works if we viewers don’t already that is the result of a virus. Since we already know that “the forest is being corrupted,” her line here has no weight.

It’s sad that as I’m watching the form-Voltron animation repeat yet again, I’m thinking, well, at least with this animation taking up time, I don’t have to watch some other absurd scene. That I don’t trust this show to give me a decent scene that I’m welcoming the form-Voltron animation wasting time in the episode does not reflect well on the quality of story in this episode.

I’ve gotten so used to Shiro ordering, “Form Shield,” that it feels weird hearing him order, “Shield Up.” Voltron ends up landing on the ground and the plants wrap around Voltron. Allura suggests separating into Lions, which they can’t do because the plants fully cover Voltron. The plant-covered-Voltron-mass starts floating in the air like a balloon, and I have no idea why. The plant monster moves on toward the city.

Shiro asks Ryner about the Olkarion city’s new cannon that looks like a donut. She says it’s not operational but might could shoot once. Ryner charges the cannon, targets the monster, gets right to the point of shooting before the new cannon fails. Despite the donut-cannon being covered in purple-glowing vines, she’s baffled at first why the cannon fails, but then her whole building is covered in vines. “All of our systems, they’ve been compromised,” she says. For being from a culture that’s prominently made up of really knowledgeable and skilled engineers, Ryner’s inability to know what’s going on feels unnatural.

Matt communicates with Pidge, saying that the vines seem like they’re infected with a computer virus. This might would function as a revelation if we hadn’t had the Galra commander refer to it as such a lot earlier in the episode. “It’s like a computer and a virus rolled into one,” Pidge says. I couldn’t help but to laugh. I kind of feel like the episode is going to start explaining to me what a telephone modem is or something.

Sam suggests they can hack the plasma-mass that’s infecting the plants and shut it down. Matt says they’d have to figure out a way to interface with it first. Since the plants are shutting down Voltron and shutting down Olkarion systems, it would seem to me that the interface is already existing.

Pidge says, “This virus is affecting Voltron on a submolecular level.” Now it seems the episode is conflating a biological virus with a computer virus. A computer virus, which is what Matt said this was, is just data. It’s not physical, so it can’t do anything on a submolecular level. This plot feels like a mess. “To drive it out, we have to tap into the quantum energy that bonds us all to Voltron,” Pidge concludes. Great, the problem is going to be solved by the characters literally doing nothing.

Allura declares something that I don’t remember ever being said before: “The bayards […] amplify each Paladin’s life force.” I guess, whatever.

The Galra cruiser has arrived and is using a tractor beam to pull the cocooned Voltron in. Coran watches it happening on a monitor. How the Galra got that close to the situation and he didn’t react until now, I don’t know. He says, “It’s the Galra. This is all their doing.” His statement is supposed to be dramatic, but since we’ve known this is the Galra for a long time, his dialog creates no tension. It actually has the opposite effect: it’s making the lack of tension in the episode more prominent.

Somehow, despite the infected plants covering the city, Matt and Sam are able to exit the Castle Ship, walk through the Castle Ship’s shield, despite the fact that the show has established that no one can do that, make their way through the infected plants unharmed and uncaptured, and into the building where Ryner is. The fact that their journey would not be possible is ignored by having them just show up in the room with Ryner after our having last seen them standing on the bridge of the Castle Ship.

Ryner tells Matt and Sam, “I’m trying to interface with the vines to stop their growth, but I can’t communicate with the nanocellulose.” That sounds nonsensical since this is supposed to be a computer virus, but whatever. This is just part of the problem with the show trying to conflate plants and technology. But then comes a big problem for me.

Matt responds, “We don’t need to stop it. We just need to reroute it.” Ryner, leader of the Olkarion, people of genius-level engineers, replies to Matt, “Grab a headpiece. Show me.”

Matt and Sam have never used Olkarion headpieces before. They do not have a lifetime of working with Olkarion plant-technology the way Ryner has. But Matt and Sam, white men, know better than an Olkarion how to use Olkarion technology. This is more offensive pro-colonialist thought being written into the show. Ugh!

Matt and Sam put on the headpieces, touch a nearby piece of plant, which start to glow green instead of purple. I’m so tired of this show solving problems by having characters touch something until it glows.

The Paladins slam their bayards simultaneously into their Lions. Everything glows white until the Paladins then find themselves standing in some stream of energy. Lance, Allura, Hunk, and Pidge are there, but not Shiro. This is foreshadowing that Shiro isn’t actually Shiro but a clone. The four of them yell Shiro’s name repeatedly. He eventually halfway appears, though his face remains cloaked in shadow. There’s some increased meaningless glowing, and the Paladins each disappear until only Lance and Shiro remain.

Shiro calls out Lance’s name, saying “Listen to me.” Lance yells, “What?” as he disappears, unable to hear Shiro. I guess this was supposed to have been the real Shiro who’s being held in the Black Lion’s psychic space since dying at the end of season two?

Voltron’s eyes glow and it breaks free of the plants. The Olkarion cannon blows up the Galra cruiser. Matt and Sam are no longer wearing the headpieces. I don’t know how “rerouting” the computer virus-infected plants’ growth results in the cannon being able to be fired. I doubt anyone working on this episode has even the slightest ability to explain it either.

Voltron, which had been just a bit above the ground with the Galra cruiser, comes diving in as if coming from space to intercept a blast from the plant-monster in the Olkarion city. The logistics of this is a mess. Voltron slams into the plant-monster and pushes it to the edge of the city. It wraps plants around Voltron again. Pidge says, “The virus, it’s trying to absorb Voltron.” Is this different than when it had wrapped around Voltron the first time? It looks the exact same.

Red is the only Lion not grappled by the plant-monster, so Lance screams for an absurdly long period of time, maneuvers Red to be within the mouth of the plant-monster, and then blasts Red’s main cannon. That the plant-monster can be destroyed by just one blast from a Lion’s main cannon makes it seem like they should have been able to take this thing out a lot more easily that they have. But, whatever. The plant-monster explodes.

There’s some narratively unearned group sunset gazing scene. We’re supposed to feel some relief and poignancy, but the plot wasn’t significant enough to earn this.

Sam says, “Kids, I need to talk to you again about returning to Earth.” Matt responds with a sharp, “Dad,” as if no one can see coming Sam saying he understands Pidge and Matt needing to do the work they’re doing. It’s cliché. “I understand now,” Sam says. How Pidge and Matt fighting to rescue him didn’t result in him already understanding, what he learned from this attack on Olkarion that he didn’t already know, the show does not explain. (Because there is nothing new for him to have learned from it.)

Sam says he has to inform the Galaxy Garrison about what’s going on in the universe. “There’s a war coming,” he says. Another cliché. Also, not news. The war isn’t coming, the war’s been going on for the entire show, so saying one’s coming here in the fifth season makes it seem like the show itself hasn’t been paying attention to its own story.

Lance asks Shiro about what he was trying to tell him in the void. Shiro says that he doesn’t know, that things went dark for him for a moment during it. The camera lingers on Shiro staring into the distance, trying to make us feel ominous about Shiro.

Haggar continues to stand in the middle of her room doing nothing. Her mindless lurking in the middle of her room is laughable at this point, but I think the show thinks that it’s appropriately creepy or something. Ezor, Zethrid, and Axca return with Sendak, revealing who Haggar asked them to get for her earlier in the episode. I guess his return is supposed to be dramatic and ominous, but it’s been so long since he was last in the story – if I remember correctly, the last time we saw him was in 1x11 “Crystal Venom” as he was jettisoned out into space – that it doesn’t have the weight that the show wants it to have.

This episode is, as I said multiple times in this commentary, a mess. The intraparty conflict between Shiro and the rest of the Paladins is annoying because the specifics of the Lotor/Sam exchange situation in this and last episode make Shiro right, and the other Paladins look absurd for trusting Zarkon and immoral for turning a prisoner over to be executed. The pacing of this episode is jarring. There’s too much cliché dialog. The plant-plot is uninteresting. The threat is poorly defined, and the solution is amorphous.

It’s amazing (in a bad way) that Zarkon was this show’s main villain for two seasons. He was killed last episode. And this episode spends only one scene talking about it, having characters reflect on it. Very little of the emotion that should accompany Zarkon’s death actually does in this show. How am I expected to care about the plot development if the show doesn’t have the characters caring about it? This makes the plot have no weight.

There are some points that are technically existent in the episode that would be expected in an episode following Zarkon’s death: Team Voltron has their one scene briefly talking about the power vacuum that is left in the Galra Empire because of Zarkon’s death, and that is mirrored with the Galra commander attacking Olkarion and Haggar seemingly to become Emperor (and become her puppet). But despite being an important part of the on-going arc for the show, they don’t feel prominent enough in this episode. The episode ends up feeling like it only halfway is attending to the show’s story.

[shastelly]

Rivalry - March Klance Prompts from MonthlyKlance - Day 16

Day 16 – Rivalry (Part 2 continued from Day 14 Distance)

I leaned back against the wall.  I needed to catch my breath.  I'd finally gotten far enough ahead that I had moved down off the rooftops.  That was a good thing because getting shot at every time I took a jump across roofs sucked.  And while I hadn't lied about the first graze not being that bad, the second was worse and the third wasn't a graze at all, it was a solid hit to my right thigh.  Fortunately, laser blasts cauterize pretty well so bleeding wasn't the issue that it might have been but burns hurt and burns that leave a hole in my leg hurt a lot.

 I wondered what the others were doing.  They should be most of their way to Green now if they'd gone the way they should have gone. I know they didn't though, Keith said they would be coming to me and I was supposed to try to head to them.  The sad thing was that it was easier to tell which way I was going from the rooftops and panicked running made it a little hard to stay on course.  I knew one thing for sure.  I was not letting Keith beat me to the halfway point.  I know we've moved a little past this whole rivalry thing, but not that far past it.

 I pushed off the wall and began making my way down the alley between two mostly intact buildings.  I didn't hear anything coming.  I could do this.  I needed to stay ahead of the Galra.  The team was in a relatively Galra free area and moving right into one crammed with all the idiots looking for me, putting themselves in unnecessary danger.  They should have just gone straight to Green. They could have picked me up after that. Coming after me added additional danger and unknown.  The Galra could move Green or change their minds and try to move in on the team.  I shook my head.  Now was not the time to let negative thoughts get in my way.

 My leg crumpled and I fell to the side when I tried to crouch down, knocking over some crates.  I cringed at the sound and scrambled back.  I could hear footsteps moving quickly now.  Steeling myself against the pain I scrambled up and ran away from the sound.  I didn't have time for quiet and before I made the turn into the next street laser blasts were flying past me again.  This was not my day.  I kicked up the speed and ran flat out down a street, zig zagging to throw off the laser blasts heading at me.  The armor soaked a couple of hits for me and I managed to get enough of a lead to duck into an alley.

 I felt like I could hardly suck in enough air, but I had to keep moving - fear of death is a powerful motivator.  I wonder what kind of speed records humans would be capable of if only someone was shooting at them as they ran.  There was a door into a building that was slightly ajar.  I slipped in and pulled it closed behind me.  I still couldn't hear my pursuers, so I took the time to brace a fallen beam from the building against the door.  It shouldn't look like I'd gone this way.

 I crept deeper into the structure.  It wasn't horribly stable, there was a lot of creaking and one too many of what looked like support beams on the floor or cracked and hanging down from the ceiling. A good wind would take this place down, but hopefully not today.  I found myself in what must have been a bedroom.  There was a crushed bed in here anyway.  I pulled the cover off of the bed.  It was dirty and the green was yellowed and gave me a great idea because it was almost the exact color of most of the buildings.  I tied it around me like a cape.  It should help cut down on any glare or reflection from my white armor. I grinned and imagined myself like Frodo and Sam hiding under the elven cloaks.  I'm not sure it was going to work that well, but it should help.

 I waited until I heard the sound of the patrol that had been chasing move past the building, I was in.  I sat hunkered down by the side door, ready to make a run for it if I needed.  I didn't.  They moved past at double time, still hot on my trail.  I smiled, maybe my day was improving.

 A few dobashes later and I left through the door I had entered.  I doubled back two blocks, cut over three and tried to get myself back on track for meeting up with the team.  I really wish the coms in the helmet hadn't gotten fried by that blast. I guess it being fried verses my head being fried was really a reason not to complain, but I couldn't help but wonder what was going on with the team.  What were they doing?  Were they okay?

 I made good progress for the next several blocks.  I only had to duck into an alley once and the bedsheet cloak was surprisingly effective.  The patrol passed by the alley without a pause.  I felt like I was getting close to the halfway point and no matter what I'd tried to convince myself I had been pretty sure Keith and the team would beat me here.  The fact that I hadn't heard or seen them made me wonder if there was a problem, or more likely I was lost.  

 There was only one thing to do.  I needed a better view.  Two blocks over was a building that would work, about ten stories, taller than any other building in the area if I was remembering the map right.  If I was in the right part of the map to remember.  With a quick check I double timed it over to the building.  Maybe I shouldn't have double-timed.   Maybe I shouldn't have thought that things were going better.  Quiznak, did I hit my head, oh, you know probably the blast that fried the com.  Huh, I wonder if my bedsheet cloak is not as cool as I had imagined?

 I made it to the building, it seemed to be relatively stable, at least way more stable than the last building I was in.  I was on the second floor, when I realized that I had been followed.  It was only one set of footsteps, but they sounded really big.  Quiznak, I need a better day.  I hurried up two more flights.  I wish I could say I was being quiet or actually fast, but I'm not that big on lying.

 By the fifth floor I knew I wasn't going to win this race.  I ducked off into a room two doors away from the stairs.  I waited bayard transformed and ready.  The Galra that stepped up the stairs was one of the biggest I've ever had the misfortune of seeing, and bonus he was mostly metal, like seventy percent, where the quiznak am I supposed to shoot this guy, metal! I took aim and shot him in the shoulder. Looking back going for the kill shot would have been better, but I couldn't just kill someone like that, not without giving him a chance.  Unfortunately, I think I pissed him off and he charged, and Metal Galra was freaky fast. I didn't have time to get another shot off before he plowed halfway through a wall and into me.  I'm glad I wasn't in an outer room, because I'm pretty sure he would have plowed me right out of the building.  As it was, I went through another wall and if I wasn't previously suffering from a head injury, I can be certain that I am now.

 As my back connected and passed through the second wall, I was able to transform the sniper rifle into something a little more close-quarters.  The pistol pressed against his head was sufficient.  I vomited.  Seeing someone's head blown off and having part of it land on me was not in the job description.  Having to do it so that I didn’t die sucked.  

 I wonder what Keith's doing.  I hope he's okay.  Vomit stinks. I blinked a few times and found myself lying in a puddle of Galra blood next to a pile of vomit.  Gross, gross, gross, I scrambled back.

 "Keith?" I asked into coms that I remember now weren't working and a helmet I had strapped to my side because it was broken.

 "Lance?"

 Wait, broken radios don't talk.

 "Lance!"  I blinked again because my brain cannot make this make sense.  I look inside the broken helmet because maybe Keith is in there? How did he fit?

 "Lance!" Now Pidge is in there?

 "Pidge, how are you and Keith in my helmet, it's broken but you can't be there, and I can hear you so…I don't remember was there…you…I hit my head." I can't focus on the stupid helmet, it's so blurry.

 "Lance?"  The voice is much closer.

 "I beat you!"  It seemed important to let Keith know.   "I got to the halfway point first and you weren't here, but you always beat me and are you dead?  Are you dead and like a ghost hunting me, because that is so unfair Keith!  You don't get to win every time!  I get to win!  I beat you here!  You aren't allowed to be dead!”  Oh, quiznak were they dead?  Tears were pouring down my face and the helmet fell from my hands.  "Please don't be dead."

 "Hey, we're not dead."  Hands, Keith's hands, were on my face.

 I swallowed back the sobs and looked up and he was there.  Purple eyes and stupid mullet and all beautiful and based on Pidge's laugh I think I said that out loud.  

 "It's okay buddy."  Hunk, was there, I tried to turn and look at him, but that made me really dizzy and I think I puked on his shoes.

 "Sorry."  I muttered.

 "It's okay."  Hunk's voice was warm.  "Vomit is not something I am afraid of."  He chuckled and I couldn't figure out where he was, but he was close.

 "Hey."  Keith again. Is he still in front of me? "I'm here."  I felt one of my hands being lifted and laid against his face.

 "So, I did beat you?" I asked.

 "Yep. You beat us all."  His voice sounded rough, like he was crying.

 "Don't cry man, I never win.  It won't happen again."  I tried to reassure him, but I think my voice was a little slurred.

 "Okay, see that it doesn't."  He murmured and I felt myself being pulled into a hug.  I felt like the room was spinning around me, but Keith was holding me to the ground, and I knew I was going to be okay.

 TO BE CONTINUED in Day 20 TEAM