#i’m drawing garrison next and i’m scared cause the hair

[freakylilnutjob]

Spencer Stewart of The Band CAMINO

digital media - reference photo

[moral-turpitudes]

Mending Hearts:

Trigger Warnings: Angst, Blood, Mentions/Descriptions of War and PTSD, Lil bit of Fluff and stuff.

Word Count: 3,296

Characters: Arthur Shelby x Reader

+ Ada, John, Finn, and Polly.

Request: (I got this super detailed request on my Wattpad: @jetblackheartsx but I loved it so much I wanted to post it on here :) For the sake of this one, it’s taking place around the first season-ish where Billy Kimber has become the Peaky Blinders’ current headache.

Paraphrased: “...Reader is new to Small Heath and makes friends with Ada. One day she invites reader to come to one of her brothers mansions. As they drive out there she tells reader about her family, and upon arrival they find blood and two men around the corner. They check to see if they’re alive and Ada calls an ambulance while reader figures out how to save them. After she manages to save them, the ambulance crew arrives and takes them to the hospital and the reader brings Ada home. The next day Ada and Arthur come to thank her and bring her flowers. Then Arthur asks the reader if she’d like to come for dinner one night to meet the rest of the Shelby family. Reader blushes and agrees to meet them after a couple days in order for them to recuperate. When there, she meets Finn who is sweet and charming, and then she’s led to the drawing room of the mansion where she meets Polly and John. And as typical Shelby’s they are a bit flirtatious and so as she sits down with them she wonders what on earth the future could hold.” 

Requested by: Wattpad Reader

Y/n walked out of her apartment ready to meet her new friend Ada and her family. She had just moved to Small Heath a week prior and it wasn’t long before she’d gotten herself in a rut. She had just been rejected from a seamstress job, roaming the dark colored town and heading towards the Garrison to drink away her current feelings. When she arrived, she saw a brunette standing at the bar with a disgruntled look on her face. She smiled and walked towards her, not paying any mind to the ogling stares from the groups of men drunkenly hanging around during the day.

“What will you have miss?” The bartender asked.

“Oh, just a bottle of whiskey....thank you.” She said as he handed her a shot glass and a bottle. She slipped him the cash and he smiled as he went to tend to the other customers.

“You don’t sound like you’re from here...what’s your name?” Ada asked, staring at her glass of wine as Y/n took a seat.

“Y/n...and you’re right...I’m not from here. Just moved from London.” She said.

“Well...welcome to Small Heath then, Y/n. I’m Ada...Ada Shelby.” She said hesitantly.

“What brings you here?” She asked.

“Planning to drink away my sadness for the night, it’s lonely here. Job rejections and such...” Y/n said before taking a shot.

“I see...well I may be able to help you out with that if you’d like. I have some pull in this town.” Ada said winking.

“Really? You’d help me out? You barely know me.” She said taking another shot.

“I know...I just want to help for a change. You seem nice so I’m willing to take the chance. And....let’s just say my family is always looking for ways to expand their business. What do you do exactly?” She asked.

“Well I was a nurse back in London for a couple years, but then I got sent out to help in the war, stitching soldiers, mending wounds, repairing uniforms, things like that.” She said nonchalantly. She never opened up much about her experience, seeing wounded soldiers everyday, but she managed to integrate back into civilian life just fine, but it was the nights when she’d sit at home alone that worried her the most.

“Oh really? All of my brothers except for my youngest got sent to France...I’m glad they and you got back. It’s changed them though...” She said sipping her wine.

“War does that, yeah.” Y/n said looking down at her third shot. Remembering all the men she saw and helped mend.

“Are you wanting to drink that whole thing?” Ada asked smirking.

“Only if you‘d want to help me.” She said, pushing the bottle towards Ada.

They continued on like that for the day, becoming best friends by the end of the night.

“You...you’d like my brothers. Maybe I’ll let you meet them tomorrow?” She asked, slurring her words a bit. Y/n could see the poor woman was desperate for some kind of human interaction that wasn’t with her family, so she smiled, agreeing to meet them and looking forward to hanging out with her again.

“I’ll pick you up at noon tomorrow. What’s your address?” Ada asked.

Y/n wrote it down quickly, hoping it was legible in her current state.

“I’ll have my driver take you back, here come with me.” She said taking her arm as they both hobbled out. She paid no mind to the men whistling at them as they walked to the car.

Once in, Y/n looked around hazily and drunkenly talked with Ada as they both watched the dreary night blow by them as the driver made his way to her apartment, Ada only slightly more sober than her, helping her to her door.

“Noon tomorrow alright? Thanks for keeping me company tonight. You’re a good friend Y/n.” She said before giving Y/n a hug. Y/n smiled and waved her off, quickly going inside and heading for her scarcely furnished bedroom.

During the war she learned to live with next to nothing, as she constantly had to share stuff with her nurse mates and only had a few clothing items She could bring. Necessities were pretty much it for her, keeping her style in both clothing and furnishings to a minimum.

The next day, Y/n awoke with an all-too-familiar headache and so she took a quick shower and put on a white dress-shirt and beige skirt. Tying her hair up into a tight bun with a ribbon and some pins, just as she did years ago. It had to be done so often that she did it out of habit now.

Grabbing her coat, she walked out, seeing Ada parked outside.

“Hey Y/n! Nice to see you! How are you feeling?” She asked, her sunglasses hiding her own tired look.

“Hungover, but I’ve been through worse.” She said smirking. Ada laughed and continued on, driving down the road.

“So tell me about this family of yours? They have a business I may be of use to you said?” Y/n asked.

Ada gulped and smiled, trying to hide the uneasiness in her voice as she spoke.

“Well, they’re pretty well known here as am I. The Shelbys that is....my brothers mainly...are known as the Peaky Blinders...rigging the books, going to horse races, taking bets, smuggling drugs, weapons, the lot...” Ada paused, waiting for y/n’s reaction.

“Oh my...You know I think I’ve heard of them before, they got in quite the scuffle in London about a year ago.” Y/n said.

“Does that scare you? What my family does?” She asked, knowing many of her friends left her due to her status.

“Not really. They sound quite interesting. That or I’m insane...” Y/n said jokingly.

“Well Y/n you might be. But in that case I think you’ll fit right in.” She said.

“I don’t mean to barge in or anything though, to their business that is, I don’t want to seem desperate for a job...” Y/n said, fiddling nervously with her hands as they pulled into her brother Thomas’ driveway.

“They don’t mind. I’ve already talked with them. Tommy needs a new nurse and a seamstress if I’m honest. The bastard gets in dangerous fights and rips holes in almost all his suits at some point. Not to mention, the old nurse almost gave him an overdose of morphine once because she couldn’t see the dosage markers.” She said chuckling.

“Oh my. Well I’d be glad to help, thanks for putting a word in for me.” Y/n said before getting out of Ada’s car.

“No problem.” She said smiling and leading her into Thomas’ estate.

As they walked along the hallway, Y/n saw a trail of blood and Ada gasped.

“Walk to the side of it.” Y/n said sternly, walking down the long hall and towards the kitchen. The blood was fresh and a dark crimson, the light glinting off it as it led down into the cellar.

Groaning was heard from two dark haired men. Ada suddenly screamed and ran away from her to call an ambulance.

“Hello! Yes come to Thomas Shelby’s estate quickly. He’s been hurt again and so has Arthur.” Y/n heard her say urgently from upstairs.

Without thinking, Y/n carefully dodged the blood and ran towards them, seeing the man with blue eyes drifting in and out.

“Hey, stay with me. Focus on my voice. I’m going to put pressure on your abdomen okay?” He nodded and looked at her from bloodied eyes, he’d been beaten and stabbed badly.

“What’s your name aye?” Y/n asked as he winced.

“Thomas...Thomas Shelby.” He said quietly.

“Ada get me a first aid kit! Now!” She yelled from the cellar loudly, causing the other man to cover his ears as he bled from his arm profusely.

Ada came running down, a look of fear and disgust as she got blood on her heels.

“Here, I found some whiskey, a needle and thread, and some pliers. Oh and the former nurses morphine.” She said handing her the box with all of it and the bottle of whiskey.

“Ada I know you don’t want to do this but I’m going to need you to wrap your brothers arm in gauze and squeeze it. Talk to him. Don’t let him fade out.” Y/n ordered. Ada shakily went over to her brother Arthur and did as instructed.

“Oi! Ada who’s that?” He asked, panting as he held his hand over his stomach which was also bleeding.

“Sh-she’s my new friend, the one I told you about. I figured she’d be able to be of some use.” She said sloppily wrapping the gauze and squeezing his arm as he yelled out.

“Thomas? Hey. Hey! No don’t look up look at me.” Y/n said shaking her head a bit as she looked on the syringe and loaded the correct amount of morphine into it, administering it carefully into his arm. She could feel his eyes on her as she poured whiskey in the wound. His eyes opened wide and he bit his lip trying not to scream as she worked.

“A piece of the knife broke off and I have to extract it, bite down on this.” She said, putting his loose tie in his mouth.

She cleaned her hands with whiskey and then carefully extracted the piece of metal from his wound, causing it to bleed more. Then she quickly threaded the needle and put pressure on him to stop the bleeding before stitching him up just as she was instructed in the medical ward.

It seemed as if it took her forever but really it only took her about 10 minutes.

Ada gagged as she held the now saturated gauze, watching Y/n put the final touches on Tommy’s gauze before wiping the blood from his face and putting ointment on the cuts near his eye.

Thomas watched her as she ran towards Arthur who was losing blood more quickly. She didn’t think, just acted, as she undid Arthur’s belt causing Ada to give her a questioning look.

“Tourniquet.” She said sharply before yanking the remainder of it from under him.

“You did great Ada. Put his tie in his mouth now please.“ Y/n said, and Ada did as instructed.

“So I hear your names Arthur. Keep your eyes on me. I’m going to tie this alright? Bite down.” Y/n said as he weakly bit down.

He groaned and she saw tears escape his eyes as he looked at her, frantic and nervous as he was losing blood rapidly.

Y/n averted her gaze and pulled the belt as tight as she could, getting the bleeding under control gradually as she assessed his wounds.

He was stabbed like Tommy but not as deeply and not with a piece of metal embedded in his side, as his arm was what took the brunt of it.

Y/n unwrapped the gauze and flushed both wounds out as he yelled through the tie. Ada walked over to Tommy after she saw Y/n had Arthur under control and asked him about what happened, Y/n listening in as she worked.

“Kimber’s men...they came in here after we got back from the races. It was just me and Arthur here as we were going to go to the shop. They came here to get me Ada. They came here to kill me after what went down.” He said weakly.

“Well they failed miserably.” Ada said half smiling. Tommy took his sisters hand and held it as she watched Y/n work, waiting for the ambulance.

Y/n got the bleeding in his arm to fully stop for now and so she administered another correct dose of morphine and then stitched Arthur’s arm up and wrapped it, doing the same to the wound on his stomach, blushing a bit as his eyes caught hers as she shyly checked him out, his abs prominent as he tensed up from the pain.

As Y/n finished cleaning him up, he looked up at her and smiled weakly.

“Where did you learn all this? You’re a way better nurse than that old hag... isn’t she Tommy?” He said looking over at him. Tommy’s blue eyes darted over to him as he nodded, he itched to get back to business, to hunt down Kimber’s men, but he knew he couldn’t right now, no matter how much he wanted to.

“I uh...was sent off to France during the war. I helped take care of the soldiers.” She said hesitantly, remembering one of the nights when she had to rush into the field and help one of the men near the tunnels. He had the shakes and was doubled over in pain from the heat and an injury he had came into the infirmary for a few days prior.

Her heart raced as she remembered trying to help him out of the tunnel as a bomb went off near one of the trenches they were stumbling towards, killing the other soldiers near them instantly. The dirt, debris, and blood of her fellow nurses and soldiers raining down on her as she hit the ground, her ears ringing for what felt like forever as the man helped her hide despite his shaky and weakened state. He had brought her down near a dirt hole that was much less deep compared to the other trenches, urging her to hide as he looked around for more bombs. She tried her best to help him when he came back, giving him her canteen and helping him cool off as they hid. But he later died in front of her as he succumbed to the shock and from sepsis due to the injury he had gotten.

She sat there with tears in her eyes, snapping back to reality at Arthur’s voice as she remembered hiding with the mans corpse until sunrise.

“Y/n are you alright?” He asked. He must’ve said something before but she hadn’t heard him due to her flashing back to that night.

“Oh! Right, sorry. I just have memories...I’m sure you both know what that’s like...” She said, as he nodded and took her hand. She wiped her tears away as she heard the ambulance blaring in the distance and immediately went to help Tommy and Arthur up and out of the cellar, desperately shoving the memories away to focus.

After they’re swept off to the hospital, Y/n looked as Ada watched them leave, leaving her to clean up the mess scattered through Tommy’s house.

“Here I can help Ada. I’m great with washing blood out of things.” Y/n said smirking.

“You have a morbid sense of humor, truly.” Ada said as they both worked their way down to the cellar, cleaning every inch of the flooring with mops, soap, a pail of water, and some bleach.

When all was done, it was around 5pm, and Y/n could tell Ada was tired. Y/n was used to the stress and violence keeping her going, but Ada on the other hand was worried and exhausted.

“Here I’ll take you home. I’ll drive and then walk home.” She said.

“Oh no I’ll have a driver come pick you up, no friend of mine will be walking alone.” She said.

“Alright, well I’ll still drive you home though, no use tiring yourself more than you already are.” She said patting Ada on the back as she grabbed the keys.

“I guess. Just don’t speed too much.” She said jokingly.

“No promises.” Y/n said and then got in the car, driving off to Ada’s lavish apartment.

By the time they got there, a car was waiting for her and so she said her goodbyes and received a million thanks from Ada, and then tiredly got in the car and headed home, watching the lavish building fade into the night.

The next day she awoke to a loud knock on her door, and so she sprung up and slipped on a robe as her hair fell down around her shoulders. She sighed as she took in her tired appearance, but nevertheless walked to the door.

She was greeted with a tall man hiding behind a bright bouquet of flowers and a smiling Ada.

“Put the flowers down you doofus. She can’t see your face.” She said before forcing him to give Y/n the flowers. Once she placed them inside, she saw it was Arthur.

“Oi, hiya Y/n. We just wanted to say thank you. You uh saved my brother and I‘s lives back there and I wanted to tell you in person.” He said as he looked at his fresh bandage on his arm.

Y/n blushed as she glanced at him and the flowers.

“It was no problem really.” She said looking at him again as she blushed slightly.

“I know you’ve been through a lot, but would you like to come over to meet the rest of the family for dinner in a couple days? They’re keeping Tommy over In the hospital for a day or two so that they can get some things sorted and make sure he doesn’t run out like he did in the past.” He said smirking to Ada who rolled her eyes at the memory.

“Sure! I’d love to meet my new colleagues and....patients...should the need arise.” She said.

“Alright I’ll see you at Thomas’ estate then.”

“Sounds like a plan. Ada will you be there?” Y/n asked.

“Of course! I’ll pick you up at noon.” She said.

“Alright, see you both very soon.” Y/n said before closing the door, blushing like a madwoman as she took in what just happened. She smelled the flowers before bringing them to her table near the window, finally having a bit of color to brighten up the place.

A few days had passed and she got ready in her long green dress, putting her hair up as she looked in the mirror. She added makeup and then heard Ada’s car as if on cue.

She quickly pulled on her coat and dashed out the door, excited to meet the rest of the notorious Shelby family.

Upon entering, Ada introduced Y/n to her youngest brother Finn, who politely greeted her and directed her to the others.

They were all in the drawing room, discussing what happened when Ada and Y/n walked in.

“There she is! The woman of the hour!” Arthur said excitedly, pointing at Y/n, causing her to blush.

Polly and their other brother John came over and hugged her. Polly telling her how grateful they are for Y/n being their new nurse, and John eyeing her up and down and winking as she walked past him, advancing towards Arthur to give him a hug. John frowned, wondering why she’d go for someone that wasn’t him, but he soon sat back down, wiping the expression off his face when Polly came near.

“How are you doing Tommy?” Y/n asked making her way over to him, patting him lightly on the shoulder.

He put his hand over hers and looked up at her smiling slightly.

“I’m doing better. Thanks to you of course.” He said and she smiled.

“Hey I was there too you know!” Ada said slumping down in her seat by John and Polly.

“You did great too, holding my arm and all Ada. But nothing beats a badass military nurse aye?” Arthur asked winking at Y/n as he raised his glass.

“I’ll drink to that.” Y/n said, smiling and raising her glass at him as she took in her new friends and colleagues.

She never thought she’d end up here but she knew it was where she was meant to be. Coming from nothing in London, to finding some semblance of a normal life in Small Heath, eager to leave some parts of the past behind but reluctant to let go of others. She knew that this was better than where she had been before. And that despite her brief flirtatious interactions with the tall, short-haired man, she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he wanted something more, and that maybe it was fate that she’d moved here after all, but only time can tell.

Tag List:

@flysafepapi, @inglourious-imagines, @peakysabrina, @blinder-secrets, @ta-ka-shi-ma

[heathsbitch]

Treat You Better ➳ PEAKY BLINDERS

vi. MICHAEL

          Her throat burned. Her legs burned. Her eyes burned. Groaning, Ivy sat up and opened her eyes. She cast them around the room she was in. It was the Shelby's living room. 'What am I doing here?'  Then she remembered; the opening of The Garrison, stealing the bottle of rum, almost having sex in an alley way, with Finn. Emotions raged through her head. Finn was one of her closest friends, probably her best friend. But surely he was just that? But best friends don't try and sleep with each other...

She curled into the woolen blankets that lied on top of her. Turning her head, Ivy noticed Finn sleeping next to her small body. His mouth was wide open and short snores were leaving it. He was still in his suit and coat from the previous night but his hat and shoes had been taken off. Ivy was also still in her clothes from the previous night but she had no shoes on either. "Right, time for you two to get up." Tommy said as he burst into the room. Finn jumped from his position on the couch, then immediately sunk realizing the throbbing headache he now had to nurse. "I have a job for you two."

What Tommo had failed to mention about the job he had for the two of them was the fact that it involved standing around for hours in a bright light. Well, it was bright to them anyway. They were waiting outside the sectioned off room in The Garrison. Finn and Ivy had to bring in initiates for the Peaky Blinders. Finn was leaning on a wall whilst Ivy had her head face down on a table and slumped over in her chair. "Fuck," He groaned for what felt like the 50th time in the past ten minutes. "What happened last night?" The girl sat up from the table to look him straight in the eye. "Do you not remember?"

"No," He laughed "Do you? 'Cause I was completely out of it. I didn't do anything stupid, did I?" Her heart dropped slightly. Was it out of relief or sadness that he had forgotten what had happened? She wondered if John remembered what he saw...

Finn took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "Want one?" She shook her head and sat back in her chair. Her head was pounding like drums were having a rave inside of it. A large, bald man walked out of the cove. "Next," Finn called, taking a puff of his cigarette. A strange-looking man in a bowler hat looked around the room, anxiousness practically pouring out of his ears. "Next." Finn repeated, looking directly at the man, he shook his head at the poor guy as he entered the small room. "Play nice, Finley." Ivy told him, opening her eyes. She had closed them to try and get some relief from the light but it wasn't working out too well. Last night, she hadn't got a proper look around the recently restored pub. Gold covered the place, it looked extremely expensive. The bar was lined with various alcohols, each one a different colour and size. 'None of that shit for a couple days, or weeks.' She said to herself, the girl's hangover slapping her repeatedly.

Large and small tables alike lined the room. A red velvet curtain hung at the back of the room. It was probably a cornered off room for some higher-class customers. It wasn't in use now.

"How are you feeling?" Finn asked Ivy. "Like shit." They both laughed then groaned immediately after, the headaches getting increasingly worse when they chuckled. "Same." He agreed. He was staring at a sign at the side of the bar, it had a list of spirits and beer on it.

"Having trouble there?" Ivy joked but he didn't reply. "Wait, you can read, can't you?" He looked at her and sheepishly shook his head. "I can read some things, like separate words. And I can write my own name. But, that's it." He didn't look at the girl when he spoke. He was embarrassed at the fact he couldn't read or write properly. "I could teach you, if you want." She offered. She wasn't near enough qualified to teach him but she could try her best. "Really? You would do that?" He asked, excitement running through him. "Of course, Finn. That's what friends are for." The corners of his mouth turned up when she said the word 'friend'. "You know, I've never had proper friend before. Not before Isaiah anyway." She gave him a sympathetic smile, "Neither have I," He returned the smile. "People have always been scared of me as well, Finn. My dad has a bit of a bad reputation. It might even be worse than the Peaky Blinders." The girl kept her eyes trained on the floor when she spoke.

Finn came over to sit next to her at the table. He lent back in his own chair and took one of her hands in his. Ivy's eyes met his and he smiled.

The Shelbys were finished in half an hour. They came out to see the two teenagers leaning on the table, sleeping, still holding hands. Arthur walked up to the table and slammed his hands against it. They both shot up, startled from the noise. Their hands disconnected immediately and their eyes darted between each other and the Shelby boys. "Come on you two. We've got work to do." Tommy took them to the Shelby's house so they could work the books for the rest of the day.

"Run for the hills! It's Digbeth kid!" Arthur shouted as he burst through the doors. "Get out of town, kid, or I will shoot your fucking head off!" John shouted back, drawing his gun. "I've got a prisoner! Stay back!" Arthur wrapped his arm around Ivy's neck and shook her around playfully. She groaned in pain, her headache still raging through her. "Time's up. You're dead. Go down. John!" He pretended to shoot John but he just stared at something behind them.

Ivy pulled out of Arthur's grip so she could turn around. When she did, the girl saw Polly with a young boy around her age. "Michael?" Ivy whispered. The corner of his lips turned up when he saw her. She gave him a warm smile, she wanted him to feel welcome. Tommy walked in and gave him the same smile Ivy had. Well, it was more of a smirk. Arthur and John both put their guns away, they snickered in the process. "All right then, Polly," Arthur began "Who's this?" The boys snickered again. "Gentlemen. This is your cousin. Polly's son, Michael." Polly held onto Michael's arm, he looked slightly uncomfortable and wore an awkward smile, but Polly smiled proudly next to him. Michael walked away from Polly and towards Arthur, John and Ivy. He shook John's hand firmly and moved onto the girl. Instead of shaking her hand, he brought it up to his lips hesitantly and layed a kiss on the back of it. She could feel her face flush bright red. His cheeks also held a slight red tint as he pulled away. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too." She returned the smile that she had on earlier. "Pleased to meet you." Michael said to Arthur as he shook his hand. "I'm Arthur. You've met me. I used to throw you out of the window so John could catch ya'." The girl gave a worried look to Arthur but he kept looking forward at Michael. "I used to put you in a shoe box and kick you down Watery Lane." Her head snapped towards John, 'What the hell is wrong with them?' Tommo smiled at the Solomons's reaction. "I bet you're glad to be back." He said to Michael. He laughed at their words "I don't remember any of it. All I remember is the day they took me away."

'Well, that got morbid pretty fast.' Polly walked over to her son and placed her hands on his cheeks. He was a little bit taller than her but looked down into his real mother's eyes. She engulfed him in a hug and everybody exchanged looks around the room. Polly pulled away and Tommy stepped in to talk to him. When they walked in, Ivy hadn't taken note of Polly's appearance. She wore the same beautiful red dress from last night. Her hair was messy and her eyes had dark bags underneath them. She might've looked worse than Ivy did. What had happened to her? "Well you're here now, son," Tommo placed his hand on Michael's shoulder, "Welcome to the Shelby family." He shook his shoulder and flashed him a smile. "Later on we'll show you the ropes." Arthur told him. Ivy turned her head to look up at John, a smirk played upon his lips. "Yeah, we'll show you what's what." Polly looked between her nephews, worry plastered on her face. She probably didn't want him to get involved with Peaky business. She was trying to keep Ivy away from that side of her life as best as she could. Ivy could see why she wanted to keep him away, she just wanted to protect them.

"Let's leave him be for now, eh?" Tommo stepped in, even he wanted to keep Michael away from his brothers. "Come on boys, Ivy." She went to follow them out of the room but Polly kept her back. "Ivy, can you stay here, please?" The girl looked at Thomas for permission and he nodded his head. "I would like to speak to you later. Meet me at The Garrison." He told her and she nodded her head, notifying that it was okay. They left the room and Ivy made her way over to Michael and Polly. She sat down at the table so Michael and Ivy followed her actions. "I was just wondering, Michael, if you would like to stay with us for a few days," Polly asked her son "Would that be alright with both of you?" The young girl looked at Michael and he nodded. "That's fine with me." Ivy said to Polly. "I'll have to call ma' mother to see if that's alright."

"Okay," Polly agreed. "There's a phone in The Garrison that you can use. Ivy, you have to meet Tommy there, don't you?" She bobbed her head, agreeing to what Polly was saying. "Would you mind taking Michael down there?"

"No, that's fine." Polly stood up from the table and they followed in suit. "I'm going to get dressed now. It's good to see you again, Michael." Polly hugged him again before walking up off the stairs. Ivy walked over to the coat rack by the door where her coat hung. She grabbed it and put it on. "You ready for the dirty old streets of Birmingham?" He laughed at the girl's light joke, "Yeah."

On their way to The Garrison, Michael was asking her a few questions about her relations to the Shelby family. "So, are you related to Arthur, John and Thomas?" The pair walked down Watery Lane, the light wind brushing through their hair. "No," Ivy laughed "I'm from London. Our family's are..." She paused, stuck for what to say. She couldn't say that they were trying to murder each other or the truth about why she ran away. "Friends," Was the word that she decided on. "Well, they're in business together."

"So are you just visiting or..." He trailed off. "I was supposed to be just visiting but I'm moving in properly with Polly soon." The rest of the walk to The Garrison was filled with small talk, like how old they were and basic information like that. She had found out that Michael was only a few years older than her and the little boy they saw at his old house was his 'brother'.

"Tommo," Ivy called out to him as they rounded the corner of The Garrison. "Michael needs to use the telephone." He looked between the pair, "Alright, but make it quick. Ivy and I have business." Ivy furrowed her eyebrows. Business. Tommy took them through the pub and towards the small office at the back. "Polly said you own this place," Michael said to Tommy. "She said you own lots of different businesses." Ivy shook her head, her dad and Tom were always competing for businesses, that's why he was always complaining about him. "You call her Polly or mum?" Tommo quipped back. "I can't get used to calling her mum yet." Michael confessed. Tommy sighed as they reached the office and closed the door behind him. "Who are you calling?" He asked. "My mother. I mean..."

"I know what you mean," Ivy sat down at the chair by the desk whilst the boys stayed stood up. "What are you gonna tell 'er?" Michael looked at the girl then towards Tommo. "I'm going to tell her where I am."

"And now you're gonna tell 'er you're going home." Ivy's head spun around at Tommo's orders. 'Why did he want him to go back home?' Michael took a seat next to her and told Thomas what Polly had told him, "Polly said that I could stay here for a few days." He took his hat off of his head and held it in his hands. "Do you want to stay?" Ivy asked this time.

"I only just got here." Michael told the girl. "What age are you, Michael?" Tommy began to lightly grill the boy. "Seventeen." Michael looked at Ivy whilst he spoke. "Seventeen," Tommo repeated "Which means it's not up to you, right?"

"I'm eighteen in a few weeks. I make up my own mind." His confidence shocked Ivy, he seemed like an innocent and quiet boy at first. "You smoke?" Tommy asked his cousin. "No." Thomas pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, taking a few puffs from it. "Drink?" The girl turned to Michael, he looked back at her and shook his head. Maybe he was just as innocent as he first seemed?

"You're going to call your mother. Tell her you're getting the next train home. When you get there, write a letter to Polly saying that when you're eighteen, you'll come back here and-" Michael interrupted him "I just told you, I make up my own mind." Ivy stayed quiet but her eyebrows were raised. Not even she had enough confidence to stand up to a man like Tommy.

Tommo's facial expression did not change one bit. "Do you know what we do? Michael?" He took another puff of his cigarette, he was calm the entire time. "We Shelbys and Solomons?" When he mentioned Ivy's name she gave him a worried look. Michael seemed like a confident man but she didn't want to scare him away. "You're a Solomons?" He turned to ask the girl, she only nodded her head. His facial expression didn't change. 'These two are gonna be the death of me.' Ivy thought to herself. "Yes, I think I know what you do." The two continued to stare at each other. The girl began to feel increasingly more uncomfortable in the scenario she was in. "You've got smart eyes," Tommy paused "But you're young, so you think what we do is alright. It's not alright," The girl agreed with Tommy. She didn't want to be murdering people because of 'business'. Blood still stained her hands; no matter how much water she used to try and cleanse them.

"People get hurt," He looked straight at Ivy when he said those words, she kept her eyes focused on the floor, guilt filled her still. "Now, call your mother. And we'll drive you to the station."

"No," Michael and Thomas's exchange picked up more and more tension the longer it lasted. Ivy shifted in her seat. A long pause lasted between them before Michael spoke up again. "In my village," He begun, "There's this little wishing well. It's made of white bricks, right in the middle of the village green. Everybody says how pretty it is. But I swear to God, if I spend another day in that village, I'm going to blow it up with dynamite. Probably blow my hands off with it, but it will be worth it. Just to see all those pretty white bricks spread over the pretty village green." Michael began to scare Ivy. But it was good fear. In a way, he intrigued her. He had a darkness deep inside of him that looked like he couldn't control. Ivy knew that the same darkness lurked inside her, somewhere, buried deep within the small girl. They were both dangerous.

She dragged herself out of her dark thoughts, she shouldn't be thinking like that. Ivy averted her eyes back to the men. She didn't know if it was her hallucinating, but it looked like Tommy was smirking. Strange. He snubbed out his cigarette, "Yep, you're Polly's son all right. Just as you're Alfie's daughter." Michael and Ivy turned towards each other but turned back to Tommo almost immediately. He lifted his hand up in his defense as if he was saying that he'll explain later.

"Are you going to call Mrs Jo- your mother?" The girl stopped half way through her sentence to re-evaluate her words. "Yeah, but I think I'll stay," He walked over to the phone and called her. Within a few minutes, he was done and ready to leave the room. "Are you coming, Ivy?" She stood up and walked over to Tommy. "Tommo said he needed to talk to me. Can you wait outside for a few minutes please?" He nodded and left the small office. Ivy raised her eyebrow at Tommo, waiting for him to speak. "I'm going to see your father, again, Ivy." She took in a deep breath. She still needed more time to prepare what she was going to say to him. "Next time. I promise." Tommy nodded accepting her proposition. "Alright. You'd better go and see if Michael's alright."

"Bye, Tommo." Ivy left the room to try and find Michael.

vii. THE HORSE AUCTION 

MASTERLIST

[makorragal-312]

Void (Part Seven)

And we’re back! Also, I officially launched my Ao3 account, so you’re welcome to read Void on there as well (username is the same, however I’m not good with links right now so you might have to find it manually until I can. *sweat drop*) But anyway, enjoy the chapter!

“What are you scared of?”

“Everything.”

Lance sat up again, a feeling of uneasiness washing over him. He looked down at his hands, clasping them together as he tried to put his words together. He knew he could be honest with Keith and tell him what he was feeling, especially considering he’s been the most transparent with him for the last couple of weeks before now. But he knew that if he said too much at this moment, he might push him away. And for some reason, the thought of that made him feel small. A feeling he NEVER wanted to experience again.

“It’s just…I shouldn’t be feeling this way, y’know? I shouldn’t be feeling this conflicted. I mean, come on! I’ve had feelings for Allura for the longest time, you know that. But for all that time, she always brushed that aside, never taking me seriously. Honestly, there were some points that I just thought I should just give up, wipe my hands clean, and focus on…other things.” Lance tightened the grip on his hands.

“But then, she started to notice me a-and acknowledge my feelings. And she actually said yes! I asked her out and she actually said yes! This is the part where I should be happy, right? I should be smiling from ear to ear and screaming from rooftops. And then, I don’t know what happened, man. The minute my mom opened that door and Allura walked in, I was just…petrified.”

“Lance.” Keith started. Lance raised his head and looked at his leader’s eyes. They didn’t hold any pity, thankfully, but they did hold concern and some other emotion he couldn’t quite pinpoint. He smiled sadly.

“Completely, utterly petrified. It’s like, I was so ready to sweep her off her feet and kiss her at the end like in the movies. But when it came down to it, I couldn’t even deliver! I wanted to do it so badly, and I know that I keep on saying it but I did! But when I tried, it just felt…wrong.”

Keith raised his eyebrows in shock.

“Wrong?”

“Yeah, like. You know how you’re watching a baseball game and the player hits a home run and you somehow end up catching the ball? But then you see the little kid next to you looking at it like it’s their whole world so you decide to give it to them instead because at the end of the day you’re both happy? You caught it, but the kid gets to keep it. You’re not gonna lose sleep over it as long as you know you made someone else’s day and you feel good about it. THAT’S how I felt. I got Allura, she wanted to kiss me and I walked away because I WANTED TO. I know I did the right thing by not kissing her half-heartedly s-so why can’t I- WHY CAN’T I JUST GO TO SLEEP??!!” Lance wailed, clutching his hair as tears began to spill down his cheeks.

He heard Keith getting up from his stool and walking towards him, but at this point he didn’t really care. He couldn’t take these feelings of confusion anymore. He wanted nothing more but to take them and throw them to the nearest star system. But he couldn’t, not while it meant that there was a chance he would lose something important to him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps stop.

“I know why you can’t sleep.”

He felt fingers grip his chin as felt his head get turned upwards. He saw those purple eyes again, looking at him with the same emotions from before, only this time the emotion he couldn’t make out was making its presence more known in his gaze. Lance was blindsided and didn’t have time to react before Keith leaned in closer to him and opened his mouth.

“Because you’re thinking about me.”

Lance’s eyes sprung open as he gasped for air. He felt his hands clutching the blankets on top of him, making him throw them to the side as he quickly sat up. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find some familiarity. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was indeed in his Garrison bedroom, no threat in sight. He allowed himself to breathe a much-needed inhale and somewhat able to release a shaky exhale. He felt beads of sweat forming on his head as he continued to catch his breathe. What the hell was that about? He wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead, surprised to find the droplets even though he knew of their presence earlier.

After a few minutes, he was eventually able to calm down, but that didn’t stop the red paladin from feeling the intense whiplash from his dream. How can a dream be real and not real at the same time? Everything at the start of the dream he knew was real. He remembered taking his aspirin. He remembered talking to Keith. He remembered admitting to Keith how afraid he was of everything with Allura and him freaking out, which pretty much made the aspirin he took earlier pointless considering he felt a slight ache in his head. But what played out towards the end of the dream was something that definitely didn’t happen, because anyone would remember something as intense as that. No normal person could forget about someone walking up to them, turning their face to them and looking at them as if they had something to prove.

Because you’re thinking about me.

Keith’s words caused a searing heat all over Lance’s body. He could feel it from his aching head to his shaking hands. He could remember the look in his eyes, looking at him as if he was the most important person in the world. He looked at him like he wanted him to be okay. Like he wanted him to be his. He remembered how before he woke up Keith was leaning into him. Almost like he was going to do what he couldn’t. Guilt forced its way back onto Lance’s shoulders, though it wasn’t as heavy as before.

“I need to cool off.” Lance spoke softly, getting up and heading to his bathroom for a much-needed, arctic shower.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Well, look who the love dove dropped in.” Pidge quipped with a smirk on her face.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Lance replied sarcastically as he sat at the table. After showering and getting ready, he had debated on what to do for the remainder of the day considering they weren’t under Honerva’s threat at the moment. He thought about going to Shiro and asking for advice, but he was already as busy as is and he didn’t want to add on to any stress he had. He couldn’t go to Veronica because she would just tease him and he was NOT in the mood for it…at all. For a second, he thought about finding Keith, but once he felt the heat in his body again he pushed out of his head, refusing to take TWO cold showers on the same day. Amidst that thought, he remembered that he owed Hunk details about the date, so he decided to just do that. Hence where he was now, in the Garrison cafeteria, sitting next to Pidge, who was working on some calibrations on her laptop and across from Hunk, who was looking through some of his family recipes.

“Soooo, how did things go?” Hunk asked eagerly. Lance shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of things.

“It was good. Got no complaints.” he replied, attempting to put up a smile. Unfortunately, that response wasn’t good enough for the table.

“Just good?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you do that made it ‘just good?'” Pidge teased, making Hunk snicker in response. Lance looked between the both of them, wondering why this wasn’t the end of it.

“Nothing. It was good. We went to my family’s house, had a delicious dinner, went to a nearby park and talked for a bit, and we came back and I dropped her off at her room. That’s all.” the red paladin recounted, trying his best to hide his frustration. Hunk and Pidge let out a unanimous “hmm,” indicating they were satisfied with the answer. Lance breathed out through his nose in relief, the frustration from earlier fading. He saw a recipe card for coconut cake laying out in front of him, and pulled it towards him. He couldn’t help but to notice the small yellow drawings splayed around the card. The contents were surrounded by yellow coconuts, smiling suns and yellow swirls. He was so entranced by them that he took him a minute to notice Hunk and Pidge staring at him.

“What?” Hunk and Pidge looked at each other, smirks growing on their faces before they turned back to them.

“Well?” Pidge said, laying her arm on Lance’s shoulder. The boy in question tried to hide his annoyance as he furrowed his freshly trimmed brows. Please don’t ask what I think you’re gonna ask.

“Well what?” Lance responded with gritted teeth.

“Did you kiss her?”

Fuck…

“Does it really matter, guys?” Lance responded, slowly getting more and more agitated. Hunk crossed his arms in fake stern yet firm intrigue.

“Uh, yeah. It’s your first date with Allura and we want to know EVERYTHING. So did you guys kiss or not?” Lance sighed hard, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

“No.”

“WHAT?! Why not?!” Hunk wailed. The red paladin pinched the bridge of his nose as he explained.

“Because, Hunk, it was only our first date. Yes, I’ve been in love with Allura for what seems like forever but I don’t want to do something that scares her off, y’know? Besides, does anyone even kiss on the first date anymore?” Lance shook his head, trying to get back on topic. “The point is, I’m just going with the flow. I just…wasn’t ready.” Lance lied, though it wasn’t a total lie. He wasn’t ready to kiss Allura, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell them that it was because of their freaking leader. He felt Pidge remove her arm from her shoulder as she crossed her arms, tilting her head in thought. Hunk did the same.

“Yeah, that makes sense. I get you, dude. But good job, though.” Hunk responded reassuringly, sending Lance his big signature smile.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” Lance exhaled, smiling back. He was glad that Hunk was backing up a bit. He was always the type of guy who never wanted to cross boundaries, something that Lance was immensely grateful for at the moment.

“Yeah, I get it, too. I just naturally assumed that you would go for it because of Lotor.” Pidge stated flatly. Once again, annoyance and frustration rushed through Lance’s body.

“Pidge. C’mon-” the paladin started. The green paladin raised her hands in surrender.

“I’m just saying. She and Lotor were getting pretty close to each other back in the Castle of Lions. They were literally side by side 24/7.” she pointed out. Hunk nodded his head in agreement.

“Yeah. Who knows, maybe if he wasn’t, you know, some crazy prince stealing the quintessence of other Alteans, he probably would’ve been her boyfriend by now.” Hunk said jokingly, making Pidge giggle in response while Lance was getting more and more agitated. It’s bad enough he had to pretty much lie to his friends about why he decided not to kiss Allura, it’s a whole other thing that now he needed to deal with hearing about Allura being with Lotor. And just when he had felt that every insecurity that he felt when Lotor was around pretty much vanished when Allura started noticing him. Lance clasped his hands together tightly.

“Okay. I think I see your point, guys.” Lance spoke lowly, his teeth gritted. But his statement was simply ignored as Hunk and Pidge continued.

“Did you see the way that Allura was looking at him? I’m telling you, man, I saw some sparks flying!”

“How could she not? With his long flowy hair and his princely charms?”

“Just imagine them working on stuff together and then out of nowhere they just start dancing around the room like in the movies?” Pidge cackled.

3…

“And then he just starts twirling her and then holds her above his head like in that one cheesy dance movie?”

2…

“And then Lotor looks deep into her eyes and says ‘Allura, my sweet princess, will you become my Altean dancing queen?”

“‘Oh Lotor, my gorgeous bad boy prince! I became your queen the moment I laid my eyes on you!’ and then they both lean in and-“

1…

Lance stood up quickly from his seat, slamming his hands hard against the table, making Pidge and Hunk turn their heads at him in shock. He was visibly shaking, head down as his eyes were trained onto the table. He just couldn’t take it anymore. Every bad thought and insecurity he had been able to somewhat move past since readjusting to Earth, and it just came back in full force as if he had gotten sucker punched. He felt like he was back on the Castle of Lions, being ignored and brushed aside be everyone, his warnings and himself being forgotten.

Allura walking past him.

Pidge and Hunk ignoring him.

Shiro looking down on him.

Keith abandoning him.

Lance felt himself starting to walk away from his friends. He wouldn’t allow himself to hear this any longer. He knew they didn’t mean to tease him or bring Lotor back up to him, but that’s what it felt like. Lotor and Allura had always been somewhat of a sore spot for him. Something he tried to push to the back of his head to focus on everything else. But it’s like every time he tries to forget, it always comes back to bite him. And how could it not. Lotor was everything that he wasn’t. Of course, Allura would want him. Hell, if he hadn’t gone crazy and was still around, he wouldn’t have hesitated to kiss her the way that he did.

“Lance? What’s gotten into you?” he heard Pidge shout behind him.

“Yeah, man? You good? D-did we say something wrong?” Hunk asked worriedly. Lance stopped as he approached the doorway. He turned his head towards them, giving them a tired smile.

“No. You said everything right.”

[b-kitsune]

Many ways to say I love you: Day Ten.

Kidge-a-palooza 2019 Prompt: Astound. Pairing: Kidge (VLD) Universe: Post-Kerberos AU. Status: Complete.

He watched the street lights move quickly out of the car window, like shapeless flashes that were left behind the road, somehow helping him to forget for a few seconds that he was on his way to the home of one of his officers. Keith didn't have cheers to start a conversation with the guy who had practically not closed his mouth all the way, once they had sat in the back seats of the car, too annoying and noisy for his comfort, and it had already become clear that he felt a strange hostility towards him, without understanding the reason very well. Shiro had mentioned his name at some point during the evening, but honestly, he didn't take much notice.

Keith didn't want to go to that dinner tonight. He didn't want to meet Officer Holt outside the Garrison. Although Shiro had mentioned to him that he was one of the few high-ranking adults who didn't feel rejected by his presence, part of Keith still maintained skepticism about this fact.

He couldn't help thinking about it, basically, everyone had hated him as soon as Shiro helped him into Garrison cause of his short temperament and lack of military lineage, Keith had only been a lucky boy and had some talent to pilot the ship in the way. And he didn't understand very well what to do at a family dinner, Shiro didn't give him any further instructions beyond behaving and being kind to the Holt family.

How could he be nice to people he didn't know? He had only had a brief moment with Mathew Holt a few months ago, who started talking to Shiro about the results of the investigations they found on Kerberos' ice. Then he simply disappeared from his sight, giving him a kind smile when he saw it by chance.

If only Keith had avoided fighting the boy by his side, he wouldn't have to deal with this. It was a punishment that Shiro and Officer Holt had disguised as an opportunity to strike up a more pleasant relationship with their own comrades.

''Still a long way to go, Shiro?''

''No, we'll arrive in a couple of minutes, Lance.'' Keith mentally repeated his name in case he needed to remember during the night. Lance simply started jumping excitedly in his own seat.

''I've heard a lot about Officer Holt in Garrison, although I've never spoken to him directly since science doesn't call me too much, it's like the gentleman everyone loves.''

''He is a kind person like Matt, they are loved because they have a nice sense of humor and impeccable principles. I have never had major problems with them, even when we were in space.'' He answered with simplicity. What he left thinking to Lance for a few seconds.

''I heard that Officer Holt has a younger daughter who will nominate Garrison for the next year, is that true?'' He asked excitedly, to Shiro's confusion and Keith's displeasure, who could realize his intentions under that tone of voice.

''Wow, apparently the news spread quickly.'' He joked, with a tone of concern that didn't go unnoticed by either of them. ''Yeah, Katie will be applying to enter as a pilot candidate next year. In fact... That's why you accompany me tonight.''

''Why?'' Keith inquired confused. Shiro just sighed heavily. Maybe things would go better if they knew ahead of time.

''She ... She has had certain physical encounters with her current high school classmates, which has severely worried me and Samuel in the last time.''

''What do you mean with…?''

''They broke her arm two months ago.''

''Woow ... That's pretty cruel'' It was the only thing that could come out of Lance's lips. Keith, however, was perplexed. Not even he, being as he was, had gone through those situations before or after Garrison.

''We thought it would be a good idea for her to meet some people before entering her first year, and since both are in the program and they owe me the favor of avoiding their suspension for their last meeting...''

''I understood; this is a classic situation of extortion.'' Lance joked with a slight smile between his lips.  ''Don't worry, I'll sacrifice myself for a greater good.''

''Keith?'' He nodded without saying a word in between, he knew very well what it was like to be attacked without having someone to protect himself with. While tonight didn't imply that they became friends, at least one familiar face would ease the burden for the first few days, it was something he could do. Shiro smiled through the rearview mirror. ''I'm glad to know that I have your support.''

''I never expected you to be so close to Officer Holt.''

''Well, we spent together in space for several months, and he's been one of the people that has most influenced my recovery after that.''

Keith reacted to his last comment, intrigued. Taking into consideration that since his return he wasn't wearing that bracelet that sounded every certain amount of time, which he had seen many times during his outings. Keith supposed it would be a good thing.

Shiro never talked about matters involving negative news, so commenting with Lance so easily gave him the idea that his muscle problem was being treated effectively.

They stopped at the entrance of a well-kept house, where the room was lit and a couple of voices echoed inside, Keith thought it nice to see a wide variety of flowers covering the front garden, which stretched behind the house. Before going down, Shiro looked at them seriously.

''While I usually dine occasionally with the Holt family and tonight is to make Katie feel more familiar with Garrison, I don't want to end up in trouble because you don't know how to behave like adults.'' The plaintiff claimed but quickly changed to an accessible position by sighing with regret. ''Just try to be nice, okay?''

''I will behave.'' Lance answered immediately. Shiro looked at Keith, waiting for his response.

''All right, Shiro''

''Well, that's enough.''

As they walked towards the entrance, the sound of a piano resounded through the walls with more force, drawing the attention of the three, Lance and Keith were baffled at the thought of thinking of the officer or his son playing an instrument in the privacy of his family. Matt, who was sitting on the window, opened the curtain slightly to watch them walk home as soon as he heard his dog barking, getting up quickly.

The door opened immediately, showing Matt in simple clothes that gave an air of comfort. Before Shiro even said anything, he greeted them quickly and invited them with a gesture on his hand to keep quiet.

The three without understanding complied without protest.

I will always, think of you

I see your face when each day's through

As soon as they heard a voice inside the room, they understood what it was about. Officer Holt was singing a tune with his family.

And days go past

Oh so fast

But memories, they last

A soft feminine voice confused them notoriously, except Shiro, who approached enthusiastically to the room that led them, Matt. Keith and Lance looked at each other without understanding very well why his mentor's sudden change of attitude, but as soon as they saw her, their faces turned into deep amazement.

Summer Winter, year by year

I'll hear the song inside my ear

Trying to restart

That would be smart

The thoughts of you haunt my heart

Keith used to ignore women most of the time. While he seemed to have some appeal to the opposite sex, he generally didn't worry much about it, having more important things to worry about during his day-to-day life. But at that moment, it was the first time that the beauty of a woman astonished him to the point of flushing completely.

Katie was a low and notoriously thin girl, so much so, that while listening to her singing along with her father, she thought that she could take it effortlessly with just one arm. Her green dress was simple and nothing to write home about, but elegantly accentuated the natural tone of her hair, a light brown that, in suitable light, she thought could easily be golden, as it was with her brother.

I do not want to be alone now

Just bidding my time

I need somebody dearly

And darling you'd be sublime

Both were perfectly coordinated while Samuel played a simple melody with his fingers on an old piano, but Keith was not paying attention to Officer Holt, he saw himself unable to look away from his daughter, who bristled every pore of her skin with the sweetness of her voice, curiously, was much deeper than he could think at first glance of someone so tiny and small.

Keith was fascinated. As in a spell that had completely astounded him

Spring and Autumn

Up and down

I keep trying to escape this town

And I just might I'll take flight ...

As soon as Katie turned her gaze to the corridor and met his eyes, she was enveloped in a strong chill that ran down her back, scaring him for a moment, but she, with only a cheeky smile, finished the song after a few seconds on pause.

Maybe tomorrow, not tonight

 ...

 ''So, you come from Cuba, you must miss your family a lot.''

''Yeah, although I see my sister frequently in Garrison.''

Katie sighed heavily as soon as her gaze connected with Shiro, who apologized in silence while tasting her mother's salad. The intentions of him and her father had been so easy to assume that she was offended intellectually for a moment.

It is not as if it affected her at that point to be the object of mockery of all her companions with the little time she had left in high school, and the fracture of her radio hadn't been as serious as they supposed the first time, in a month already Katie was completely healthy without any consequences. But she knew that during the last conversations with Shiro, he hadn't quite agreed.

Part of her was touched by being so protected by someone like him, whom she admired about all people, even her father.

Besides, there was something in her inside that she couldn't understand yet, which heated and exalted to a strange level as soon as her eyes connected with those of the dark-haired guy.

He had seen her, not like Lance, who only managed to give a timely compliment after finishing singing with his father.

He was looking at her, stunned and confused about what to say when she was caught in her presentation. For the first time in her life, Katie had been enveloped in the astonishment of someone who wasn't her family, which generated a pleasant feeling of rejoicing.

''Katie, you've barely said a word, is everything okay?'' Questioned her worried mother, although she noticed the double intention of her words. Colleen was forcing her to talk to the guests, but she didn't feel ready yet.

''Yes, I am.'' She answered without more while chewing a piece of meat to stop responding, noticeably bothering Colleen, Matt simply sighed heavily.

''Keith and Lance are in the second year of the pilot program, right? Did you like it?''

Katie directed her attention to them with something more of interest. If they were in the pilot program it meant that they would see them more often the following year, so the assumption that Shiro had brought them to meet her was accurate.

Again, while the appointed Lance laughed with something that Matt had commented, those dark eyes fell on her, unable to look away this time.

The first impression she gave was an emo boy in all his glory. He had a heavy face that implied a rejection of the first contact, and a badly-groomed hair that even Lance had mentioned as "nasty mullet" under his breath in the night, hoping he wouldn't be heard by anyone. Katie was intrigued with him in more ways than one, something in his eyes, although he was hostile later during dinner, she was reflected in those feelings.

Something in him, he called her with an indecipherable feeling that warmed her aching heart, although she didn't know what name to place it at that moment. What made her increase her attention to those deep eyes to discover what it was.

Maybe it was the so-called chemistry? Although she couldn't know, since Shiro had been her only friend with whom she could feel it for the first time, with Keith, she had the assumption that it was something different.

As soon as Matt touched her shoulder to draw her attention to a question directed at her, Katie quickly averted her nervous gaze, hoping no one had noticed that she had been watching him more than necessary.

For a moment she assumed that everything was in order as soon as they returned to direct the conversation towards her father. When she saw Keith again, he only smiled slightly while he continued to eat from his plate, she imitated his action, her face slightly warm and somewhat disappointed to lose her look, without knowing very well the reason.

But something told her, that not only was she intrigued by other people's eyes.

Certainly, after that night, Katie was much more interested in attending Garrison, if with that she could name what she was feeling.

After all, she was a woman of science.

[formallyfreya]

Hidge Week Day 6: Wedding

**(A little longer than the others so I’ll put it under a cut)**

Hunk adjusts the vest of his suit in the mirror, looking at it from side to side. This color, it’s alright, isn’t it? A black suit is fine but it’s alright if his vest is golden right? He’s never been able to let go of the yellow, after everything they’ve been through with the Lions.

“Is the cake at the reception area yet?” Hunk asks, his tone worried. “Hope it’s the right one. And the right flavor. Quiznak, maybe I should have made it myself--”

“Calm down Hunk. I’m sure the cake is fine,” Lance insists as he finishes his own tie. Shoots himself a few finger guns in the mirror. “Best man is looking the BEST! Now let’s fix your tie and cufflinks.”

“I dunno Lance, making a peanut butter cake--it’s not like anyone can make it the way she likes it!” Hunk counters and grabs his face in worry. “Maybe we should cancel. Should we? At least, until I can make the cake--”

“No, no, no,” Lance chuckles and pulls his hands off his face. He reaches up and starts adjusting Hunk’s tie. “You gave the recipe to Shay. She’s made it a hundred times. It’ll be great.”

“Is it, like, hot in here? Feel like I’m sweating. Am I? Sweating?” Hunk stammers and takes a seat on the chair while wiping his forehead. No sweat, just warm. “Is it okay that I’m nervous? Like maybe a lot? I’m not going to throw up...probably...but I feel like I could. Oh boy--”

“Calm down, Hunk,” Lance says for the hundredth time today. “You’re getting married, not court-martialed. Now sit still so I can tie your shoes.”

Getting married. He can’t believe this.

If you’d asked him a couple years ago where he’d be he wouldn't have been able to predict that his best friend proposing to him in the middle of a Garrison fundraiser. He was thrilled and immediately said yes of course. She jumped into his arms and he swung her around the dancefloor unable to let go. That was a year ago and now...they’re doing it. They’re finally getting married.

But why is he so nervous? They’ve been together for years now, him and Pidge. It’s not like it’s spur of the moment. There were lots of plans and preparations. No reason to be worried about how anything and everything could go wrong at any possible moment. It’s not like that was something that happened with team Voltron every other day of the week back when they were fighting.

It’s a wedding. A party. A celebration of a union. Not a fight to the death with Zarkon. Or getting brainwashed by the food of Plaxum’s ocean planet. Or swimming in the belly of the weblum. Hunk almost gags at that particular memory.

“Hey now Hunk! No horking it!” Lance warns him and he manages to stifle that precursor to vomit.

“Got it,” Hunk swallows, not looking any better for it.

Lance gives him a sympathetic look and pats his shoulder with a sigh. “Look man, being nervous is normal,” he assures him. “‘Cause everything is changing and it’s exciting and you’ve got everyone’s eyes on you--including your betrothed.”

“Normal huh?” Hunk hods with a nervous swallow. He looks up with worried eyes. “Were you nervous too?”

“M-Me? Of course not!” Lance denies with a flush. “I mean, not to the degree you are--but that was different! My wedding was just team Voltron and some family. It’s not like we invited half of the freaking Garrison the way Pidge’s parents did.”

“So you weren’t nervous at all?” Hunk asks, not feeling much better at all.

Lance’s look softens as he pulls Hunk to stand up. He clips in his cufflinks one at a time.

“I mean...I was a little but,” Lance starts and shakes his head, confidence returning. “All you gotta do is remember that the person at the end of the aisle is the one you love, the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, and everything will settle and you’ll feel this calm come over you.” He pauses and smiles with the memory. “You won’t just feel that it’s right, you’ll know it. And that it’s always going to be right and it all falls into place...kinda feels like uh...like lining up the perfect bullseye, feel me?”

“I...I guess?” Hunk nods, still looking a little nervous.

As he finishes the last cufflink there’s a knock at the door. It’s time. Everyone’s waiting.

“Just trust me on this one Hunk,” he says with a wink and a pat. “It’ll be better than you ever hoped.”

He sure hopes so.

Standing at the altar next to his best man and groomsmen, with his hands clasped tight in front of him and toes tapping. He reaches up to adjust his bowtie and Lance promptly smacks his hand so he’ll leave it alone. Then the music starts and everyone stands to watch with anticipation.

The bridesmaids to start. Pidge only had two. Romelle and Allura. They walk down the aisle, looking absolutely ecstatic to be a part of an ‘Earthling betrothal ceremony’. After that the maid of honor. Lance’s sister gladly accepted that role and walks down the aisle to join them.

Next is normally the ring bearer but Lance has the rings in his pockets so no need there. The only one left before the bride is the flower girl. A little arusian with a basket of petals. She knows her job well, tossing out bits of plants and occasionally slipping one into her mouth to snack on as she proceeds. Makes Hunk chuckle a little but then everything changes when she steps out.

Pidge looks so stunning that Hunk initially has trouble believing it’s her.

The hair she’d finally grown out again braided and pulled up high with little white flowers weaved in. An elegant gown, shining white with a one-shoulder neckline. Tea-length to show off her slender calves and ankle-length white gladiator sandals to match the rest of the outfit. She never did like heels much. In her hands is a lovely bouquet of sunflowers, white roses, and baby’s breath tied with a fern green ribbon--that she’s clutching tight to her chest like her life depends on it.

It seems she’s a little nervous too. That is until she sees Hunk at the altar smiling at her. Then her grip suddenly relaxes, as does the rest of her tiny tense body.

The room seems to fall away as their eyes meet across the church. No pews. No stained glass. No guests. It’s just Hunk and Pidge gazing at each other in wonder across an open field of grass, the sun beaming down on them.

“She’s...perfect,” Hunk barely breathes. “Like a Fibonacci sequence.”

“Uh...I hope that’s a romantic as it sounded,” Lance snorts. “Close your mouth Hunk, you’ll draw flies.”

The ceremony goes by so fast and while Hunk hears every word Shiro says as he officiates he can’t take his eyes off of Pidge’s. And the same goes for Pidge. She hasn’t stopped smiling since she started walking down the aisle and even now as Hunk slides the ring on her finger. Hunk’s already getting teary and it makes Pidge want to cry too.

“Hunk Garrett. Katie Holt. These rings symbolize your vows to one another. Maybe they henceforth be a reminder of your commitment and your love for each other for the rest of your days,” Shiro tells them with a smile. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife--”

“Now kiss her Hunk--oof!” Lance calls out from the sidelines but Keith elbows him hard in the ribs to silence him.

Shiro chuckles and shakes his head at Lance before returning to them with a soft smile. “Congratulations you two. You may kiss your spouse,” he says.

Pidge practically jumps into Hunk’s arms to press her lips to his which he welcomes wholeheartedly in his warm embrace. Soft, warm, and tasting of sweet honey as he spins them at the altar, the two of them erupting with giddy laughter as the pews erupt with clapping and whistles.

“And now I have the honor and privilege of introducing--Mr. and Mrs. Garrett-Holt,” Shiro announces over the applause and they only get louder as people cheer.

It’s not until the reception is wrapping up that Lance checks in on them. They’re slow dancing on the dancefloor again but the music has long since stopped playing. DJ went home half an hour ago. It’s like he doesn’t want to let the day end. And they look so ridiculously content that he can’t bring himself to interrupt their swaying.

“You know, he was so nervous earlier. Scared that everything was going to fall apart,” Lance says as he helps clear a table of plates and used silverware. “Can you just stack those into my arms? Anyway, I thought he was going to throw up all over my oxfords.”

“That bad huh?” Keith smirks and piles the plates in Lance’s hold. “He looks fine now.”

“That’s cause I told him to remember the person at the end of the aisle loves him,” Lance smiles. “That all that fear and stuff would just...disappear once he saw her.”

“And that worked?” Keith snorts.

“It worked on my nerves when I saw you,” Lance nudges him playfully with a smirk. “Why wouldn’t it work for him too?”

“Come on,” Keith nudges him back. “We gotta get this place cleaned up. With the rate of weddings going on here, we’ll need it next week too.”

With that, the two of them leave with the dirty dishes as the newlyweds continue their swaying on the dancefloor. No one bothers them. They hum and kiss and step together with perfect timing to a song in their hearts. A song they’ll be singing till death do they part.

[cas-snit]

Voltron S7 Reactions [Semi-vauge spoilers ahead]

Aight so I just binged the whole season and holy heck. Here are my reactions from during the whole thing- Have fun guessing what happened when. Also, spoilers. Lots of that. 

[FYI- This contains some Allurance dislike. Mostly cause I’m a hardcore Klance shipper. However, you can ship whatever you ship, and honestly Allurance is pretty cute, so I promise I mean no disrespect.]

hahaha keith omg I stg I thought that was the classic anime protaganist desk it very nearly is your an anime protaganist now, Keith

In other news, tiny keith is adorable

ohmygod I love shiro so damn much this perfect bean smol keith smol shiro aaa whats-her-face the altean is great HE DESERVED THAT BEAT HIM UP, KEITH I see where keith got his daredevil additude I lowkey ship hunk and whatsherface ADAM Adammmm aaaa the boi the fabled gay boi Adaaaaam I love himhe's precious he cares he's scared he's amazing

'Shiroooo my boi my poor boi I love you Shiro my determined boi SHIRO SHIRO YES GODS I LOVE YOU 

aaaaaa

so good

okay but why would they separate keith from his wolfo

Pidge is me thooo

f this can't be good nope not good

ohshit boi

'it's super dangerous. it's perfect.'amazing

aaaand hes dead

ohheck hunk

Heck yeah space wolf!!! best wolfo poor boi;;

oh its THESE bitches

lance please

corannnn

and mice friends!!

gayyyy

coran ohmygods

heck yeah badass chick

Acxa is great

oof

coran you dumbass

ohhhh coran;;

'that one with the flippity hair' amazing

holy sht Keith

amazing

I love you so much

'can't we just fight???'amazing

they're dead

whats a decathebe

whats a decethebe

don't u dare touch him bitch

YEARS??? YEARS??? A DECATHEBE IS A YEAR??? HOLY FUCKSHIT THIS ISN'T GOOD EVERYONE YOU LOVED IS PROBABLY DEAD

wut wut is this episode what the fuck nopethis is clearly a fever dream

ohmygods

lance no

ohmygods

how did that work

hahahaha

Keith

amazing

lkjhdszbw

hahaha

this is so stupid

'I'm not that DUMB'

what happened to matt where my baby

I called it kinda

ohshit

good wolf

kick his ass, Keith!!

go alluraaaa you baddassmofo

holy shit

aaa Kroliaaaa

none of this is good this whole episode is full of not good

my poor bbys

that doesn't logic but okay i don't trust you're all insane listen to hunk holy fuck giant eyeballs are never good

I meanyou wanted bonding exersizes

lionssss there they are

VOLTRON IS BACK BABYS

hahahaha yessss

MILKY WAY

THEY'RE HOME, BABY

also I'm still pretty sure everyone you ever loved is dead yep they're all dead fuck off, galra Matts dead I know it

bitchy leader of the garrison is a bitch

Colleen holt is amazing

oof

sam holt is great as well

ohshit theres the galra

ohhhfuckfuck

Sendack sucks

oof they're all deaaaaaad

you're all gona die

im sorry kiddos its true

Veronica noooo

VERONICA

WAIT WHAT WHAT WHAT ABOUT LANCE??? VERONICA IS HIS WHATNOW??? AMAZING

THey're all  gonna die

THey're all dead

you're all dead

all gonna die

GO LANCE

They aren't dead

yesyesyes

they aren't

those ones aren't

sorry bby

Keith's edgeboi not friend with the douchebag haircut!!!

ADAM ADAM NO BABY

Griffin shut up

Coran i love you

Hunkkkkk Hunk my perfect, precious, amazing bby you're gonna make me cry

smol hunk is??? precious tbh all hunk is precious hunk is amazing

hunk my child it will all be okay

this new prosthetic is wigging me out tbh

pidge is perfection

ohmygods a wilhelm scream

theyll come to youuuu your lions love youuuu

NO DO NOT ALLURANCE OR WHATEVER ALLURA STAY AWAY stop stooooop no nonono stoppit Veronica stop shipping this

you got this bbys

red red please reddddd lance come on I think red is mad at lance tbh mad at him for still liking allura and not keith- pfpfpf jkjk

lanceee come on boy you got this call that lion to you

VERONICA no please veronica- come on bby

RED RED YES Red has a snse of dramatic timing

BITCH NO YOU MOTHERFUCKING BACKSTABBING BITCH DIE DIE IN A FUCKING FIRE

fuckfuckfuck

bbys noooo

nonono

my children

nuuu

don't touch themmmm

dumbass bitch you don't bargin with the galra dumbass motherfucking bitch

goddd this better work

go my children

no shit youdumbass bitch you can't bargain with the galra come on come onnn aaa captain shiro fuck yes

blow that motherfuckin shit up

oh fuck

hell yes

call your fuckin lions

you got this

call those bitches

bitch don't you dareee hahaha yes go girl you backstabbing bitch throw them off

hahahaha yessss

ohshit

bitchy bitchy is getting her ass whooped

ohshit shes dead ornot thanks black lion honestly shes still gonna die hard for me to care about her when she betrayed us all but okay

VOLTRON TIME KICK SOME ASS

ohshit

motherfucker

of course they'd fire on their own ships its fucking sendak

fly little earth birds jeezus little earth birds listen to your leader

Iwant a star trek au with shiro as a captain of a starship I might draw that tbh

hahaha yesss

particle barrier ftw

come on come onnnn

ohshitohsit

come on shiroooo

holy fuck

jeezus christ

the atlas is amazing

come on, earthbirds do this

benifits of the new prosthetic: doesn't have to get close to shit Downsides: looks weird

SHIRO SHIROOOOO

come on lancy boi be the bi we need

shiro whered you gooo

as much as I love lance and allura kicking ass this is a setup for a canonical ship and I dissaprove

GO SHIRO GO come on, shiro go space dad Is shiro okay?? SHIRO YES MY BOY

Sendak no

hahaha GO KEITH

is it rlly tho

no stoppit stoppit the allruance

ohfuck whats dat FUCK NO

ohfuck

holy fucking shitbals

nuuu my little earth birdies you dont stand a chance

hahaha go pidge

nononono

don't touch the atlas you bitch

fuckfuck this isn't gooood

NO NO STOP COOME ON SHIRO BABY

OHMYGODS I LOVE THE ATLAS

oh holy fuck

holy quiznak

nononono my babys nooo

MATT HE'S OKAY MY CHILD I THOUGHT THEY WHERE GONNA KILL HIM OFF

Hunk my boy You're okay thank the gods above

PIdgeeee Pidgeyesss my childrennnn

lance lancelancelance

Alluraaaa KEITH

aaaaa holy shit mother of all gods holy fucking shit whens the next season I need it now

[ridleytheknight]

Steal My Body; I’ll Steal Your Empathy (Langst One-Shot)

Please enjoy! What to expect in this fic!

Galran Controlled Earth

Selective Mute Lance

Bullying

Dehydration and Malnutrition

Kidnapping

Galran! Keith (Like cannon but he feels more of his instincts and is aware of them) 

Shklance with focus of Keith and Lance (Only mentions of Shiro)

—

           The night was so quiet, the stars were out and shining. The only light in the room came from the open window of his room. Where the moon’s rays wormed their way into his room. It was the least liked dorm of the place. Seeing as many saw the window as drafty. Cooling the room to a low temperature, but Lance didn’t mind. The moon reminded him of the nightly tides on his home’s beach. The cool of the overworked air conditioner in his home of Cuba. Where the sun demanded the A/C to be turned on to artic temperatures to avoid heat stroke. In turn making Lance quite numb to most readings of hot and cold.

           Lance didn’t mind the drafty room at all. He loved it. It was his safe place.

           Out there in the hallways is where the danger was. Nothing could touch him here though, in here he could be safe. He could sing his songs from home. Talk to Saria’s photo. He could smile and he could draw. He always had his sketchbook in his bag, but he never dared to take it out in front of people.

           Those were drawings of his family, the only thing he had left of them after the war had torn his country and family apart. If anything were to happen to them he’d be devastated. They couldn’t be his models anymore. They could laugh as he demand they sit still or giggle when he would get frustrated at not being able to draw their noses. He wouldn’t get to smile and feel them hold him tightly and coo at the drawings he made them.

           His big sister was gone. His mama was gone. His papa was gone.

           And they weren’t coming back.

           Lance gave a small smile, the moon light lapping against his skin soothingly as he nuzzled closer into his pillow. His blue eyes slipping shut as he gave a small smile. It was sad that they were gone. But they were too good for this world, so they had to leave it. Lance could understand.

           Didn’t mean that sometimes, in the quiet, he would wish that he’d gone with them.

           But that was the past, this was the present. He had to live for them now.

           No matter how hard.

           The quiet of that night didn’t last long however, because next thing Lance knew there was the screaming of sirens in his ears. Forcing his eyes open to see red light. Dim and glowing, bathing his room instead of the moon’s silver and comforting glow. Lance’s heart hammered uncomfortably in his chest as he grabbed his back pack that held his sketchbook and pictures close to his chest. Using it as his safety blanket as he hooked the bag around his shoulders. Tightening his jacket around him and venturing out of his dorm.

           Everywhere the lights and sounds were screaming, people were wandering out of their dorms, and some were running straight for the teacher’s wing. Others for the training rooms, probably hoping to get their hands on a weapon just in case. Lance knew that it would be useless for him to try and do either. He got shoved around enough as it was. So, Lance stayed put. Planting himself against the wall and waiting for the announcements that were sure to come on the hallway loud speaker. Until gunshots down the hall froze Lance. Making his heart hammer with terror in his chest. Some of the other students in his hallway screamed, all of them huddling together for protection as Lance stayed a good couple feet away. He knew they wouldn’t let him join. Besides, maybe that was a good thing.

           Didn’t gun men go for groups? It was a morbid thought, but Lance thought it might be a little reassuring. It wasn’t. It just made him feel guilty. Only the thought that him being the vulnerable one and possibly taken hostage made him feel better. It was an equal chance for everyone. Only different being no one would care if he got hurt. A voice echoed down the hall, interrupting his thoughts.

           “All of you students, please, follow down this hall. If you run, you will be shot. If you call for help, whoever shows up will be taken hostage as well. And your punishment will be severe while you are in our care.” A hand went on his shoulder and there was a voice near his ear, the voice that had just been down the hall. Lance mused. He was the farthest away, probably looked like he was going to run. Lance really had no plans for that, but he could understand the concern. “Do I make myself clear?”

           Lance nodded quietly, lowering his head in submission as he heard quiet sobs and curses echo from his classmates. The hand on his shoulder gave a small squeeze before gently pressing him forward. Which Lance appreciated. Usually he was shoved. A gentle hand was very welcome and not to be questioned as he shuffled his feet to follow the now moving huddle. His sneakers echoing in the corridor amongst the shrieking of siren’s and red lights. Lance looked up and felt his eyes burn in the bright light. Lance frowned.

           He missed the plain moon light already.

           Lance wasn’t sure what he was expecting to be led to honestly, however, the giant space ship in the middle of their desert locked academy isn’t something that would have been Lance’s first guess. It was something that made him pause, leading the cloaked and armed figure in front of him to press a hand on his upper back again. Not shoving, nor pushing. Just lingering. As if to remind Lance that it, no, she. The nails were long and narrow, fingers dainty and soft, it was a she. She was still there. Though, she wasn’t even showing any real hostility. As if she noticed Lance was just star stuck by the appearance of the ship, rather than disobedient. Lance dropped his head, back to his submissive position and continued to move forward, carefully avoiding getting too close to his classmates.

           Emergency or not, he did not expect their compassion or mercy.

           The ship was massive, and bright. It wasn’t like the stereotypical hostage ship that was dark and scary. This was rather, bright, and homey. Lance felt comfort almost cover him in waves, like a blanket with hot cocoa around a fire. Lance smiled a small bit, but erased the smile as they students were lined up, counted and questioned. Lance squirmed uncomfortably as he was placed at the end. Listening as the students either yelled and cursed, or stuttered their names and answered quietly.

           His hands twitched at his sides, he didn’t notice the woman looking at his twitching fingers or nervous grin. Until she pulled closer. Making his heart almost stop as her lips were at his ear. Until she spoke quietly. Only to him.

           “Stay calm, everything is alright. The Garrison will pay for your safe return, and you will not be harmed while you are in our care. You can relax.” Lance didn’t realize how much those words were what he needed to here until she said them. Lance immediately felt the tension in his shoulders relax and his hands go quiet. Earning him a smile from the woman.

           “That’s better.” She removed the hood of her cloak, revealing white hair and a gentle smile. As well as an unearthly appearance. Heightening Lance curiosity and anxiousness that was quelled again by the careful hand on his shoulder. “Can you tell me your name?” Oh, speaking. Lance got nervous again, his heel tapping and his body shifting underneath the prying gaze. Until the girl next to him snarked. Obviously being one of the ones that was more angry than scared.

           “He’s not going to answer you bitch, he’s mute and stupid. You should just let us go and skip this whole ‘let’s get to know our hostages!’ It’s stupid and my father will have your heads once he gets a hold of you.” The woman’s eyes immediately turned hard. The butterflies erupted and his stomach twisted nervously, even though the hand on his shoulder remained relaxed and comforting in its warmth.

           “And explain to me how your father will know your missing if we have no name to give him? Or would you rather be an unnamed prisoner sold off to a slave trade? I could make that happen no matter how opposed to it I might be? Are you silent now? Good. Stay out of business that is not your own.” The woman turned back to Lance with softer eyes.

           “Now that that is resolved, thank you for being patient with me. I did not know that you were incapable of speech. That was insensitive of me. Can you write on this for me?” Lance looked down, seeing a notebook being procured into her hands along with an odd, pen like thing. Lance gave her a reassuring smile.

           ‘Yes, thank you.’ The woman smiled.

           “Perfect, my name’s Allura. May I have your name?”

           ‘My name is Lance. Lance McClain ma’am.’ Allura gave a small smile.

           “Ah, no need for formalities. Now, how old are you and where are you from?”

           ‘I’m sixteen, and I was born in Cuba.’ Allura smiled again.

           “Wonderful. Now, we’re going to be escorting you into a cell near the piloting room. The walls will be clear, but very strong. Please do not cause trouble and if you have an emergency medical or otherwise, tap twice on the glass and one of us will be there to help. Please do not abuse this privilege okay?” Lance gave a slow nod, bowing his head as if he were agreeing.

           “Good, Keith and Shiro will be leading you to the cell, may I have your bag?” Lance hesitated. “I’m sorry, but I need to know what’s in it and keep it.” Lance’s shoulders fell and he handed the bag over, scribbling a quick note onto the notepad before he handed that over too.

           ‘My family’s photos and drawings are in there. And my only things left of home. I hate to be difficult. But please be careful with them. That’s all I have left from Verando Beach…’ Allura gave him a smile. She understood the value of family and missing home.

           “I’ll take good care of your family and your things. They will be returned to you swiftly when you are safely returned. Thank you for your cooperation Lance.” Lance gave a soft smile before he noticed the group beginning to trudge away, Lance following at the tail of the line. Allura frowned as she watched him walk away, head still bowed in a vulnerable position. She clutched his bag tighter.

           There was something about that boy that was off. As well as drawing. She never acted like that with the hostages they took from the Galran controlled empires. It was like something was telling her to show compassion to the lanky boy with blue eyes. Allura clutched the bag tighter to her chest frowning as she looked at it.

           Maybe it was the small way that he seemed to acknowledge everyone? Or the fact that he was homesick too. Missing home just like she missed hers? No, she found that out because she showed compassion. Allura walked to the table and placed the bag in her arms on the table. He was the only one with a bag. So, it made her job collecting their things easier. Maybe, if she looked through his things she would be able to piece it together.

           She opened the bag and pulled different items, becoming puzzled at the seemingly random items, and also marveling at them. The first thing she pulled out was a little wooden embroidered box with little sea shells and engravings. Marveling as she opened it and saw little trinkets and pieces of jewelry. Like necklaces with little jars filled with sand and mini shells. Or shiny dangly earings with smooth and polished stones.

           She’d have to ask the Hispanic boy if she could borrow some of these earrings later on. Were they his? Or one of his family member’s? She didn’t notice whether he had earrings or piercing holes or not. Allura made a small note to check later on as she moved on. Finding a small booklet that made her smile as she flipped through it. It was all photos of what seemed to be Lance and his family. Playing on the beach and smiling. Allura’s favorite photo so far was with Lance and a girl with pastel green hair. The girl was grinning and holding a maybe eight year old Lance upside down. The boy’s long hair was waving down as his face was red, eyes closed at the photo captured boy was giggling madly. It made Allura smile as well. It reminded her of when her father would do the same thing after tickling her. The shrieking laughter of her younger self and deep chuckles of her father. Allura smiled and moved on before she could get too lost in her sentiments.

           Next thing she uncovered was curiously enough a case filled with pencils and other art supplies, which didn’t make sense until she found the thick sketch pad after that. Allura marveling at the realistic and beautiful artwork inside, smiling at the familiar faces of Lance’s family scattered within the side of the sketchbook. The rest of what was in the bag were just random little things and a random tissue package. And oddly enough a jacket. With darker camo colors and structured build. It was old and worn. Must have been a favorite compared to the plain black hoodie he was wearing now. Allura packed the bag away again. Until something caught her eye.

           A little hand made plush in a hidden pocket of the bag. A little tug made the soft animal come out. Allura gasped as she saw it. It was a little blue kitten plushie. It reminded her of one of those homemade button dolls. And based on the needle and thread she found beneath it in the same pocket, it was home made. Allura cooed at the cute thing before putting it away. Her thoughts escaped her, and she frowned. Before shaking her head with a small smile.

           No, that was just coincidence. There were a lot of plush feline dolls out there. Probably a few are blue. The chance of that being the truth was ridiculous. It was just a little doll for a sweet human boy that missed his home…

Right?

—

           It was decently warm in the cell, the other students were shivering together as Lance stayed at the edge of their huddle. Welcomed only because of the fact it was ‘cold’. Lance couldn’t tell. His jacket was still around his shoulders, but Lance could probably take it off no problem. If Lance close his eyes, the room would almost feel like his dorm. Excusing the bright lights in the room and the soft glow of the clear barrier. Keeping them from the people on the other side who were piloting the ship they were on, murmuring softly. Not even Lance with his not terribly bad hearing could hear the words. Nor could he read their lips.

           Though, the fact that he was staring at a few of the pirates’ lips without actually trying to read them was extremely concerning to him. Was he so touch starved that a little kindness was making him almost prefer the company of his kidnappers? They weren’t even the woman that was nice to him. They were just two men. One with red armor and other with black armor. Though, Lance found a little fun in watching the one that strolled in with strange face markings and a cool mustache. Lance smiled. It reminded him of his uncle Mateus’ mustache. He was jolted out of his thoughts by an elbow to his side.

           “What are you doing?” The harsh whisper was in his ear, he felt a shiver go down his spine as he curled his head onto his knees further. Mouth opening to try and explain himself, but all that came out was a weird voice cracking sound. Lance felt like he couldn’t breathe, his face flushed red in embarrassment and he bowed his head in a silent apology. Unable to say a word.

           He was too nervous to speak.

           Then again, when was he able to talk anymore?

           The voice sighed, “We’re going to get nowhere with you being a nervous mess like usual, so take a breath and just listen. But we need to get out of here!” Lance raised an eyebrow and looked outside their ‘prison cell’ The familiar view of space outside the window was almost surreal, and cool. But it also was a reminder that they were not on the ground.

           How good were students without suits or a ship in space? Not to mention all of the people aboard this ship were holding some kind of weapon. Excusing the strange girl/guy that was ducking in and out of rooms. Holding various metal parts. Though, they could probably use those metal parts to cause quite a bit of damage if they were really feeling in the mood.

           Lance did not want to be on the receiving end of any fist anytime soon. And if he had to pick between his classmates hitting him or scolding him for not cooperating, and the rebels that probably could break Lance like a twig. Lance would take his classmates any day. It wasn’t like it’d be the first time anyway. One of the students caught his gaze as he looked into her eyes and back out the window repeatedly. She grimaced.

           “Yeah, I’ll admit, you’re kinda right. Strong kidnappers in a space ship god knows how far away from earth isn’t exactly the best circumstances. Should we just wait? They said they were going to contact the Garrison for hostage negotiations. My father would help pay if the Garrison needed it!” Another girl, one of the more hysterical ones sniffled.

           “My mom can’t afford this, if they want money and the Garrison need our parent’s to pay, my mom can’t afford it. We’d lose our apartment.” The girl sneezed and shivered as she sniffled. Catching Lance’s eye. Lance scooted over to her, ignoring the wary looks and small glares he got as he finally sat next to her, shedding his jacket and adjusting it over her form. Her skin was as cold as ice compared to Lance’s warm skin. The girl smiled gratefully while another student scoffed. Calling him a pervert and a Casanova. Lance bowed his head and immediately backed away from the huddle again. The warmth of human contact fading away into the back of his mind, forgotten as they turned their backs again. Whispering their ideas for escape. Lance ignored them and scooted a little further away not minding the slight chill he felt without his jacket as he laid his head on a little junction between his knees and the wall. Closing his eyes.

           Things would probably be back to normal soon. Soon he’d be in his old dorm room with his things. Drawing in his free time. Going to classes. He’d be back to the daily grin again. The silence creeped closer and Lance closed his eyes tighter. The day to day. Where he was too busy to notice the quiet and dark thoughts. He didn’t like this much nothingness. Lance ignored that thought as soon as it came.

           He was fine. Just fine. He’d be back soon. It didn’t matter that it was a little too quiet. A little too cold. It was fine. He’d be back in his classes soon. Teachers and students… Lance bit his lip.

           Was it bad he didn’t want to be there? He didn’t miss his classes that much. Though, he’d barely been gone yet. Maybe it was shock mudding up his feelings and thoughts… still. Lance wasn’t sure how to feel. He burrowed his head further into his knees.

           He wanted warmth and safety. That’s all he wanted really.

           Was he selfish for wanting that?

           Probably as he laid his head on his knees. His arms starting to cool from their normal warmth without his ever present jackets to cover his tan skin. Lance rubbed at his upper arms for a little friction. Carefully avoiding a nasty almost black bruise that circled his upper arm, just beneath his shoulder blade. Lance ignored the memory of one of the upper classman grabbing him roughly and locking him in a storage closet. Choosing to think about the tides instead. How they would pull in and out. Urging him to surf and swim. Bright warm waves. Securing him with their depths like a giant hug. Coddling him like a child.

           Lance fell asleep to the thoughts of the ocean. Not noticing the few glances shot his way from students and rebels alike. Or the heated glares directed straight at the very obvious bruise on his arm.

—

           Turns out, hostage negotiation was not as quick and painless as Lance had might have thought. A few people had come in to give them food and water, Lance was happy when they seemed to pay him a little attention, he was even happier when he got a peach with a little note. Allura. She was telling him to hang on, that he could go home soon. Peaches were his favorite, and the only food item he hadn’t given to the other students. It made Lance’s stomach grumble and his mind swirl. He should have gave it away, they said he was fat and didn’t need the food like they did. But. He really like peaches.

Being selfish… maybe for once wouldn’t hurt him. All Lance knew was that he was cold and gnawingly hungry. The peach, had made him feel just a little bit better. And it made Lance a little guilty to say he felt a lot less light headed after he ate it. Lance was grateful that even if he couldn’t see her, she was still being nice to him. Though he would admit it was very confusing. Even the other people were friendly to him. And as weird as it was, the kidnappers were good to them as a whole. They got medicine to the girl who caught a cold from stress and made sure that they were all okay, even when some students treated them so rudely. Lance frowned. He never liked yelling, but it was even worse now that he had a headache.

Lance grinned a little bit into his hands, it also wasn’t really that boring here. The person that always carried metal equipment, Pidge, actually turned out to be really good at chess. They’d seemed to have caught him oogling the chess board and now they played every night while the other students and rebels slept on. Sometimes getting caught by the man with the mustache, Coran, who just smiled and let them play. Pidge was happy to play in the silence, and just seemed happy to have what they called ‘a worthy opponent’. Not even mentioning the fact Lance couldn’t utter a single word to her besides hums of agreement or confusion. All in all, staying here. Though he was hungry and cold (It was okay, all the other students were fine, so why should he complain? He could tough it out. Even if he was feeling a little off) It was kinda nice here.

The only thing that through him off were the occasional lions that walked around the ship. Lance had to admit, it was a little terrifying at first, even with a wall between him and them. Lance had almost been convinced that he was hallucinating from dehydration, like a fever dream, or that he was dreaming. Until it kept happening and the other students talked about seeing them too. They were pretty docile, there was only one lion that seemed to pay them any mind. And that was the blue one.

Lance didn’t know why, but whenever the blue one strolled by and stopped next to the clear barrier It brought up a jumble of emotions in Lance. It terrified and drew him in, making Lance even more confused and unsure than he’d ever been. So, he hid from the searching cat eyes. None of the students commented when he would scoot behind their huddle. Away from the searching gaze.

It felt like the lioness was looking for him, trying to pull him in to come to her. But Lance ignored that call. He was too scared. He didn’t want to get hurt. He didn’t want to tempt fate to screw him over again. He’d keep the peace. Though, the blue lion wasn’t the only one that looked like she was hunting him. The rebel with the red jacket too. Keith. Lance wasn’t sure if it was just him being stupid and over thinking it, but Lance couldn’t help but notice the eyes following him as he would lean back. Violet eyes that seemed to glare into him, as if trying to dig him up and expose his soft, vulnerable soul to his gaze. Even the way his eyes would flash gold, revealing the Galran heritage that Lance could already see in his body language. It shook Lance up and made him nervous, even if every time the red one entered the room with the black one to give out food rations he’d also be gentle with Lance, never pushing Lance. Staying a healthy distance away while the black one, Shiro, would gently hand him a water bottle and a little food. Shiro’s eyes were nice too. But they were calm, only making Lance feel comfortable. Keith’s eyes. Those eyes scared him and enticed him.

Lance finally knew what he was.

A bundle of contradictory and fucked up emotions. Lance sneezed.

Weak immune system too. If the sluggish and warm feeling invading Lance was anything to go by. Lance cursed quietly. No, he wasn’t getting sick. He was just tired and had allergies. Though, he wouldn’t deny that he missed his jacket quite a bit. Lance shivered at the thought and immediately felt eyes fasten onto him. He froze. Lance gripping his knees a little tighter.

Don’t show weakness. The students and teachers comments always got a little meaner, a little colder when they noticed it was getting to Lance. Lance had eventually learned to just stay silent. Not say when something was bugging him. Not say anything at all. Just stand strong and smile.

The rain never lasted forever, this wouldn’t last forever too.

Didn’t stop the ice water being dumped into his veins like adrenaline when the Galran rebel stalked closer. Passing the huddle that glared fiercely at the ‘Galran traitor’ as he walked straight toward Lance. Lance closed his eyes, expecting the blossoming of pain on his jaw any moment now. But his eyes shot open in surprise as nothing came to hit him. Rather a blanket, with warm soft fleece the color of dark crimson was draped across his shoulders. The scent of spice and warm sand sinking into his skin. Lance looked up at the rebel curiously, eyes wide in shock as the male gave him a toothy smile. Knuckles brushing Lance’s cheek in what was technically as Galran gesture of soft affection. It made Lance feel warm in more than just the fever way. Making his tan cheek flush a light red and the one in front of him give a small laughing sound before walking away. Still sending Lance glances every now and again as Lance stayed put, a small smile as he cuddled the blanket.

Keith almost felt ecstatic. It was no secret, Galrans had a little quirk, they had a need to take care of anyone that gained their interest in favor. It was a primal way of enticing mates, showing you could be a provider. Keith had never felt the need to do so before, Shiro had been the one to court Keith after all.

Then there was a sad looking tan boy with the most gorgeous blue eyes, and suddenly, Keith wanted to give someone the world. Shiro said that was because Keith’s dominant side as a male Galran had found its outlet. He’d felt guilty at first, until he saw the way Shiro was eyeing the young adult too. Giving the boy food rations personally, watching the little chess games between the two young ones late into the night with fondness. They’d both decided it was an idea, something that they wanted to pursue.

It didn’t change Keith’s nerves about being rejected. The itch in his chest and pang at the thought of the tan boy, Lance, refusing his advances. Luckily, he hadn’t… well, at first. Keith felt a white hot flame of fury and hurt go through his as he looked back up to the boy, seeing him cheek flush with a slight fever and shivering again.

No blanket. Just tan skin that begged to be pampered, warmed, and healed of those anger inducing bruises. Keith looked around, noticing the blanket now being shared by a couple of the ruder students they had taken for leverage. Their backs still turned from Lance. Keith cursed loudly in his mind.

Lance, lovely, beautiful Lance. Why was he so fucking selfless? Why the fuck! Would he not let Keith take care of him? Keith could feel his inner Galra preen in anguish and anger. Why did Lance not notice the intent was for him to keep the blanket? Shiro had noticed the slight decline in the tan boy’s health and here was Keith, hearing and trying to help. For Lance to give away the blanket! Keith paused quietly, as if mulling something over. Unless. Lance didn’t give it away.

Unless it was taken from him.

Keith growled softly under his breath, that was it. Negotiations were taking forever with the Garrison. It was going to be weeks until they could get their allies back from the Garrison’s hold and it would probably take longer for the trade to take place. And he was his potential mate, cold and getting sick, shunned from his peers. He would not stand for this. He’d just explain to Shiro and Allura why there was a Cuban boy in one of the guest rooms under his supervision later. He was sure Shiro would understand, Allura too as she even seemed to have a strange unexplained soft spot for the boy. She’d expressed her confusion over it too. Pidge had hypothesized that it was because he was more soft spoken and gentle, human nature reaching out for compassion. Allura had taken the explanation easily. Though, she was having her plate full already, the lions were extremely agitated. They were in their organic forms quite a bit of the time mostly, they liked to interact and it was hard for a large metal lion to get around the ship without breaking things. Now it was like they were constantly in organic form wandering around, what surprise Allura and all the paladins the most was which lion was causing the most tension. The blue lion.

Normally Blue was very calm, she was the lioness that would often calm down the other lions. Groom them and cuddle until everyone, even paladins were calm and happy. But now it was like she was a taunt string. Her tail constantly swishing and eyes searching. Allura had translated for the lions, saying that Blue felt her paladin somewhere nearby, but couldn’t find them and it was putting stress on her. Which in turn cause stress on the lions. Everyone was ecstatic, the blue paladin was exactly what they were looking for…

But where were they if they were nearby? Nor could they look for the paladin in the middle of negotiating human lives. The paladins would simply have to do their best to soothe their lions as they bid their time.

Keith was getting off topic, shaking his head as he stood up. Walking straight to the holding room. Not missing the way Lance flinched as his sudden movements. He internally winced. His inner galra whining, saddened by the fact one of their mates, the littlest one, was frightened of them. Something in Keith’s chest hummed with energy, urging him to reach out and comfort the lanky boy, but not yet as Keith glared at the ones in possession of his mate’s gift, before he ignored them. He did not want to seem cruel in front of his mate. He would simply get another one of him and Shiro’s blankets to smother Lance in. Keith almost purred at the thought of the young male having their scent attached to him. Keith shoved the thoughts away immediately.

It was getting hard to fight his Galran side when his instincts tried to take control, it was probably everything mixing together and happening at once that Keith’s Galran side was almost winning the fight of control over Keith’s human side. Keith grabbed Lance’s hand, noticing immediately the way his Galran side waded away, letting him personally interact with his courting mate. Keith gave a half smile for a brief second before making his face unreadable as he tugged on the male’s hand. Urging him to stand up. Which Keith noticed the boy did with hesitation and nervousness. Stumbling on shaky legs which Keith immediately compensated for. Grabbing the boy and throwing him over his shoulder. (Lance would deny it for the rest of his life, but the view of Keith’s strong back and shoulders was something that Lance would burn into his memory as if it were a gospel.) The other students gave weak protests, but quieted. It wasn’t them being dragged away. Maybe if they stayed quiet they could avoid being snatched away too.

Keith sneered internally. A classmate was an ally. You were supposed to be loyal to them and fight to keep them safe. Have their back. No one had taught these students that yet had they? Keith internally grimaced as Lance’s ribs dug into his shoulder. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat with the male swung over his shoulder. He was lighter than a sack of potatoes. Keith immediately vowed to shovel as much calorie packed food as he could into the tan boy.

The clicking of a lion’s claws down the hall made Keith break out of his thoughts, looking over his shoulder and being surprised. Blue. She was strolling down the hall, staring intently at the boy who was quietly and tensely laying on Keith’s shoulder. But not attempting anything. Staying a healthy distance away. But much calmer than Keith had seen any of the lions all week. She must sense his Lance’s distress and confusion and trying not to make it worse. Keith gave a silent nod to the lion and ducked into the guest room, plopping Lance down onto the bed.

Lance’s head spun like a top, his small headache was matched with a severe dizziness. Disorientating him along with the swirling thoughts in his head. Why had the strange rebel taken him? Where was the Black Rebel that always accompanied the Red Rebel, Shiro? Where was Lance even? Why was the man staring at him like he was some kind of treasure?

It was confusing. He was just a mute. Just a boy from Cuba.

So why was this man staring at him as if he were something special?

The toned and dark haired male knelt in front of Lance, grabbing Lance’s hands in his own gloved hands. It made Lance tense up at the male smiled at Lance. Causing a small flush to reach out onto Lance’s cheeks and his heart rate to pick up.

Wasn’t it bad to think like this about someone that kidnapped you? Yes, it was really bad. This line of thought needed to stop now. Now. Stop. But, why were the man’s lips on his own the only thing that he could think about? Lance’s head drop in slight shame, but he listened intently at the man spoke.

“I’m going to leave and get a few things, and I’m going to lock the door. So don’t be alarmed, I’ll be right back. You’re not in trouble. Just, stay put please?” Lance’s eyesight swooned and his head banged, but he still nodded carefully. The man let go of his hands to place a hand on Lance’s forehead. “I’ll grab you some medication too while I’m out. I think you caught a bug from the other students.” The man smiled at Lance as his hand slid down to cup Lance’s cheek adoringly. Making Lance’s heart go into overdrive, his cheeks burning almost impossibly hotter. The man gave a sly smile as if he noticed Lance’s embarrassment. Pulling away and walking out the door quickly and with a small reassuring smile.

Lance’s lips tugged into a confused frown once he left, his hand reaching up to touch his cheek, the warmth was already fading. Leaving Lance colder than he already had been with his slight fever. Lance looked up.

No one had ever looked at him like that. No one that wasn’t in his family. Never looked at him as if he were important. His sister had always looked at him like that. And that gaze both gave him a stab of sadness and familiarity, but it also drew him in with curiosity and longing. He shouldn’t want this. He was technically his kidnapper. But, Lance was so tired to standing alone. He wanted to carry him for a small while, or even just let him lean a little bit of the weight off him.

Was it bad to want that? To want someone to care?

Lance didn’t know anymore.

The door clicked and slid open with a barely there ‘whooshing’ sound. Gaining Lance’s attention as the man, Keith. Shuffled in. In his hands was a small collection of various things, Lance stayed still and let the man come closer, place the items on the bed.

A bottle of what looked to be Tylenol or Nyquil, there was a water bottle and a thing of saltine crackers, a blanket and a note pad Lance recognized as Allura’s. It was the same color and Lance could see the blue gel print of his hand writing peeking out from the disheveled cover. Lance looked up at Keith in confusion, but the man didn’t seem to notice as he concentrated. First draping another blanket that smelled exactly like the first one he’d given Lance. Lance guessed it was his own personal blankets. They smelled like the cologne on the man, though, there was another (Really appealing but Lance would never say that) smell that Lance felt like he knew, but wasn’t sure how to place it.

A bottle with a straw was then placed at his lips, Lance was startled, trying to pull away until Keith gave him a glare that made him freeze. “I know you were sharing your portions, medication isn’t good on an empty stomach, so you’re going to drink this water bottle and eat at least a few of these crackers. No arguments.” Lance found himself meekly nodding, not trying to grab the water bottle and just letting the man press the drink to his lips, which seemed to make Keith pretty happy. Lance could swear that if Keith had a tail it would be wagging in delight.

It was a weird feeling. Making someone happy just by letting them do something for him. It gave Lance a really strange feeling that both made Lance want to bask in the attention or run away and hide.

When the bottle was almost empty it was pulled away from Lance, almost making him whine. He didn’t realize how much better it felt to drink until he did. But Lance’s complaint died in his throat before he could make any embarrassing noise as Keith’s hand brushed his cheek again.

“Don’t worry, I’m just saving this for after you eat a few crackers so you can take the medication. Then I can refill the water bottle.” Keith grabbed the crackers, they were small, bite sized. Lance thought he should probably expect it, but it still made him feel shy as Keith attempted to feed him again. This time he tried to grab the cracker himself but Keith intervened with a small frown.

“Please. I want to make sure you eat.” Lance’s hand hesitated, before he put it back down into his lap and tucked his arms into the blanket. Keith gave a bright grin, which made Lance blush worse before he reluctantly opened his mouth. Letting himself being fed. It was embarrassing, but Lance had to admit, the more water and food he got the less the headache seemed to bother him and less nauseous he felt. His fever was still there, but after Lance finished a few crackers and Keith gave him the medication Lance felt like he was feeling a bit closer to normal. Even a little better than normal. There was a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest that both unnerved him and relaxed him. Letting him stay completely compliant. Even as Keith put away the water bottle and crackers to the small night stand pulled Lance down to lay his head on his lap. With his eyes drooping and his muscles weak with exhaustion and illness Lance really didn’t fight it and instead let the man do what he wanted. Everything he was doing was pleasant. Including the hand carding gently through his hair. Keith looked at Lance with soft, gently eyes.

“Why did you do this to yourself люблю? You didn’t have to give away your water. You could’ve just told us. We would have given more if you had needed it.” Lance squirmed a little bit underneath the searching gaze. Lance hands reached out and grabbed the notebook, quickly scribbling a little note.

           ‘They needed it, I don’t eat that much anyway.’ Keith gave a scoff.

           “Tell that to the pack of crackers you practically demolished. Rightfully so. You need food for energy and staying healthy. Water too. If you don’t eat and drink you’re hurting yourself. Don’t do that anymore. Okay?” Keith’s hand tightened in his hair and his eyes looked like he was almost in physical pain at the thought of Lance neglecting himself. It made another burst of warmth go off in his chest. Making Lance nod and look away bashfully. Not missing the way Keith relaxed with a small smile. Lance’s eyes starting to close without his consent soon after they fell into silence. Making Keith chuckle softly as he saw Lance’s small struggle. Brushing Lance’s hair off his cheeks. It only served to make Lance drowsier with its soft and repetitive moments as Keith’s lips were soon next to his ear.

           “Sleep, we’ll be here in the morning when you wake up.” Lance’s eyes flutter shut finally, Lance barely noticing as Keith moved the notepad out of his hands and Lance’s head to the pillow. Covering him more fully with the blanket. As Lance felt the sensation of fleeting lips on his temple before they retreated again quickly. The door sliding shut with a locking click and the lights going out soon after. Leaving Lance to notice the window of the room and the soft glow on the moon to gently brush his skin.

           Lance gave a sigh of comfort, maybe. Just maybe. It was okay to succumb and let himself want something. Want to be cared about. Even if it was only temporary and he was going to be hurt again. He was willing to try. And by the way the moon seemed to almost smile down on him. He thought his family out there was agreeing with him.

           The Cuban boy fell asleep with a smile on his face. Waiting in silent anticipation.

           Of what was to come, or who he was going to see. Lance didn’t know.

           Lance didn’t really mind not knowing either. It was probably both.

           Both was good anyway.

[angstalottle]

Butterfly Wings

Pidge:

The first time Lance walked into the common room without makeup on early in the morning, Hunk cried. Hunk had known about Lance’s Vitiligo since early days in the Garrison when he had accidentally walked in on him while changing. Since then Hunk had worked as a one person protection squad ready to kill anyone that so much as glanced at Lance the wrong way. He had known that Allura knew about Lance’s skin since he had told Hunk almost immediately after it had happened. However he had never expected that only a few days later Lance would come stumbling into the kitchen first thing in the morning, hair messed up from sleep and eyes half closed; only wearing his boxers and a white vest causing the pale patches that ran across his arms, back, neck and face to be perfectly visible. Hunk couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so proud of his best friend. This truly was an achievement. Lance looked over at Hunk opening his mouth and pointing at it demanding his breakfast. Hunk only rolled his eyes and laughed swatting at the blue paladin with a wooden spoon. “Foods almost done, so sit down and don’t complain.” “Ok Hunky dory” Lance teased sitting at the long table with his head rested on his arms snoozing till the space porridge was ready. For a few minutes everything was peaceful. Then Pidge walked into the kitchen and stopped in their tracks staring at Lance. Before Hunk even realised what was going on, they were already rushing over to the snoozing paladin with a panicked look on their face. “Oh my god Lance what happened to you!?” Hunk flinched. He prayed that Lance hadn’t heard anything, that he won’t have to deal with this again. However Hunk wasn’t that lucky. Lance slowly straightened up looking at Pidge was a forced smile. Pidge gasped seeing the pale patches also on his face. “Nothing happened Pidge, im fine.” He shrugged casually but Hunk could see he was practically curling in on himself. “Fine!” Pidge exclaimed “Lance have you looked in the mirror today?! There’s something wrong with your skin it could be an alien parasite for all we know!” Lance bit his lip, the effort not to cry so intense that he managed to draw blood. “Pidge I’m fine this is just… how my skin is.” “B-but how!?” Pidge asked looking over at Hunk. They were shocked to see the usually gentle yellow paladin shaking with rage. “Pidge stop.” Hunk hissed through gritted teeth. “Hunk its fine…” Lance tried putting a hand to his mouth to hide the cut. “No it’s not!” Hunk snapped putting the spoon down and glared at at Pidge. “You remember when we kept badgering you about your gender. Asking you why your like this and what’s wrong with you?” Pidge looked confused and a little scared “n-no.” “Exactly. Because we knew it would hurt you to ask such things, yet here you are doing the same thing to Lance.” Pidge looked down guilty “I’m… I’m sorry Lance I just… I didn’t know what it was and I was worried.” Lance smiled hugging the smaller paladin from behind “it’s ok, a lot of people don’t know what it is and can kinda freak seeing it the first time. I really am not sick, it’s just how my skin is. I’m fine.” Hunk pretended not to notice how Lance’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke. And he pretended not to notice when the next morning Lance came to breakfast in his normal clothes and his makeup back on.