#if your wondering what pidge said.

[dnightshade0]

Lance finds out pidge is Italian

Lance: hay pidge! I heard from shiro that you’re actually Italian. Is that right?

Pidge: yep, I’m Italian. Why do you ask?

Lance looks pidge in the eye and breaks a bundle of spaghetti.

Pidge: (starts screaming at Lance in Italian.) stupido cubano! cosa c'è che non va in te?!

Pidge Pulls out her bayard and chases Lance around the castleship.

—————————————————————-

Fun fact. Italians do not like it when you break spaghetti. They will yell and berate you mercilessly. A perfect example of this is lionfield’s channel. Those Italian guys take their pasta very seriously.

[voltronisanobsession]

Hii, I hope you are having a good day or night! I've recently read your platonic yandere voltron things. And I was wondering if you would make some more headcanons? Or stories with platonic yandere? Here are some ideas you could write either a few headcanons or a story about, for if you have low inspiration. Kidnapped reader with platonic yandere voltron, maybe by an alien species who wanted to help the reader? How would the team react? What would they do? Or maybe the reader get really sick which isn't easily cured cue the panic from the team? Again, just so you know I really like your work! So keep up the good work, and thank you for making your works in the first place! Take good care of yourself, and stay hydrated!

Yandere Voltron’s Reaction to Reader being Taken

O M G DONT EVEN PLAY WITH ME RNNNN!!!! I absolutely LOVE yandere voltron like they’re so fun to write for🤞😜 I love the idea of the group just going crazy if reader were to escape UGHH

tysm pookie, take care of yourself too and ENJOY THIISSSS

OK YOU JUST SPURRED IDEAS INTO MY HEAD

I can already imagine the group going crazy when reader suddenly gets swept up right from their grasp out of nowhere by some random spaceship

I know you said some kind of an alien species taking reader but hear me out

It’s LOTOR AND HIS LITTLE GROUPIES OOOOO

It’s painfully obvious that you’re the real star in voltron seeing as how possessive and protective they are of you, hiding you away whenever danger is nearby

So it only makes sense to Lotor to just kidnap you as leverage for his plans

Little did he know that you would be THANKING him for taking you away from the group lmao😭

Imagine your tied up and homeboys getting ready to explain his super mastermind plan to you when all of a sudden you start rambling about how good it feels to be away from them

“Nothing personal, you were the only thing holding that sad excuse of a team together, so I needed you out of the picture for now.” Cue smirk

“UGH THANK GOD! I was literally starting to lose my mind in there, you have no IDEA how needy they all are.”

Now cue a dumbfounded Lotor

He was not expecting reader to be so relaxed considering how he just snatched you up out of nowhere

You’re just chilling while looking around his ship, maybe making conversation with his generals

You finally get a break from the constant attention and possessiveness, ANYTHING is better than being around the group

While you’re happily talking your voice away with Lotor a group, everyone in the castle is freaking the fuck out

It’s bad enough that they let you slip away from their grasp, it’s worse knowing it was Lotor who took you away💀

We all know how Lance feels about Lotor so I think he would have one of the more extreme reactions to you being taken away

Probably starts pointing fingers and starts blaming everyone for not being able to keep you safe

Lowkey begins targeting Keith because it’s somehow always his fault when something goes wrong💀💀

Lance might even starting crying and wailing out for you with Hunk when the situation finally hits him

Keith is also another one to have a more violent outburst during and after your disappearance

He’s someone I see with strong emotions that he doesn’t know how to handle yet so we already know how he might act

Agitated? Yes. Scared? For you, yeah. Furious? Oh honey absolutely.

Keith might have almost caught you too, but he didn’t. He’s so angry with everything and mostly himself that’s he’s pushing everyone else’s buttons, trying to convince the group that the only right choice is immediately going after you

He’s too anxious now that you’re not in his line of sight, making him kinda desperate to get you back again

Hear me out but I think the calmest ones would PROBABLY be Shiro and Pidge

Now I’m not saying that they’re CALM but they have the nerves mostly in tact

They’re already trying to locate where you are with the secret tracker that have on you so it doesn’t really benefit them to try and blame someone for what happened to you

Pidge’s hands shake while she’s working her whizz tho. She has to type, erase, and retype every now and then because of how nervous and anxious she is

She’s so used to having you around that now her brain can’t function properly without you

She doesn’t want to lose you like how she lost her brother and father so Pidge is trying her best to have a one track mind

Shiro on the other hand is more level headed

He really does try to calm the group down as best as he could but with Lance and Hunk crying, Keith yelling at them to get up and do something, Pidge taking a long time to track you down, and Allura and Coran seemingly in an entire different universe, he can’t help but feel the pressure of this disaster falling on his shoulders

This man is ready to just end Lotor when they find him like I’m not even joking

Everyone is getting on this man’s nerves and knowing that you’re trapped with Voltrons enemy doesn’t really make him feel any better

Hunk might even strike fear into Shiro while he’s babbling on about if you’re hurt or not, if they’re torturing you to get any information out of you etc

Poor Hunk is a flood gate at this point. One moment you’re right next to him and the next you’re not

He’s having a complete meltdown in a corner, maybe trying to comfort himself with a small picture of a selfie you both took together

This dude is already imagining all these terrible scenarios you could possibly be in which makes him feel even more terrible

Quite literally feels like he’s gonna throw up now when he begins thinking about how he’ll never see you again

Allura and Coran are surprising quite and calm during all this

They’d keep to themselves but know that they’re going through some extreme inner turmoil

It’s kind of like Allura disconnected herself from the world ever since you’ve been taken

Her skin itches to run out and grab a pod to find you herself but she knows it’s a brash idea

The only thing she does is mull over the idea of making Lotor regret messing with Voltron

BUT TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORTT

They are willing to do anything to get you back, not caring for the description they’ll leave along the way

The longer your gone the less control and stability they’ll have as a group

Desperate and irrational are some words to describe them during your being away from them

They will stop at nothing to have you back with them, some more destructive and violent than others

No one holds back when getting you back from Lotor, leaving his ships wrecked and forcing him to put his plans on pause as he recovers

Who knows, maybe him and his group might’ve grown similar possessive feelings towards you as well with the time you spent with them? HMMMM

[mistkisbiggestfan]

heyyyy i just wanted t ask if you could post a part two to white lion i have reread it so many times its totally ok if you are taking a break to work on mental health or would prefer writting stuff you choose this just a silly little request (sorry i there is spelling mistakes my english isnt that good)

Pidge / Reader | White Lion - Complete rewrite - Part I

Rewrite of the fic I still have up on this blog!!

A/n: I'm back?? I think?

Words: 1221

With insomnia nothing’s real, you learn that early on, everything’s far enough to be impossible to reach. Stuck inside an endless loop, a sort of unbreakable cycle. Back then; you were not ready for failure of any kind.

As a White Paladin of Voltron your sole mission was to protect other paladins and people around you. That’s all the White Paladin was, a glorified version of a healing pod, and you hated it. Everyone neglected you, not as a friend of course, but as a valuable fighter and defender of the universe. A medic was what you were made out to be, a brute by nature and a pacifist by force, all you could do was save, even if you tried to charge into battle you were quickly pushed off – back to the sidelines. Allura told you before; each Lion has a unique bond to a specific, and only one, Paladin. Sealed by fate, with no choice, you stayed.

The only one treating you fairly was your lover, Pidge. Both young prodigies, top students of Garrison, with a heart of gold and a particularly sharp and witty comebacks. Made for each other it seemed. They actually appreciated the help they got from you during and out of battle, that was, to your dismay, cut short. As war with Galra raged on, everyone forgot about any other struggles disregarding the threat across the universe.

Soon, Pidge began to share the view about you with other paladins, bit by bit, you realized that now, not a single soul believed in you being anything else but support — You were young, skillful in this specific subject, and rather weak at first glance, but you were more than that, more than what they made you out to be.

Often, on different restless nights, you were left wondering certain things. ‘Am I just a waste to them? Keith already said that, do others agree with him? What does Pidge think?’ All loose questions tied neatly with a string of paranoia and a hint of anxiety building up.  And like that, the overthinking pursued. No one even noticed you staying out of conversations, blindly following orders, no one noticed because it was making everything so much easier. Hunk asked you at times; “Hey Y/N.. you seem quiet lately, everything alright?” But just a few words were enough to shoo him away. “Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’m the White Paladin, remember?” You often said, but you never voiced the rest of this sentence you grew to mutter each day: “The one who is supposed to help.” And Hunk, begrudgingly, let go.

Keith outright believed you were too young and just a nuisance on the battlefield; you suspected he had something against you because you caught onto him and his feelings regarding Lance, as he, himself, wasn’t yet able to face those feelings. The thought that someone knew made him defensive. At least Lance was oblivious enough for this to not be too much of an awkward situation, from what all others knew, besides you it seemed, Lance and Keith hated each other. Or, at very least, strongly disliked each other's presence. At first, before you became a nuisance, your insomnia induced night walks roaming the Castle grounds were often guided by different team members, Shiro eased your mind by comforting, Hunk baked with you, Coran told stories of the White Paladins before you — not many, but still. Allura didn’t have to say a word, as you treasured her camaraderie dearly. Lance made a habit of beauty sleepovers, and even Keith offered you a sparring match from time to time, even though he still argued with others he disliked you greatly. At times like these, you often resided with Pidge. They had a bad habit of staying way up into the night to focus on their work, not from their insomnia, but from a severe case of workaholism.

You liked to walk into their room quietly, your own feet dragging you to their room as you hadn’t even registered. You walked all the way there, sitting down beside them as they worked away on their laptop. Without a word, passing out from exhaustion next to them, feeling safe enough to let go, even if it was only for an hour or two. Waking up tired, but not overwhelmingly lonely and disoriented, as their hand around yours grounded you like an anchor. But what times often do is change. Comfort made you weak enough to believe it’ll last forever, but with a heavy heart you realized — nothing does. Your life hit a rocky path, if it can still do that after getting dragged against your will into an intergalactic war with all hopes resting on you and other bunch of dysfunctional young adults, your insomnia got worse, getting pushed off to the sidelines too.

You were a Paladin, and with an actual bond with a Lion no less, so why were you stuck organizing missions with Allura as Coran talked your ear off? Was it stupid you were jealous of each successful mission, as they came back in glee and the thrill of winning yet another battle? Maybe. Did you still feel through it like an overwhelming blade stuck inside that twisted each time you realized you were just a backup plan? Yes. All you wanted was to prove yourself, you could be useful, really. But each time Shiro said that you’re enough, you felt as if the words hitting your ears were hollow. No one assisted your nightly walks anymore. Pidge was busy. Way more busy than you had ever seen them, there was no comfort in the galaxy you could give them for them to stop their work for even a second. Realizing that leaving them alone was the best thing you could give them, you did just that, and to your small heartbreak, you received no words addressing the fact, no complaints either. Getting as desperate as walking into the training room, in case Keith was staying up late too, you often were met with nothing. Sometimes, Keith was there, but most times your ears were met with sharp yet tired words; “You shouldn’t train this late, a medic shouldn't be half-dead each day.” And with a roll of your eyes, you often walked out.

Sometimes, you stood there a second longer, savoring the meeting, and letting the hatred built up as your mind was screaming: “I’m not just a medic! I’m a Paladin just like you!”. But in the end, you sat in that cold, and now, lonely, room of yours.

Your eyes scanning over the same wall you always faced. Tired gaze raking through the metal, dissecting it into pieces, logic you couldn’t grasp. At times like this, moments before shutting off from complete exhaustion, even you had no idea how to comprehend the drive that was pushing you at such times.

Maybe tomorrow, it’ll all make sense. Maybe tomorrow won’t be just a copy of today, which was just a copy of yesterday.

At least, tomorrow, you’ll finally go on a mission, after this whole time, which felt like eternity and a second, all too far to understand and grasp. With that thought, you had no idea what came next, as your exhausted body hit the bed.

You passed out.

Again.

[vikspretty]

windows of opportunity

in which lance is a disaster romantic and misses every opportunity to ask you out

masterlist

pairing: lance x reader

tags: fem! reader, disaster romantic lance, blue paladin lance, oblivious reader, oblivious lance too, reader isn't a paladin she just, like, helps(?), very very tiny bit of angst, happy ending, fluff, mutual pining, flirty banter, no use of y/n, lance calls reader ‘pretty’ as a nickname, cheeky little taylor swift reference if you squint.

notes: as a huge hopeless romantic, missed opportunities with a happy ending and mutual pining but thinking the other doesn't reciprocate is my obsession. i also know i said the first one would be keith but then i thought of this and it fit lance more i think.

wc: 2.3k

“Rise and shine, work hard, carve out your name, Take aim, pull the trigger, hit the bulls eye for fame, Know the value of faith, an' family, and don't you complain, Open wide, your windows of opportunity" — Kate Denson's "Windows of Opportunity”

To say that Lance liked you was an understatement. He was obsessed. Not crazy obsessed, but obsessed in the way that you consumed his every thought.

Luckily this didn't extend to during fights, but even then he would still be acutely aware of where you were at all times, making sure he could hear your voice over the comms, often talking over Coran just to flirt with you.

You were no different. Having known Lance since before joining the Garrison, your feelings for him have come and gone repetitively. Each time you'd confide in Pidge, declaring that you were over him after seeing him treat someone else the same way he treats you, claiming that he'd only ever see you as a friend, he'd do something that would make you retract anything bad you'd ever said about him.

Yours and Lance's feelings were obvious to everyone and it bewildered them how you both thought they were one sided.

The kitchen was quiet, Hunk, Keith and Pidge holding conversation while each did their own thing: Hunk baking, Keith tracing his blade and Pidge on her computer. Peaceful.

"What if I say something and she thinks I'm weird and never talks to me again?"

Keith and Pidge immediately groaned while Hunk remained silent, watching as Lance walked past all three of them, interrupting their conversation and train of thoughts. He threw himself onto a chair at the table across from Pidge who had already gathered her things and gotten up to leave. "Nope, not dealing with this again," she said as she left.

"She already thinks you're weird, I'm surprised she still puts up with you," Keith says from the spot next to where Pidge was. Lance glared at him in response, ignoring him.

"I think you should just try. If her face when she looks at you is anything to go off, I'm pretty sure she likes you too." It was a usually useless statement that was many times returned with "You're lying," or "I would've noticed." This time however, Lance turned to face Hunk and instead said,

"I was on my way to ask her out just now but she was training with Shiro and was in a zone and I didn't wanna disrupt that cause- where are you going?" Lance cut his rant off with a question directed at Keith who was leaving the kitchen.

"To train," was all he replied with.

"So you're finally going to do it? Why are you in here then?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah I am. I'm sick of wondering if she feels the same so I'm just gonna ask. I've never had a problem with it before so why should I now?"

From there, Lance vowed to himself that he would ask you out as soon as possible. He didn't want to spend any more time not being able to call you his than he had to.

You heard your name being called from down the corridor as you made your way to the showers. Training with Shiro was one thing, training with Shiro and Keith was another when you weren't out in the field anywhere near as often as them. It also didn't help how Keith had mentioned he had come to you two to escape Lance's apparent rambling about you. It had thrown you off and to make up for it and stop Shiro's teasing, you had put even more effort in than you normally would.

Turning around, you saw Lance running to catch up to you. Despite wanting to turn and make a run for it to the showers to avoid any embarrassment, you stopped and waited for him to meet you.

Huffing slightly, Lance met up with you and stopped to take you in. You were beautiful. Even when you were clearly sweaty and exhausted. He had to shake his head slightly to keep his thoughts from turning dirty. "Finished training?"

"Yeah, was just heading to the showers, wanna join me?" you said with a smirk, knowing that your question could be taken a couple different ways.

Recognising your signature smirk you used whenever the two of you would 'harmlessly' flirt, Lance played along. "Of course."

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Lance froze up briefly. He had wondered if Keith had overheard him say that he was going to ask you out and had opened his big mouth to you. You quietened his thoughts by following up with, "You look like you wanna say something. If its to tell me I smell, I know, Shiro and Keith are not easy opponents."

"Yeah you do stink, but I hope you kicked Keith's ass." Lance joked. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you the best way to ask someone out." Your smile dropped for a second before replacing it with a forced one. You knew he didn't like you and he wasn't yours to lose so why should you keep someone else from experiencing what you could only dream about.

"Oh, well, it depends who it is. Personally, I like when it's done in a way that shows the person really knows me, like with trinkets or using inside jokes as a way of showing their feelings rather than just saying it. Allura though, she'd probably like to be taken somewhere nice, so when you ask her out maybe do it on a planet with a nice skyline or sunset or something." You knew it had to be Allura he was planning to ask out. He'd been flirting with her ever since you all met her. It was only a matter of time. You felt the unwanted tears build up - you had to get away, and fast. "Oh look, we're at the showers, thanks for walking with me and good luck on asking Allura, I'm sure she'll say yes." You were out of sight in seconds.

Lance stood facing the door speechless and confused. Where did Allura come into this? Why were you so quick to leave? He had only asked how to ask someone in hopes to lead up to him actually asking but instead his window of opportunity had closed before he even let it open.

His next window was clear. He had his speech planned out, knew exactly what he wanted to say and how. Now was the perfect opportunity. You were the only one on the bridge, sat in his seat seemingly just relaxing. Why you were doing that here instead of in the lounge he didn't know but he decided to ask later.

You hadn't noticed Lance's presence until you head a "Quiznack" be muttered under his breath as he tripped over his own feet, luckily managing to catch himself. You sat up and turned to face him. "Finally falling for me, Sharp-shooter?" you joked, internally cringing at the use of the word 'finally'.

If Lance had noticed your slip up, he didn't mention it. Instead, he rounded to the front of the chair you were in and dropped to sit on the floor facing you. "You wish. No. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"How did it go with Allura?" Truthfully, you didn't want to know, but you were sure you'd hear about it from one of them soon enough so why not get it out of the way.

"How did what go with Allura?" The confusion on his face was obvious.

"You were gonna ask her our remember? You literally asked me how to do it like two days ago." You mirrored Lance's confusion.

"Oh." Silence. "Oh! No! I wasn't planning to ask her out! I actually wanted to ask you-" his voice, which was already turning very quiet was cut off by you sitting up and squinting at the window.

"What was that?" You asked yourself aloud. Lance mistook that as a question for him.

"I said-" he was cut off again when you quickly got up and ran to the window.

"Quiznack!"

"What?"

"Alert everyone. Get to your lions. Now."

At that, Lance looked outside to see multiple Galra ships appearing. He groaned internally. To you the groan was about having to go out and fight. For him, the groan was because yet another window of opportunity had shut.

Keith really just wanted to lay down. Not necessarily sleep as that had never come easy to him, but he was exhausted. Instead he had to listen to you whine about how Lance doesn't share your feelings. When he had asked why you were coming to him about this you had said that everyone who wasn't Lance was busy and she didn't want to bother them. At that moment he wished you hadn't found him sat in the lounge. As much as he cherished you as a friend, he was quite frankly sick of hearing about Lance. When there was a knock at the door of his room, of which you had followed him into and immediately flopped onto his bed mid rant, Keith rolled his eyes and opened it. He was glad it had at least got you to be quiet since you also wondered who it was.

"Hey have you seen, oh hi pretty, Keith have you seen-" Lance stopped talking. When he'd said hi, he wasn't thinking, it was natural instinct. When he realised you were laid out on Keith's bed, his brain caught up to his mouth.

You, on the other hand, were blushing. It wasn't the first time Lance was calling you pretty. In fact it's what he called you 90% of the time. But it was the timing. You had just been complaining about how he doesn't think of you except from if he has to or if you're talking with him then he calls you pretty, offhanded. You were going insane.

"What's up?" Keith asked Lance, aiming a sly smirk at you as if he could tell you were going crazy over both seeing the person who was the main character of your rant and at the name said person had called you.

"Actually I was looking for her but if you guys are busy..."

Keith took this opportunity to both get rid of you so he can lie down and also get back at you for talking his ear off. "No, no, please, take her, I'm sick of hearing about you."

Lance ignored Keith's comment, turning to you, "Can we talk?"

Your eyes went wide as you sat up, your heart immediately dropping. Had you done something wrong? Had he overheard you talking about how much you liked him? Was this the end of your guys's friendship? You'd rather have him as a friend than nothing at all. You just nodded and said bye to Keith as you left his room.

The door closed within milliseconds of you leaving the room. It was just you and Lance now. Alone. "Come on," Lance smiled and started walking to his room.

Arriving in his room, Lance's nerves began to pick up. This was his chance. Again. He promised to himself that this is it. He wasn't going to let another interruption keep him from telling you how he feels.

Being in his room alone with him was nothing new, so why did you feel so nervous. "Come sit down, pretty." Lance patted the spot next to where he had just sat on his bed. You plastered a smile on your face and sat down.

"What's up? You never ask to talk, you usually just... do."

Lance let out a snort at that, giving you a pointed glance. "Oh and you don't?"

"I never said that."

The light hearted joking relaxed you - it's what you were used to between the two of you.

Your previous nerves about what Lance had to say dissipated as the two of you continued to joke together a little longer.

"Lance. You didn't come find me just to hang out. I know you. What's up?"

He had been putting it off, nerves creeping up the closer he came to confessing and so he sought comfort in your company as it was. Lance nodded and cleared his throat, turning to look in your eyes. "Every time I've tried to talk to you about this, something interrupts me: you rushing off to the showers, then the galra finding us. And then you thought I asked Allura out which is crazy because yeah she's-"

"Lance." You cut him off, not wanting to hear about how the princess of Altea was perfect and dreamy. "Come on."

"As I was going to say, before someone rudely interrupted, again-"

You laughed and stuck your tongue out at him quickly and jokingly.

"Hey! Anyway, yeah Allura is cool, I mean, she's a princess. But she isn't you." He paused, but realised how that could be taken, he continued, "I don't want Allura... I want you pretty girl. And it has taken me way too long to finally tell you. There have been so many missed windows of opportunity, and I refuse to miss any more. It's you. It's always been you, and I'm sorry I led you to believe otherwise."

You were speechless. A confession wasn't even on the list of things you had expected to come from this talk. The smile that grew on your face was unstoppable. Not trusting yourself to let out a happy squeal, you threw your arms around the man who had just told you he chooses you.

The sudden force took Lance by surprise, but he was fast to wrap his arms around your waist and fall back onto his bed, pulling you down with him. You lifted your head to look Lance in the eyes. Lance took this as his chance to finally make things official. "Will you be mine, pretty?"

The smile you didn't think could grow any wider, did. "I will always be yours, Loverboy Lance."

notes: i low-key kinda don't like how this ended up but i tried. it's also only slightly proof-read because i wanna move on to a keith fic now. also, if you saw this before, i reposted it cause i wanted it after my masterlist stuff so its still the same just reposted. reblogs, comments and likes are always appreciated. i also may make a taglist so let me know if you wanna be on it!

@cafekitsune made the dividers here!

thank you for reading!!

[the-californicationist]

Guile & Guilt (Ch. 09)

Soap/Reader - MDNI/18+ AO3 Link

WEDNESDAY — Evening: 2 days until the wedding

The worst part was the pretending. You thought that you’d be in the most pain when you were alone, sobbing in your room, clutching Marlowe like a comfort stuffie, but that wasn’t it. The hardest thing, actually, was smiling when you should be smiling. 

No, the hardest thing was staring down at his bed and knowing you had to sleep in it because why shouldn’t you sleep in it? What reason could you tell her that you weren’t able to climb into his sheets and smell his scent in your nose again?

You couldn’t tell her that the softness of his Rangers jersey felt like thorns to you now. You couldn’t tell her why you’d prefer to sleep on the couch, the floor, outside — anywhere but his bed. No. You had to smile, and it needed to be believable. It couldn’t be a masked grimace through tears like you’d been using to get back and forth from the coffee shop and your bed, unable to even make yourself a boiled egg. 

You’d come down, as planned, for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, and the real kicker — the stake that just twisted right into your heart — was that Johnny and his whole team would be down, too. Of course all the hotels (of which there were one) and the bed and breakfasts were booked solid. So, they’d all just crash here, as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing except for you. 

You were anything but ordinary. You were desperate for some sort of relief from the pain in your chest. Every time you looked down at your phone, you felt it. You ignored the 47 missed calls and the countless text messages, keeping it on silent no matter what. You’d gotten calls from him, from all of his friends, even one from Ghost. You didn’t return them. You thought he had even come to your door one night, but you didn’t answer it. You couldn’t. All you could do was tell yourself to breathe, to eat, to shower, and to make it to the next hour in one piece so you could get through this wedding without falling the fuck apart. 

“You all set in here, babe?” Pidge asked behind you, watching you stare down at the empty bed, “Johnny’ll be here in just a bit so be sure to claim the good side before he does.”

She laughed. You laughed. You sounded crazy. 

“Makin’ your favorite tonight. Chicken tikka,” she was talking to you like a parent talks to a child when they know something is wrong but are determined not to pry. 

“Thanks, Pidge. I’ll come help in a moment.”

“Alright,” she smiled again and shut the door. 

You dropped your bag and waited what you assumed was a normal amount of time before heading out into the kitchen, a brave mask on in place of your face.

She set you to work after you washed your hands, and you were grateful for it. Pidge was talking for you, retracing her steps from her hen do, telling you the parts she couldn’t remember. It was as if everything she’d said to Johnny had just disappeared into thin air, and you wondered how much of that was by choice or by accident. She didn’t even remember you getting a cab. 

Now, she was gushing about how amazing her photographer was, and how he was coming down for the walkthrough. You nodded when you needed to nod; you smiled when you needed to smile. 

“...told him you’d stand in for me at the altar.”

“What?” You’d missed something important. 

“The photographer needs to shoot Hamish and I, but we cannae be at the altar until our wedding, obvi, so I told him you and Lachlan would be the stag and hen for that practice shoot. Is that alright?” She was looking at you like she’d made a mistake. 

You shook your head,

“Yeah, yeah. That’s fine. No problem. Whatever you need me to do.”

The front door creaked open and you almost dropped the saucepan onto the floor. 

“Pidge?” His voice called through the house. 

“In the kitchen!” She called back. 

You stirred the sauce. 

He must have been staring at you because Pidge made a comment,

“We’re doing chicken tikka. It’s her fav, and I thought she deserved it after what I put her through last weekend.”

“Aye,” his tone was odd, “I’ll go drop my bag. The lads are on their way in.”

You could tell he left the room. It was as if your body could sense it somehow. You wondered if he was staring at the bed. You wondered if it would feel like thorns for him, too. 

Why would it? 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. You screamed inside of your mind. Get it together. 

You stirred the sauce. It was the only thing you could do. If someone had tried to take the pan from you, you might have smacked them with it. 

Hamish came up beside you with the cream,

“Ready for me?”

“Sure,” you held your spoon away so he could pour it in. 

“Smells great. Go sit, lass. I poured you a wine. I’ll make your wee plate.”

You smiled at Hamish and marched yourself over to the table. Price came in and saw you sitting there, and after he said hello to Ham and Pidge, he sat next to you in some sort of act of mercy. Hamish poured him a wine as well and they caught up. Small talk. Just the weather. You performed your vanishing act, becoming invisible. 

Until you weren’t. 

His eyes bored into you from the hallway as he made his way into the kitchen. He was forced to sit all the way at the other end of the table, as far from you as he could be, next to Gaz and Ghost. 

Everyone was chatting, drinking, eating. And you worked hard to be unseen. But, he just kept staring. You felt his eyes when you took a bite, when you dropped your fork, when you wiped your mouth… he may as well have been pinning you down with his huge hands; you were so scrutinized. You felt like you were being dissected, a frog on a student’s desk, your heart plucked out for examination. 

What was he looking for? Forgiveness? Wrath? You didn’t know, and you didn’t want to guess. You wanted to melt into the carpet like a fallen ice cube, to evaporate into nothingness so you didn’t have to feel his eyes on you anymore. 

Suddenly, you looked up at him, catching him. Only then did he look away. He must have seen something inside of you that answered his question. 

You cleaned up the plates, making an excuse to do the dishes while everyone else lounged in the den. 

Then, disaster. Hamish cut himself while putting away his knives. Blood rushed out of the cut and down his elbow, dripping onto the counter and the tile. You rushed over with a towel,

“Here, put some pressure.”

Pidge took over for you, and she told you,

“Go check Johnny’s bag. He’s got a wee first aid kit in there, I know he does.”

You looked around for Johnny to make him do it instead, but he’d gone outside to smoke with Price, so you jogged off to his room alone. His bag was on the bed, and you took a deep breath before unzipping it, staying tight to your mission. Then, you spotted the little red kit near the bottom. You pulled it out in a hurry, and the rucksack dropped to the floor, spilling its contents. 

“Shit,” you muttered, bending to clean it up. 

You tossed all the clothes back in, but you noticed a journal that had fallen out. It was splayed open, its spine facing you. Your hands shook a bit as you went to pick it up. Then, you saw the one thing you hadn’t expected to see: you. 

Your face was sketched out in careful detail. There were little scratches of pen for the shadows, and negative space for the highlights. Your eyes were looking off in the distance, and your smile was soft, almost like it wasn’t even there. You looked beautiful. 

You couldn’t help yourself. You flipped the page. You found a map, and a sketch with some attack dogs, but in the margin you saw Sonnet 91. You turned the page again. Your face was everywhere. Your body, your eyes, your hands… you were scattered across the paper in bright blue ink. Then, Sonnet 145. Coffee stains and what may have been blood marred the masterpieces he had left behind. You flipped again, and it was you. Pieces of Sonnet 29. Then you. You were on every page. All of the images of war and maps and guns disappeared and now it was just you, you, you.

Your heart slammed into your mouth and you couldn’t breathe. You thought of golden sunrises across the Urzikstani desert half a world away, imagining him sitting on the open tailgate of a Humvee with this book open in front of him. You thought of how closely he had watched you for months; how his hands had traced the curves of your body so beautifully sketched before you. How he had noticed the three freckles on the side of your eye, the ones you thought no one could see. 

You shoved the book back in the bag and ran back into the kitchen, first aid kit in hand. 

Pidge noticed something was wrong.

“You alright, hen?”

“Just squeamish,” you feigned nausea, pointing to Hamish’s blood. 

Johnny came back in from the porch, looking at you, distress creasing his brow,

“What’s happened?”

“Hamish…” You gestured at the injured man, pointedly avoiding looking at Johnny. 

“Don’t like the sight of blood, thief?” Price asked, using your nickname. In your periphery you could see Johnny stiffen at the comment, but no one else seemed to notice. Price continued, suggesting, “Why don’t we go for a walk.”

“Thanks, John,” Pidge smiled at him, glad that he could tend to you as she was tending to her fiance. 

You let yourself be led out of the house through the front door. Price had you by the arm, none too gently, you thought, and walked you into the cool night air, wrapping his jacket around you and shutting the door. 

He was relighting a fat cigar, letting the smoke linger in his mouth, walking slowly, aimlessly down the path, without a destination in mind, leading you nowhere. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, knowing the answer. 

“No.”

You weren’t sure why you told him the truth. He was just going to run back and report to Johnny. But, there was something in his eyes that made you think he genuinely cared, and you so desperately needed someone to care. 

“Have you listened to his side of it?” 

“No.”

“Do you want to?”

You didn’t answer. You wanted to say no, but something stopped you. 

Price stopped walking, his boots scraping in the gravel of the path, his bright blue eyes icy and a little sad. 

“Listen,” he frowned, “I’ve known Johnny a lot longer than you. I’ve seen him broken. I’ve seen him scared. I’ve seen him mad, and drunk, and happy, and beaten… but I’ve never seen him like this.”

You crossed your arms in his jacket, trying to find some warmth. Suddenly, you felt Price’s finger dig inside of the neckline of your shirt. You almost knocked his hand away, but he put up his other in a sign of peace. And when he found what he was looking for, he smiled. 

He’d pulled out Johnny’s dog tag from beneath your shirt, and you knew you’d been caught. Price held the coin up to you like the sacrament, discovering your shame, bringing your sin out into the open. In that moment, you wanted to bend down on both knees and take it into your mouth, and you wanted him to make you whole again with it. 

“This isn’t like him,” he said, the porch light made the silver gleam, and it blinded you for a moment, “He’s generous enough with his smiles and compliments, but he doesn’t give freely of himself. Not like this. Would’ve thought you’d known. He’s kept himself hidden all this time. But, not from you.” 

You cried. You didn’t want to. You bit your lip and furrowed your brow. You swallowed your spit and tried to breathe through the tears, but they came anyway. He held you to his chest, and you knew his tee shirt would be wet from your weakness, but he kept a steady hand on your back, regardless. 

He tucked the tag back into your shirt and it lay cold against that spot between your breasts; the same spot Johnny had kissed you when he’d taken your guilt from you the first night you’d been together, there, in his bed. You thought Price would make some sort of face, some judgment. But, he didn’t. He simply walked you back inside and held the door for you. 

You went through it on your own accord, and Johnny’s eyes were the first thing to greet you. He raked them over you like a forest fire, burning you from roots to boughs, seeing Price’s jacket over your shoulders and lingering on it for a while until you handed it back to his captain. 

“All covered!” Hamish chuckled, holding up his bandaged finger to you, “Sorry, babes.”

You smiled, 

“No worries. I think I’m just tired from the ride in. Gonna lay down early.”

Pidge caught your attention, 

“Don’t forget, you and Johnny have to make it before two. Pictures are at two.”

You nodded, retreating to what used to be a sanctuary. Now, it felt more like a cell. 

Your goal was to get to sleep before he could join you. You knew it would be too suspicious for him to follow you into his room, so you had the advantage of time. How strange it was to avoid what you had been craving. 

You climbed into the sheets, and you did your best to ignore all of the memories that kept rushing back. The smear of her purple lipstick across his soft earlobe haunted you like a ghost. 

THURSDAY — Midnight: 1 day until the wedding

He came in as quietly as he could, but you woke up anyway. You tried your best to pretend to be asleep, keeping your breathing heavy and long. It was pitch black, and when he sat on the bed, you heard the familiar creak of the coils. 

He pulled the covers back, he fluffed the pillow, he took off his watch, and then he just… laid there. 

You weren’t sure what you were expecting he would do. Wake you up? Demand your attention? You’d shut him out completely. He knew his company was unwanted. 

The dark voice laughed at you in your head. It knew the truth. It wanted him to fight for you. It wanted him to beg for your mercy. It wanted him to take you in his arms anyway, despite your protests. It wanted him to ignore your wishes. It wanted the animal in him to claim the animal in you, to remind you that you were his woman and that he could do with you as he wished. 

But, he wasn’t an animal. He was a man, and he respected you enough to stay on his side of the line. 

It was only when he thought you were well and truly asleep that you felt his finger graze the metal chain of his dog tags on the back of your neck, not heavily enough to wake you, but enough to feel that they were real. You wondered if Price had ratted you out or if Johnny had noticed himself. You thought it was the latter, knowing him.  

You passed out eventually, listening to the sound of his quiet snoring, your pillow soaked from tears that had spilled out across the bridge of your nose. Tears he wouldn’t be able to touch. 

THURSDAY — 2:00PM: 1 day until the wedding

Saint Patrick’s church was quaint, and the interior was minimalistic compared to other Catholic churches you’d visited before. There was something sort of liminal about the space, as if it were unfinished. You wondered what it would look like when it was full of people. 

You were standing at the altar, fake bouquet in hand, pretending to be a blushing bride. The photographer was very much in charge of this ordeal, and he was as outspoken as he was confident. 

“Okay, perfect. See? She’s perfect. Can you be perfect, too, Mr….?”

“It’s Lachlan. Lachlan Black,” he reminded him for the third time. 

“Ugh, okay. Lachlan. If only you were a little more memorable, but my brain just — whoosh!” The photographer, Gary, made a little noise and a motion with his hand like a bird flying through a window. 

“And you’re just too damn tall, you know that?” Gary sighed. 

He looked around the room, appraising all of the bridal party like a dealer at an auction, looking for the solution amongst the chaff. Then, he waved Hamish up from the front pew, getting him to stand. Gary looked him up and down, and motioned for him to sit again. With a snap of his fingers, he said,

“Hey! You. Mohawk. What’s your name again? You know what — that’s enough names actually. Mohawk will be groom instead. Nice and tall, but not too tall. Yes, yes… okay, thank you, Lachlan… buh-bye.”

You were face to face with Johnny at the altar. 

You felt the panic make your blood rush into your cheeks. It was hard to catch your breath. 

Of all the times you’d imagine being at the altar with Johnny, this was certainly not it.

You stared at your fake, paper bouquet and prayed in your mind, loudly, for a sudden plague. Toads, rivers of blood — whatever you’ve got, Heaven! Throw it down here, please. You begged for a miracle or a smiting. Either would do. 

The Lord did not oblige you. 

“Okay… better! Yes, this is much better. Cute. Can you scooch in a bit, mohawk? She doesn’t bite, I don’t think.” Gary winked.

Mohawk scooched in. You dared to look up into his eyes, and when you did, you knew you made a mistake. You were trapped in him and he was trapped in you. You felt like you were frozen in place, unable to breathe or speak or scream, no matter how badly you wanted to. 

You had a whole conversation with him in the span of those few seconds. You asked him why he’d been covered in someone else at the bar. You begged him to give you some evidence that you hadn’t seen what you saw. You told him about all the nights you’d lay awake, about all the times you’d thrown his tag into the corner of your room, only to crawl on your hands and knees to retrieve it, clutching it to you and feeling sorry that you’d done so. 

He was telling you something as well, but you couldn’t hear him. He was screaming it, you knew that much, but it wasn’t loud enough. 

Gary interrupted you,

“Okay, hold hands around the bouquet, pretty please…”

He grasped your hands, and it was so familiar, you almost melted into him. By some magical power, you held yourself together, but as the camera clicked and flashed, with every moment you lost a little more control.

“...annnnnnnd now the kiss? C’mon. We’re all adults here. This lighting is shit — forgive me, Father — and I can’t deal with the actual money shot being trash. Today, people!”

You hesitated. But, Johnny didn’t. He seemed to set himself, his mouth in a tight, resigned line, and then he held your face in his hands, just as gently as he always did. When he kissed you, he really kissed you. He didn’t fake it for the cameras, and he didn’t hide his passion from Pidge or any of the others. You couldn’t help but kiss him back, letting him guide you as he liked, his big jaw shaking a bit as he let go. 

“Perfect! Okay, and now the happy couple is smiling at the crowd…”

Gary took a step back into the aisle, and Johnny held up your hand in the air in mock triumph, posing for a gleeful moment that didn’t exist. You looked right at Pidge, but she was laughing at something Hamish had said, fully oblivious to the war raging right in front of her face. 

“Alright… well, I don’t know if I’d call that smiling, necessarily, but here we are. Okay. Mohawk, you’re done.”

The way Johnny dropped your hand made you feel like you were on fire, as if he could no longer stand to hold you, or like he had been burned. It was sharp, and you weren’t sure what you were expecting. Did you want him to linger? To profess his undying love in front of his sister and ruin her one special day? You didn’t. So you let his absence cut you like a blade, severing you like a limb from a tree. 

THURSDAY — 7:00PM: 1 day until the wedding

The rehearsal dinner venue, the Auchentoshan Distillery, was gorgeous. Johnny had spared no expense on the stylings, and there was food everywhere you looked. The cakes were elegantly plated, the roast hung shining, its drippings making the shank glitter, and even the boiled potatoes made your mouth water. 

Johnny had obviously arranged the table settings a few weeks ago, because you were sat right next to him and Price, across from Gaz and Ghost. Pidge was two seats down, and the rest of the girls were across from her and Hamish. Lachlan and the other groomsmen were on the opposite side. But, other than for the initial dinner, you hadn’t been made to sit by him much at all. He mingled around the room, talking to everyone except for you, making sure all of the cups were filled and all of the faces were smiling. 

He was an impeccable host. His charisma was electric. And he looked upsettingly handsome. He wore a kilt tonight, one of his hunting tartans, with a sharp button down embellished with gleaming pearl buttons. His shoulders were bursting through the fabric, pulling it taut against his wide back. If you looked carefully enough, you could imagine where his tattoo peeked through.

Gaz cleared his throat, whispering low,

“Have you talked to him, then?”

Your eyes tore themselves away from Johnny to stare at Gaz. You checked over your shoulder to see if Pidge had heard him, and he glanced at her, too. 

“No.”

Ghost spoke at full volume, not caring who heard him,

“Are you going to?”

Price dropped his fork so that it clattered on the plate, giving Ghost a chastising glare. 

“She’ll talk to him when she’s ready to talk to him, and it’s none of our bloody business.”

You didn’t hear much else out of Gaz or Ghost, but as they chewed their food, you could tell that they didn’t believe Price for one damn second. It very much was their bloody business.

And maybe it was. Price had certainly made it his business on your walk last night, and it seemed like your relationship with Johnny was slowly becoming everyone’s business. You had tried your best to return to that same old invisibility you were used to, but it wasn’t enough now. You felt like you were on full display.

“Excuse me,” you got up and fled to the bathroom.

When you opened the door, you saw Bekah and Anjali inside, freshening up their makeup. 

“Hey!” They said in high-pitched unison.

“Hey,” you replied, inching by them to get into the stall. 

“Where’d you disappear to the other night, babe?” Anjali called out to you through the door. 

“Just got too drunk. Took a cab,” you told her, hoping that would end the conversation. 

“Fuck,” Bekah laughed, “That was me, too. Did Cherise tell you about that bloke at Max’s?”

“No,” you said, captivated like a prisoner.

“Arsehole thought he could put something in my drink. Soap saw him and beat him within an inch of his fuckin’ life! You should’ve seen the man. Needed a damn doctor, so he did,” Bekah confessed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” you said, genuinely. Bekah was not your friend, but she didn’t deserve to be assaulted. 

Anjali laughed,

“Soap had to carry her out! She was stumblin’ all over the road.”

“Wasnae my fault!” Bekah protested, “But, he was a gentleman. Drove me home. Him and Gaz.”

“Oh, that Gaz is fine, no?” Anjali interrupted. 

“Aye. I thought Johnny might kiss me back, just this once, but he still didn’t. That lad is harder to wear down than the goddamn Pope, I swear. I’ve given up.”

“Didn’t you sleep together?” You asked, torturing yourself. 

“God, no! He won’t have any of us. Pidge thinks he has, but I’ve never slept with him. Definitely would though,” Bekah gushed. 

“Hasn’t Cherise?” Anjali asked.

“No! Cannae believe it. All this talk for being a big slut and he’s a choir boy,” you could hear Bekah’s voice get louder with her disbelief.

“Shame,” Anjali lamented.

“Aye, a shame,” Bekah agreed, “Was he a good kisser? He looked it. You were quite a pair up at the altar. Maybe he’d go for you, hen.”

You pulled open the stall door and joined them at the sink. Your hands were trembling. 

“Babes,” Bekah noticed, “Are you alright? You havnae seemed well since the hen do. You’re working too hard for this wedding.”

“I’m alright. I think I just need some fresh air,” you smiled, pushing your way out of the door.

When you walked back into the main hall, everyone was standing. A waitress with a tray found you and handed you a glass of champagne. You moved to the side around the crowd to see what all the commotion was, and it was Johnny. He was standing next to Pidge with his glass raised high, clinking it delicately with the side of his fork. 

“Alright, alright. Settle down,” he smiled at his sister, “I know Lachlan is the one supposed to be up here haverin’ about Hamish, but he was kind enough to give me his go because I needed to talk to my sister.”

His eyes found you and settled there, no longer scanning the crowd. You watched him take a breath before he continued,

“If you dinnae ken me, I am Johnny MacTavish, Sergeant of His Majesty’s Special Air Service —” he was interrupted by proud applause, “Uh, thank you. And I am the younger brother of our darling Brigette here. While I was away, Pidge has taken care of my life for me. She took care of our ma when she was ill, and she buried our da without me. She managed to keep the wee house from fallin’ into the river, and still she has time to volunteer at Saint Mary’s children’s ward on the odd weekend.”

More applause. He paused and went on,

“All that to say, my sister doesnae need anyone. But, love isnae about need. It’s about choosin’ to be with a person who makes you feel like you can be yourself, that you can confess to all the desires and the wants and the hopes and the fears that you have inside of you, and you know that they understand you. They see you for who you are, and they love you for it anyway. 

Love isnae patient, and it certainly isnae bloody kind. It loves to boast! And it falls prey to envy. Love is in a rush, and it eats you alive from the inside out. Love isnae about needing. It’s want, pure and simple. To Hammie and Pidge, may you live a hundred years, and may you want each other endlessly in each of them. Slàinte mhath.” 

“Slàinte mhath!”

You drank your champagne, numb and panicking.

Someone shoved a small microphone onto the strap of your dress, clicking it in place, and you stared down at it while everyone else stared at you, waiting.

You breathed into the mic, listening to your breath come through the speakers. You wanted to talk to him, to tell him you’d learned the truth. But, you were surrounded, literally, by all of his friends and family. There was no worse time for your truth-telling. So, you tried to lean on the speech you remember preparing, mashing it together with words that kept pouring from your heart.

“Hello,” you tried out a smile, “I’ve known Brigette for years, and she is the only real family I have. I’m not Scottish. I know the accent gives it away,” some polite laughter, “But, I’m wearing the MacTavish boar around my neck because Pidge welcomed me here with open arms and took me in as if I had been here the whole time. Like it was the most natural thing to do. She’s selfless in all the ways you should be, and she always promised that I would have a home with her. And I love her dearly for that.”

You spoke directly to Johnny, just as he did to you, 

“I’ve been thinking about selflessness, and about making promises. I’ve been thinking about the type of man who does the right thing, even when it’s hard. I’ve been thinking about the type of man who breaks a promise when he needs to break one, and I’ve been thinking about the consequences of our actions. But, when you love someone, the consequence is just… more love. There’s really nothing else, is there? You could get a shovel and dig until you reach the bottom of the earth looking for them, but there are no real consequences when you’re in love. It trumps… everything.” 

You paused for a long time. Johnny was captivated by your eyes, hanging on every word, and you’d been silent for too long. You said, directly to Pidge,

“So, I hope, when you’re wondering if you’ve done the right thing or not, and you’re digging around for the consequences of that, I hope you just keep pulling out more and more love. Just love all the way down. Forever. Cheers, to Hamish and Pidge.”

“Cheers!”

You finished your champagne and walked over to Pidge. Everyone was applauding and talking loudly again, laughing and sharing their own joys about the happy couple. You were overwhelmed, but you wanted to see her. 

Pidge held out her arms and folded them around you, clutching you tightly to her chest, whispering I love yous and thank yous into your skin. You kissed her on the cheek, whispering to her,

“I’m gonna step outside for a moment, are you alright for now?”

“Yes! Go. Take Johnny with you. When he gets sappy, he starts to hover,” she swatted Johnny away as he leaned in to kiss her, fighting through her protests. 

She gave in, melting into him and smiling as he planted a kiss to her cheek. 

“I love you, Pidge,” he said to her, not letting her go.

“I love you, too, Johnny-boy. And I’m sorry for all the mean things I’ve said. You’ve changed. I dinnae ken what’s gotten into you, but all this…” She looked around at the reception hall, “All this has made me realize that you finally see me, you finally see what I’ve been going through, and I’ve been unfair. Thank you, brother.”

He kissed her forehead, trying to blink away tears as he did so, lingering with his lips on her skin before removing himself from her embrace. 

“C’mon,” he nodded at you and took you by the hand, right in front of her, leading you out to the back courtyard. 

The distillery was situated right next to its water source, north of the River Clyde, and the waters churned from a pump run by the whisky makers. The flow of the water was invigorating and challenging, but the calmness of the lake itself was still and quiet; a dichotomy. It was the same within you, a roiling, tumbling sea of glass, ready to shatter.

Johnny turned and looked at you like he knew what you would say. As he approached you, slowly, he held up his hands, trying to hide that they were shaking, offering peace, carrying no weapon, for once. You unfolded your arms, still clutching yourself around your waist, waiting for him to prove you wrong, for him to confirm the truth you’d overheard from Bekah. 

“Are you willing to hear me now, thief?”

“I already heard,” you said, “From Bekah. And I saw your journal.”

He was speechless. All of the things he’d planned to say to you had dried up, and now he was left chewing on their remains. He put his hands on his hips and looked out at the water,

“I’m so goddamn in love with you, it hurts.”

He pinned you with his gaze, then. Watching you take in his confession. He continued,

“It hurts when I wake up, and it hurts when I go to bed. I dinnae ken how to stop it from hurtin’ like this. Feels like I’m burnin’ up, like I’m on fire inside of me. And when you left me, I…” he had trouble forming the words, “I wasnae… I couldnae ken how bad it would be. It was worse, somehow, and I was prayin’ to whatever god that would hear me for some sort of mercy. And I had none. Until I saw, or I thought I saw…”

He came closer to you, reaching around your neck and pulling out his tags just like Price had done. His eyes shone with unshed tears. 

“You made me hope.”

He took your hand in his and held it tightly, as tightly as he dared, and looked you right in the face, 

“I didnae sleep with Bekah, nor Cherise, nor Anjali.”

“I know.”

“I didnae want to, either.”

“I know.”

“I’m in love with you, mèirleach.”

“I’m in love with you, too.”

Johnny used his tags around your neck to pull you into him, kissing you harshly, not allowing you to let go. You kissed him back, pressing at him with your tongue, tasting the champagne in his mouth, feeling his shaven face bristle against your smooth cheek. He moaned into you, speaking to you in a low whisper,

“Please, mèirleach, forgive me.”

“Johnny, there’s nothing to forgive.”

He hugged you to him and you rested your head against his neck, finally able to relax into him after days of being on a knife’s edge. 

But, you were distracted by the sound of a loud knocking against glass. You turned back toward the distillery and saw Ghost tapping on the huge floor to ceiling window and pointing to a microphone in his hand. You looked down and realized you never handed them back the mic from your speech. You were still wearing it, and the red light was on. 

You showed it to Johnny, stunned by your own idiocy. He spun to see Ghost waving slightly, and the rest of the wedding party — hell, the whole distillery — standing behind him in shock

+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Chapter 10 (Ending)

[pierslover061]

Holiday Special with Voltron!

Happy Holidays! I personally celebrate Christmas so that’s what I’ve written this about but whatever you celebrate have a wonderful holiday season!!

-

December 25th 2024 at the castle of lions.

Hunk was rushing around the kitchen grabbing all the delicious succulent dishes that’s savoury aroma travelled through the air.

The paladins were all sat together with Allura, Coran & Matt joining them before Hunk was heard from the kitchen.

“Coming through!!” He yelled as Pidge got up to help him carry in the meat and vegetables he had tenderly prepared.

“Looks good Hunk!” Lance said smiling as his eyes travelled from all the food set on the table.

“You really outdid yourself.” Shiro said smiling.

“Aww thanks guys!” Hunk said bashfully.

They all ate the holiday feast set in-front of them as laughter and conversation filled the large palace dining hall from each corner.

“Hey Lance, want to pull this cracker?” Keith asked, smiling softly.

“Absolutely!!” Lance replied ecstatically, it was quite easy to please him.

The two pulled at the cracker but Lance has sneakily grabbed the base to win, as the cracker popped Lance was the Victor and took out his crown prize to bask in the glory.

“AHA!! I am the king of the crackers!!” Lance sang.

Keith laughed to himself, admiring the man celebrating such a small victory, which he knew full well he’d cheated to win.

Shiro pulled a cracker with Hunk and won, giving the red crown inside to Keith.

“HEY YOU SO CHEATED THAT WAS YOUR ROBO ARM!” Hunk argued.

“Hey if you want to win pull one with Pidge.” Shiro replies.

Pidge had just pulled a cracker with Matt and won; Hunk was staring at the crown upon Pidge’s head intently.

“I’m gonna win this one Pidge..” Hunk persists.

“Oh yeah? I’m gonna wipe the floor with you!!” Pidge replies arrogantly.

Pidge and Hunk pulled the cracker just for Pidge to win again, placing another crown atop their head.

“I AM THE REAL MONARCH OF THE CRACKERS LANCE!” Pidge shouted teasing Lance.

“OH ABSOLUTELY NOT!!” Lance shouted back.

The two continued to playfully argue over who ruled the crackers as loud bangs from the crackers echoed through the room, everyone was content and happy this holiday season just happy to spend time with the people that mean the most to them.

[legend-of-voltron-rewrite]

I recently discovered your stories and quickly became a fan. I finished the first one yesterday and caught up with the second today—love them both. With the introduction of the powers the Paladins are now using, I was wondering how the lion swap will be affected, if at all?

I’ve seen mixed opinions about the swap, but as someone who grew up loving the original series from the ’80s and the 2011 Nicktoons series, Keith will always be Black, Lance will always be Red, and Allura will always be Blue to me. Will the powers swap with the lions, or will they just keep what they already have?

Thanks for your time and for sharing these awesome stories! Ps, What are you thinking ship-wise? You already have Adam/Shiro and Hunk/Shay and I know in previous posts you have said you like Kallura. I'm hoping you do end up going that route because we need more good multichapter Kallura stories, and having already stated my love for the original shows, they have always been the canon couple to me. But if that's not the direction you want to go that's fine as well. Hope to get an answer unless it is too spoilery to tell in which case that is fine.

Hello!

-

The powers the paladins have aren't magical or anything - they're alchemy. It's something to be learned, although the reason they can even perform Altean alchemy is due to their bonds with their Lions. As such if/when the Lion Swap happens, it depends on their bonds with their Lions on if they can use that Lion's alchemy.

As for the Lion Swap itself, I won't spoil much, but it's only sort of going to happen. I also watched 80s Voltron and read the comics, although it was after the DreamWorks adaptation, and adore their setup and the roster.

However, the characters in this rewrite are different to the source material.

Pidge is biologically female rather than male, Hunk is sweet rather than angry, Shiro is a pillar of wisdom rather than comedic, Keith struggles to become a leader rather than already being one, Lance is more goofy than sarcastic and arrogant, Allura is more fierce and proactive, and Coran is a complete goofball (love him forever though).

The Paladin-Lion bond does rely on the Paladin's characters. Also, the arcs each character goes through is highly subject to change, specifically Lance's, and I don't plan on making Shiro a complete bystander.

The Lion Swap will happen, but the way I plan to use it will be different from VLD. Some won't change, others will.

As for ships...

I only have three ships planned at the moment: Adam/Shiro, Hunk/Shay, and Keith/Allura.

Kallura also has my heart, so you get no judgement from me! There won't be much of Kallura until later on, when both Keith and Allura are comfortable and relaxed enough to even begin to think about romance, and because this story is mostly gen, but it will happen.

(I've already warned many that Klance will not happen, so if you're reading this and was expecting Klance, sorry not sorry.)

I've planned all the chapters in this story, and I don't plan on any ships other than the three listed. There may be hints and such, but nothing concrete.

-

Thanks for the ask!

[rorimoon9597]

Pt 1 Pt 2

----------

Lance turns out to be a huge help as Keith's right hand. When he's overworking himself, Lance is there to force him to bed. If Keith's having a bad day, then Lance is there as silent support.

It makes Keith fall in love with him even more.

And the fact that Lance was determined to keep up his game with his eye colour. Keith admired the dedication to keeping everyone confused. So much so that sometimes, when they meet with the leaders of a planet, his eye colour changes more frequently. The looks on the aliens faces when Pidge explains that Humans can't change their eye, skin or hair colour at will is priceless.

Keith begins to feel as if he will burst if he doesn't do anything about these feelings soon. It takes having to fight Lotor to do that.

They're all in the castle, resting. They were so, incredibly lucky that Lotor wasn't able to go into the Quintessence field, that they were able to stop him. Sure, he was dead now, but better for a tyrant to be dead than alive still.

Krolia had fussed over him when he got back. Romelle nearly cried and clung to him. Coran had hugged all of them.

Then, perhaps the weirdest part of the day, Allura was able to bring back Shiro. Who had one less arm again. Keith had cried with relief at having his actual brother back.

They were floating through space, resting after the fight, and Keith was never one for resting. Even during his self-imposed exile to the shack in the desert he'd had things to do.

So he decided to go check up on Shiro.

"Hey," he said. Shiro looked up from where he was glaring at the bowl of food goo he'd been given.

"Hey, Keith. Do you need something?" He asked.

"You... Could say that." Keith walked into the room and sat on the bed with Shiro. Kosmo, his wolf that would now only respond to that name that Pidge had given him, joined them, lying on the floor.

"Is something wrong?" Shiro asked. Keith sighed.

"I'm so gay, Shiro," he said. Shiro laughed. Keith glared at him.

"I knew that already."

"Uh, yeah, because I came to you and Shiro when I had a gay crisis and needed help."

"Why are you telling me something that I already know?"

"Because! My crush on Lance has gotten worse. I love him now, Shiro. It's not just a crush anymore." Shiro gave Keith a sympathetic look.

"That's the hardest part. Even for me, and I knew that Adam's gay, too." Shiro placed his had on Keith's shoulder. "Don't wait for too long, Keith, or you'll lose your chance. Trust me on that. I waited too long with my first crush, and he ended up moving away and I never saw him again. Tell him when you think that the time is right."

"How do you know all this? Didn't you tell Adam that you liked him when you were sleep deprived?" Keith asked.

"Not the point, Keith. I'm trying to be a good brother to you, and part of being a good brother is to give my younger brother relationship advice," Shiro replied. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he said. Shiro moved his hand to ruffle his hair.

"Trust me on this, Keith. I have actually been in a relationship before." Keith can't help but smile at those words.

"I will," he agrees.

_______

They being their journey to Earth soon after that. On the way there, they pick up Matt, Rollo, Nyma and Beezer and tell them about the whole ordeal with Shiro.

"I knew that something was off! His hair floof and eyeliner were wrong!" Matt shouted triumphantly. Pidge just shook her head at her brother. Then she dragged him off to Green's hangar to start designing a new arm for Shiro.

They still had some pit stops before Earth. One of those was to pick up some of the Olkari, who were going to help with the defense system on Earth.

After they picked up Matt, Romelle asked the question that Keith had been expecting.

"What is up with Lance's eyes?" She asked.

"I have been wondering about that as well," Krolia agreed.

"We don't know, but we have a betting pool," Pidge replied. Keith rolled his eyes.

"You get far too much enjoyment out of this," he said. Then he turned and left.

He'd let them suffer if they really wanted to.

[ria-777]

There is not enough letters in the alphabet for me to tell you how much I love you

B - Brave

"Be courageous."

"Do your best."

"Don't give up."

"Keep fighting."

"Succeed."

Those were words Pidge and the other paladin had grown to hear a lot ever since their perilous journey amongst the stars started. Of course they knew these people were right to tell them this and they all did their best to live up to those comments. In front of the inhabitants of the planets they saved. The leaders of said places.

Each other...

Often, the girl found she lacked the spirit to continue fighting without ever backing down.

It was so exhausting to do so.

Always standing straight, chin high up, determination in her eyes, fight in her heart... The list goes on.

Why wasn't she as valiant as the rest of her teammates? How did they do it?

She was terribly scared to admit how much fear she had locked up inside her chest. Losing her friends. Never finding her father and brother. Disappointing the people she cared so much for... the entire universe. Dying in an atrocious situation in action.

Shiro often told them that it was normal if they felt self-conscious from time to time. Their mission was hard after all. Lance and Hunk had spoken up on a few occasions, but her...

Someone always managed to lift their spirits up, hell, sometimes she was the one to do so and yet, her hands were still trembling while theirs were clenched in determination.

It wasn't a secret to anyone, whoever stole a glance her way could tell she was young. They all were, but her even more. So what would she do if people called her too childish to save them, deemed she wasn't fit to be a paladin anymore, that it would be better if someone more mature replaced her?

She once woke up in sweats after dreaming they went back to earth, only to leave without her. It worried her more than she was willing to admit.

So Pidge fought hard and did her best to appear fearless, just like Keith was, never backing down in front of the enemy.

However, after today's mission, where they all almost died, the girl honestly just wanted to nestle in her mother's arms and sob until she fell asleep. She wanted her dad to whisper in her ears how great she was, how bright her future was, full of discoveries and wonderful adventures. She wanted to sit on the couch in their living room and play video games with Matt, Bae Bae cuddles at their feet until their fingers cramped.

She wanted her family.

She just wished someone was there to comfort her in a calming and protective embrace. Someone to tell her she had it in her.

*******

Pidge never understood this, how could she possibly be so tired and at the same time, unable to fall asleep?

She had to go do something else to distract herself rather than mindlessly staring at her ceiling, reliving today's events.

What she didn't expect to find on her quest toward a pastime was Keith, sitting on the observation deck, looking as emotionally and physically defeated as she did. She should leave him alone and head somewhere else. He liked his peace the same way she appreciated hers.

Pidge had no idea what pushed her to slowly walk toward him. Exhaustion perhaps.

Who knows.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" She saw how her voice startled him, he was usually constantly aware of his surroundings, much to Lance's deception since this meant he could never jumpscare the red paladin. Keith cleared his throat. "Yeah, if you really want to." She whispered a small thanks and settled next to him without further words.

They could have sat there for vargas, doboshes, ticks staring at the stars without uttering a thing. She liked their silence, they were never awkward. They both didn't care anyway, this was the most relaxed they had been in a while.

"Why are you up?" said Keith, surprising the girl, she hadn't expected him to talk at all. She knew it would be fine with him if she wanted to keep this private, but it would be rude if she didn't answer him after she interrupted his alone time. "I'm just doubting myself a bit, I guess. Being a paladin of Voltron can be very difficult most of the time. And today was..." She didn't have to finish her sentence, he nodded in agreement, understanding her unsaid words.

"Yeah, happens to me all the time. Today was hard, and even saying this is an understatement." She hesitated before speaking, she was really tired, thoughts kept escaping her mouth without her permission. "I wish I was as strong as you and the others, especially you, though. I have no idea how you do this."

Keith didn't waste a second before tearing his eyes away from the mesmerizing scenery in front of them that was now so normal to them to grab her shoulder, turning her toward him. His eyes were wide as they observed her. "You're kidding, Pidge, you do so much for all of us! Without you, I'm sure we would have the opportunity to die on so many different occasions and our lions would be way less functional! You're incredibly brave, fighting an intergalactic while on the quest for your family. You always work so hard, acting as the team's brain more times than we can count. I should be the one wanting to be like you, not the opposite."

"You think I'm brave?" His eyes softened at the tone of her voice, it was probably the first time he had heard it sound like that. "Of course I do."

They smiled at each other for a while until Pidge saw Keith's face turned red, why would he look like he was blushing? Oh. She could swear their body had gotten closer since he had grabbed her.

This was so embarrassing!

And yet, both didn't move, staying near each other, faces flushed. Pidge blamed her half-awake mind for what she did next.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, hesitating to rest her head on his shoulder when he froze for a moment until his own limbs circled her waist, making the distance disappear between them

Over the sound of their rapid beating heart, she spoke. "I think you're brave too."

That night, a light lit up in their brain and both finally understood what was that feeling in their hearts when they were around each other.

(Posted on ao3 ans Wattpad)

[aspenmissing]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚅𝚘𝚕𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗 (𝙿𝚝 𝟷)

"Roll out, donkeys!" Lance, Hunk, and Pidge exit the simulator and stand before Iverson and their class. A young woman stands beside her team, staring at the three in sorrow. Y/N Gane, top of the class; best pilot "Well let's see if we can't use this failure as a lesson for the rest of you students. Can anyone point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?" Iverson shouted. 

"The engineer puked in the main gearbox," a voice said.

"Correct, as everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine system. What else?" Iverson said while shaking his head.

"The comm spec removed his safety harness," another voice said and Y/N laughs a little. 

"Is there something funny Miss Gane?" Iverson asks. Everyone looks to Y/N and she stands up straight and keeps a straight face. 

"No sir" She replies. 

"Miss Gane, can you tell me something they did wrong?" he asked.

"Erm... The pilot... crashed?"  Iverson looked at Y/N before smiling. 

"Correct! Miss Gane" he shouted and walked away. Y/N gave lance an apologetic smile, who just shrugs and smiles "And worst of all, the whole jump, they're arguing with each other! Heck, if you're going to be this bad individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a team! exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite Astro explorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Mission" Y/N's fists clench.

"That's not true, sir!" Pidge shouts. 

"What did you say?!" Lance clasps his hand over Pidge's mouth, but Pidge continues; her voice muffled by the hand.

"Sorry, sir! I-I-I think he may have hit his head when he fell out of his chair. But point taken" Lance says.

"I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is that the best pilot in your class had a discipline issue and flunked out, and the second-best refused to be the best" Lance glances at Y/N before back at Inversion "Don't follow in his footsteps" Iverson turns to look at Y/N and her team "Miss Gane, your team is next!" Lance, Hunk and Pidge watch as their classmates board the simulator, Y/N patting Pidge's shoulder, smiling softly. 

==

Later, Lance and Hunk hide in the halls of the Garrison as curfew begins.

"Lights out in five! Everyone back to their dorms, now" Iverson shouts.

"We shouldn't be doing this" Hunk whispers.

"You heard Commander. We need to bond as a team. We're going to grab  Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls, maybe we can bring Y-" 

"OK, I'm just- I'm just saying this here, right now, on the record: This is a bad idea" The lights turn off; Lance and Hunk sneak through the hallways.

"You know, for someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure"

"All of your little 'adventures' end up with me in the principal's office" Lance sneaks by the instructor's lounge and motions for Hunk to follow, which he reluctantly does "Oh, man..." The two hide in recycling cans as a guard passes by.

"L-5 North all clear," The guard says. Lance jumps out; Hunk tries to follow suit but gets stuck and falls over. Hunk stands.

"I'm fine" They hide as Pidge and Y/N leave Iverson's office. The two watch"

"Where are they going?" Lance asks. Y/N and Pidge were sat on the roof of the Galaxy Garrison. Pidge listens to radio chatter through headphones and special equipment. Y/N is sitting beside her, looking up into the sky, eating a snack bar. Hunk crawls along the roof and Lance carefully removes the headphones to speak close to his ear.

"You two come up here to rock out?" Lance asks. Pidge jump and spin around to face Lance and Hunk. Y/N following, snack bar still in her mouth. 

"Agh! - Oh, Lance, Hunk. No, Um... we-" 

 "We were just looking at the stars," Y/N says, chewing.

"Cool. Where did you get all this stuff? It doesn't look like Garrison tech" Lance wondered.

 "He built it," Y/N says, swinging her arm over Pidge's shoulder. 

"He built all of this" Hunk said astonished. He tries to touch the equipment; Pidge smacks his hand away.

"Stop it! With this thing, I can scan to the edge of the solar system" Pidge says, gesturing to the tech.

"That right? All the way to Kerberos" Lance smirks. Pidge looks away but does not respond, Y/N's eyes sadden. "You two go Ballistic, every time the commander brings it up, What's with that?" Lance continued. Hank tries to sneakily touch the equipment again.

"Second warning, Hunk!" Y/N says and Hunk stops.

"Aw...."

"Look, Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets. Same for you Y/N" Y/N looks at Lance confused "You may not be a part of the team, but you're our friend. Friends can't keep secrets from each other"

"I mean they can" Y/N mutters.

"Fine. The world as you know it is about to change. The Mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake—" Pidge sees Hunk trying to touch the equipment again "-STOP TOUCHING MY EQUIPMENT!!" Hunk groans but finally desists "..."So, I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio talking" Pidge pushed up her glasses.

 "Whoa, what? Aliens?!" Hunk says.

"Oookay. so your insane, Y/N please tell me you don't believe in him," Lance asked me. Y/N nods"

"He is serious" Y/N holds up a pad with 'Voltron?' on it "They keep repeating the same word over and over again, Voltron. and tonight it has been crazier" 

"How crazy" Lance said. The Galaxy Garrison building alarms blare. Iverson speaks over the intercom

"Attention, students. This is not a drill. We are on lockdown!, Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice" A fiery object appears in the sky.

"What's going on? Is that a meteor?! ... A very, very big... meteor?" Hunk says and Y/N grabs binoculars

"Its. It's a ship" She says. Lance takes the binoculars and looks at the object. 

"Holy crow! I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's not one of ours" Lance said with wide eyes. 

"No. It' 's one of their" Pidge says.

"So wait, there are aliens out there?!" The three watches as the alien spacecraft crash into the desert. The Garrison sends out land rovers to the crash site.

"We've gotta see that ship!" Pidge says, standing up, pulling Y/N with him.

"Pidge, slow down" She laughs.

"Hunk, Come on" Lance yelled and chases after the two. 

"Oh, this is the worst team-building exercise ever" 

==

Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Y/N spy on the quarantines crash site from a nearby cliff. Lance views the alien spacecraft through binoculars.

"Whoa... What the heck is that thing?! ... And who the heck is she?" Lance asks, looking at women through the binoculars.

"Lance!" Y/N smacks his head.

"Ow! Right, Right, alien ship. Man we will never get past those guards to get a look" Pidge continues to type on her computer.

"Aw, man. Yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?" Hunk says.

"Wait for Pidge, there is a camera in there, try and hack into it," Y/N said and pointed at the screen. Pidge hacks into it.

"I've grabbed its feed, Look" They all looked at the screen.  Inside, a man is strapped to a table as Garrison technicians examine him.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Calm down, Shiro. We just need to run some tests" Iverson says, trying to settle Shiro. Y/N chokes on her breath.

"You have to listen to me! They destroyed worlds!" Shiro grunts "Aliens are coming!"

"That's! Shiro The pilot from the Kerberos Mission, That guy's my hero!" Lance shouts with excitement. 

"Guess he's not dead in space after all" Hunk says.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Pidge asks, saddened. Y/N put her hand on her shoulder, smiling softly. 

"I'm sure they're fine, I mean if Shiro's still alive, I'm sure the rest are" She reassures. 

 "Do you know how long you were gone?" Iverson asks, walking over to Shiro? 

"I don't know, Months? Years? Look there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way right now. We need to get Voltron!" Shiro struggles, trying to get out of the bounds holding him down. 

"Voltron!" Pidge and Y/N say in unison.

"Sir, look at this. It appears that his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic" A technician asks, looking at Shiro's arm.

"Put him under, until we figure out what it can do," Iverson said and a technician came over with a syringe. 

"No, no, no don't put me under, There's no time, Let me go!" Shiro is one again trying to get out of the bounds.

"They didn't ask about the other crew members"

"What are they doing? The guy's a legend. They're now even going to listen to him" Lance said. 

"We have to get him out," Y/N says.

"Ah, I hate to be the voice of reason here, always, but weren't we watching on TV, because there was no way getting past the guards" Hunk says, standing up.

"That was before we were properly motivated. We have just got to think. Could we tunnel in" Lance says, standing up. Y/N snorts, standing up alongside him.

"What so funny," Lance asked. 

"Really? Tunnel in, Tunnel in!!" Y/N laughs

"Well at least I have a plan, where's yours," Lance said with a smirk.

"We find some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs" Y/N smirks back. Lance thought for a while.

 "That's a pretty good idea"

"Or... we could dress up like cooks, sneak into the commissary... little late-night snack" Hunk drools.

"...No. What we need is a distraction" As if on cue, an explosion burst in the distance and the four cadets scream.

"Is that the aliens?! Are—Tha—The—Is that the aliens?! Are they here?! They got here so quick!" 

"No. Those explosions were a distraction, for him!" Pidge points to a figure arriving by hovercraft "The Garrison's headed towards the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side!" Lance views the new arrival through binoculars.

"No way...!  Oh, he is not going to beat us in there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!"

"Who is it?" Hunk asks.

"Keith!" 

"Come on, Lance. Don't start"

"Who?" Pidge asks.

"Are you sure?" Hunk asks.

"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!"

"Lance, come on, man! Keith hasn't done anything"

"Who's Keith?!" Pidge asks. The four-run towards the quarantines crash site. Inside, the technicians examine Shiro, who's been put under.

"These readings are off the chart," The technician says. Keith enters.

"Hey!" Iverson shouts. Keith attacks and knocks out all three technicians, then runs to Shiro, surprised to find him. 

"Shiro...?" Keith cuts Shiro free from his bonds and tries to carry him out. Lance, Hunk, Y/N and Pidge arrive.

"Nope. No, you—No, no, no, no, no, no, no you don't. I'm saving Shiro" Lance lifts Shiro over his shoulder.

"Lance, let's just get him out of here" Y/N looks to Keith "Hey Keith" 

"Hey Y/N, long time no see" Y/N nods "So, who's this?" Keith asks, looking to Lance.

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance" Keith silently looks at Lance without recognition "...We were at the same class at the Garrison?"

"Really? Are you an engineer?"

"No, I'm a pilot. We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck-and-neck" Y/N snorts.

"Oh wait, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot"

"Well, not anymore. I'm fighter class now thanks to you washing out" Lance says, proud.

"Lance!" Keith looks to Y/N in confusion "I refused to take your place, that was yours. I couldn't take it" Keith nods, before looking to Lance.

"Well, congratulations" 

==

Lance and Keith carry Shiro out together. Keith hops onto his hoverbike, along with Lance and Shiro. Keith holds out his hand for Y/N.

"Hop on," He says. Y/N smirks, reaching for his hand before pulling his close.

"You may be a gentlemen and I may be a girl, but this girl beat your ass in training" She whispers into his ear before jumping onto the bike behind him, Keith staring at his hand stunned - and slightly blushing. Hunk spots the Garrison returning.

"Oh, man, they're coming back and they do not look happy. We gotta go. Uh, do you mind if we catch a ride with you?" Hunk asks. Everyone climbs aboard Keith's hovercraft and it tips over.

"Is this thing going to be big enough for all of us?" Pidge asks.

"No" Keith replies bluntly. Keith has to take off as the Garrison arrives to pursue them. Pidge has to hold on to Shiro.

"Why am I holding this guy?"

"Hey, we did all fit!"

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Lance asks, looking back at the vehicles following.

"We could toss out some non-essential weight" Keith says sarcastically. Y/N shakes her head, nudging Keith's hip with her knee.

"Oh, right!" He glances around, clearly not getting Keith's sarcasm "OK, so that was an insult. I get it" 

"Big man, lean left!" Keith shouted. Hunk leaned left. 

"Whoa!" They all shouted. Two of the cars smashes into each other.

"Aww, man. Mr Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery. No, wait he's fine" Hunk sighed in relief. They were on one of the roads and next to us was a big ditch 

"Big man, lean Right!" Keith shouted. Hunk leaned right, they managed to get over to the big ditch and land on another road. Two of the cars are still chasing them. They were still all screaming, and they went around a corner. One of the cars crashed, but one is still following. 

"Guys? Is the-the-the-the-that—Is that a cliff up ahead?" Hunk stammers. 

"Oh, no, no, no" Lance shouted. 

"Yup," Keith smirked. 

"Just like old times" Y/N smiles, wrapping her arms around Keith. Keith increases speed, everyone was screaming, apart from Y/N, Keith and Shiro. The hovercraft jumps off the cliff.

 "What are you doing? You're trying to kill us all!" Lance shouts

"Shut up and trust him" She shouts back. Keith safely avoids crashing and continues flying into the desert, escaping the Garrison.

==

Shiro and Y/N stand outside a desert shack at sunrise, the two hugging each other.  

"It's good to see you again, Shiro," Y/N says, smiling. They pull away as Keith approaches.

"It's good to have you back," Keith says, placing his hand on Shiro's shoulder.

"It's good to be back" Shiro replies.

"So what happened out there? Where...were you?" Y/N ask. 

"I wish I could tell you. My head's still pretty scrambled. I was on an... alien ship but... somehow I escaped. It's all a blur. How did you know to come to save me when I crashed?"

"You should come to see this" Shiro and Y/N follow Keith into the shack. Inside, Keith shows Shiro, Y/N, Lance, Hunk and Pidge his board of maps, diagrams and notes.

"What have you been working on?" Shiro muttered.

"I can't explain it. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kinda... lost and... felt drawn out to this place. It's like something... some energy was telling me to search." Keith explains.

"For what," Shiro asks. Y/N stands close to Shiro, his arm around her shoulders, her own crossed in front of her.

"Well, I didn't know at the time... until I stumbled across this area." Keith pointed at a map  "It's an outcropping of giant caves covered in these ancient markings" We looked at the pictures of the markings "Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happened last night. Then you showed up" Keith explained more. Shiro took his arm from around Y/N's shoulders and walked over to the others. 

"I should thank you for getting me out. Lance, Right?" Shiro says. He offers Lance his prosthetic hand. Lance hesitates but shakes it. Shiro offers to shake Pidge and Hunk's hand, Pidge being the only one who does.

"This nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge. so, did anyone else from your crew make it out?" Pidge asks, which makes Shiro's face saddens

 "I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces" Shiro goes back over to Y/N, placing his arm back over her shoulders as she leans into his side. Lance zones out from the conversation, looking at the two confused.

"Are they TOGETHER! No, Lance, No! Shut up! He's way, way older than her. They're probably just really, really close" Lance thinks "I'll ask Y/N later" 

"You'll ask me what late?" Y/N asks, Lance looks to see Y/N standing in front of him. 

"Uhm, I- I was just wondering if- Uh"

"Come on Lance, spit it out" Lance sighs.

"Uhm.. a-are you and Shiro... Uh... together?" Y/N eyes widen before bursting out in laughter "What's so funny?"

"You thought me and Shiro were dating?" Y/N says, whole trying to catch her breath.

"It was just a question" Y/N continues to laugh, gaining everyone's attention.

"What happened?" Hunk asks.

"I just asked her if she and Shiro are dating" Pidge starts to laugh a bit. Shiro and Keith chuckle.

"What!? Why's that so funny" Lance asks, getting slightly annoyed.

"Okay, okay," Y/N says, trying to catch her breath "I'll tell you" She clears her throat "Shiro, is my brother" There was a long, awkward silence.

"WHAAAATTT!!!!????" Hunk and Lance asks in unison

[bluedemon1995]

Kidge Fall Event 2024-Late but still committed!

Sorry about the lateness but hopefully can catch up one day

Oct 23-Keith birthday

Keith heard a buzz. Then another. And another. Ugh. That’s right, today was his birthday. He rolled over, ignoring the demand of the phone and tried to go back to sleep. Keith hated his birthday. When he was younger his dad would make a big deal out of it. Chocolate chip pancakes. Breakfast in bed. No school, cause his dad would always keep him home. Guy time. They would go hiking or they would spend the day at the fire house. His best birthdays really were just a day they spent together.

But then, it ended. He was alone and no one acknowledged it. And he never really told people his birthday. Instead, he wanted to forget. Push it out of his mind. Obviously, people knew but he never did anything special. Fast forward to this year. He knew his mom wanted to do something, but he just couldn’t.

That said, Keith dug into bed, pulled up the covers tight and went back to sleep.

Lance on the other hand, grinned Operation KB is in effect! He knew his friend wanted to hide for his birthday, but those days were over! He now knew everyone’s birthday, signs and rising moons. There was no way Keith was going to hide ALL day.

He sent the group message.

*Mission on. Everyone knows their part. Team Voltron!”

Shiro grinned, thinking Keith had no idea of what was in store for him.

Hunk started cooking and baking. He had a list of food for each paladin, what they liked and didn’t. Keith was going to eat well today!

Katie nodded. She had a clear job to do.

Keith woke to a bounce. Slowly opening his eyes, he squinted in the light…and saw a pixie?

“Dude, is this new? Sleeping until noon?” Katie murmured. She risked a hand and patted his head gently. She always thought people weren’t gentle enough with him.

Keith blinked. “Katie?” Shit, quickly changing gears he continued, “Pidge, hat are you doing here?”

Before she replied, Keith realized he was only in his boxers. FUCKKKKKK.

“Well, hello to you to. SOOOO glad you stopped by. And, sure I’d love for you to show me around my first time on the Underworld.”

Keith blinked. Was this the first time she was on the ship? Crap. “So, um, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“Yup. Kolivan asked for my help with your tech and of course, as I’m here there is some issue that made him Un-Av-able. Whatever.”

Keith nods. “Um, okay. I can be ready in 30 if you want to come back?”

“Oh. Yeah, sure.” Katie quickly remembered Lance’s instructions. “I’ll just let Griffin know that I’m free for a bit. Take your time. He was my ride ya know? So, we came here together.”

Keith froze. No. No way in hell. “Yeah, um, no worries. You know, you don’t need to leave. I’ll just um, get ready in a minute and we can do whatever. Is he um, your ride back? Because Cosmo can take you back when you are done. In fact, where is he? We can just tell him now- he can get back to base. I’m sure he’s got stuff he needs to do.”

Katie tried to hide her grin. She had no clue how Lance knew he would dig in but, luckily, it was dark in his room. “Oh, okay, I’ll let him know. Why don’t you get dressed? Let’s get this show on the road.”

Keith nodded, jumping up, he once again realized a second too late that he was in his boxers. Feeling his face heat, he quickly grabbed some clothes and ran into the bathroom.

As he took a quick shower, his thoughts were filled with her. She cut her hair again, it was in a cute messy short hair style. No glasses she must be feeling comfortable. With fucking Griffin. Annoyed, he quickly dried off, absently wondering who else came with them. And damn did she smell good. No lie, it was his favorite scent.

He quickly threw on his clothes and brushed his teeth. Where should he show her first? Maybe they should get breakfast. Then they could see Kolivan and his mom. No, what was he thinking, the lab or the tech room might be a better bet. He opened the door and froze. She was laying on his bed, shoes off, holo screen in hand. Her head on his pillow, her foot absently swinging in time to something only she heard. Her scent in head. His hand itched to touch. His lips itched to taste.

In that moment, he thought back to his dad telling him on a camping trip, “Hey kiddo, it’s your birthday, you don’t need any candles or cake. Make a wish and it will come true. Birthday magic.”

He closed his eyes and wished…he wanted, wished to have Katie forever.

[imhereformysciencefriends]

Day 2: Sci-fi Fusion

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

--- Read on AO3 ---

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

SS: How long is it now?

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

SS: I miss you.

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

SS: You know that’s not what I mean

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

MR: I know.

MR: I miss you too.

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

MR: Ha!

SS: I feel bad for not telling them.

MR: They might understand.

MR: They also might not.

SS: I know.

SS: They wouldn’t.

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

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

SS: It feels cruel.

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

SS: I know.

MR: *kiss*

SS: Thank you.

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

MR: Oh, most assuredly.

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

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

MR: Another deception.

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

MR: That it does <3

SS: <3

-- This session is IDLE! --

SS: Lotor?

MR: Sorry. I got to worrying again.

SS: About the team balancing?

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

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

SS: Lotor.

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

SS: Lotor

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

SS: Lotor…

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

SS: Lotor!!!!

MR: Sorry.

SS: It will be OKAY!

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

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

MR: Allura

MR: What if it’s not that?

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

MR: What if it’s ten?

MR: What if one of you dies?

SS: No one is going to die.

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

MR: Allura, what if you die?

SS: I am not going to die.

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

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

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

SS: It will be okay, Lotor.

MR: I want so desperately to believe that.

SS: It Will.

MR: Thank you.

SS: <3

MR: <3

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

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

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

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

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

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

SS: You are incorrigible! 

MR: Yes.

MR: But you like it <3 

SS: Love it, really <3 

-- This session is IDLE! --

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

MR: Allura?

MR: Why are you still up?

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

SS: I’m scared.

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

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

SS: It’s so cliche, isn’t it?

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

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

SS: Or the next world, in our case. 

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

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

SS: I know, but

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

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

MR: Do you want to video chat right now?

SS: I don’t know.

MR: Allura

MR: I love you.

MR: That’s not going to change.

SS: But what if it does?!

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

MR: Allura.

SS: I just

MR: Allura.

MR: I love you.

SS: I love you too.

SS: So, so much Lotor.

MR: Then we will be alright.

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

MR: But it will also bring joy.

MR: Because I will get to see you.

MR: I will get to hold you.

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

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

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

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

SS: You’re right.

MR: I often am.

SS: :P 

SS: I love you.

MR: I love you too.

SS: I miss you.

MR: We’ll see each other soon.

MR: Goodnight my love. xoxo

SS: xoxo

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

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

SS: How long is it now?

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

[voltronisanobsession]

Hi! I was wondering if I could request relationship hcs for pidge? Thank you! :)

Being in a relationship with Pidge

Hellooo!!!! Thanks so much for requesting, I was finally able to get around to writing down some headcanons for our homegirl💯💯 it might seem a bit all over the place but I had so much fun writing for Pidge😍😍😍

I think you two would have to be REALLY close to each other if this relationship is gonna work

Pidge is so comfortable with you like she lets you pick her up, play with her hair, etc.

You have special privilage🎉

You’re one of the only people she lets stay with her when she’s working on stuff

You could be talking her ear off when she’s typing away on her computer and she would not complain a bit

Loves to hear the sound of your voice

You also love hearing her rant on and on about the new tech and programs she’s currently on

Even if you don’t understand anything she’s saying

“I was able to break down the Galras’ digital wall, which wasn’t that hard, I think they need to change whoever is making this tech. It was really easy trying to get in since I only needed to use-“

“Haha, brain go vroom”

Pidge makes you guys little locator charms to wear just in case something happens to either one of you during a mission

I think you would try to learn some of the things she talks about, either from her or Hunk, just so you could talk about it more with her

Pidge is a little awkward with pda

Doesn’t mind holding your hand but can be a little huffy when you try to kiss her cheek or something in front of people

Omg wait she loves it when you rub her knuckles when holding hands AHHHH

Like she feels so happy when you do that 😭💔💔💔

Never stop rubbing her knuckles pls💔

I think you would have to take the lead in your relationship since Pidge doesn’t really know what she’s doing (neither do you if you haven’t been in a relationship but you guys make it work)

The group likes to tease Pidge a lot whenever they can since they say she’s a different person when you’re around

While she does still make her sarcastic comments, I think it’s obvious that she’s just trying to make you smile when you’re around

Lowkey kind of protective of you

Whether it be from the Galra, random strangers, or getting defensive over you, Pidge is willing to stand her ground and protect you no matter the cost

Being with Pidge means that Matt LOVES you, you guys are totally besties

He tells you funny and embarrassing stories of Pidge when she was younger, she despises him for it

You and Matt tag team against Pidge to tease her about stuff

“You need help there Pidge? Your height doesn’t exactly help you in reaching that jar!”

“Why are you teaming with Matt against ME?! IM YOUR PARTNER!”

Just know the Holt family adores you

You’re able to tame the wild flame that is Pidge and not get burned while doing so

Remember how I said she’s awkward with pda?

Well just know that she can be very clingy in private

Knowing that no one is lingering around, she feels more comfortable returning your affectionate advances!!

She feels very vulnerable around you, which sometimes scares her, but homegirl knows you wouldn’t doing anything to intentionally hurt her

Pidge’s wall are down to the ground, she likes snuggling against you and just releasing all the stress that has built up inside of her

You guys talk about anything and everything, from how your journeys have started, to the new planets you’ve visited, what foods you missed from earth, to the kinds of pets you wanted once things have settled down

A little habit Pidge has picked up is playing with your hand absentmindedly when having these conversations

She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it but you definitely do

When you guys decide to go to sleep (which is really really late at night), you firmly hold her hands, almost grounding her since she tends to let her mind wander during the night

Those are the sweeter moments in your relationship

You support her so much whenever she’s out doing her thing and she appreciates that so much

Loves to jump and crawl on you whenever she can, she thinks it annoys you (it doesn’t)

In all, Pidge just loves being with you

She’s able to be her complete self around you without any judgement and same goes the other way for you

She needs someone to support her, to bring her down to earth whenever she gets too ahead of herself

She’s so sweet with you but won’t hesitate to roast you if you do something dumb

Plans on being with you no matter what gets thrown at both of you, you’re stuck with her forever now

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 29

welcome to the twenty-ninth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.  

1. don’t know what i did to earn a love like this (but baby i must be doin’ something right) by littleghost

“I went to the desert to listen to country music.” It falls out of him, and he keeps going, voice hushed like there’s more than just him and Lance in this room. “It always reminded me of you and I would go stare at the stars, think of you, and listen to country.”

i know littleghost has been inactive in the voltron fandom since literally 2017 but i am so obsessed with their fic. im not huge on high school aus usually but this fic in particular had so many of my favourite niche headcanons that ive read this fic like twelve times. yall know how i feel about quiet devotion and its everywhere in this fic.

2. every day i wonder by kirargent

Lance has a stuffed-full backpack, a beanie pulled down over the tips of his ears, a blanket draped around his neck like a thick scarf, and his cell phone pressed to one ear. He looks like an idiot, and he’s being entirely too loud for a good cryptid hunt.

this shit made me fucking LAUGH. keith is such an ornery bitch i literally love him so much. this fic bodies the ‘fuck am i in love with HIM?? why??? why am i so HAPPY ABOUT IT???’ so well i love it

3. mortal bodies, timeless souls by @littendeservesbetter

“Wait!” Coran lets out a triumphant noise. “I got it! If my calculations stand corrected, then our visitors will be people we actually know! Keith, Lance, you two will be meeting your alternate selves today!”

Coran says it like the idea is so mundane that it takes Keith a while to process. The moment he does, however, he feels his heart drop to his stomach.

“We’re going to what?!” Lance yelps, effectively voicing out Keith’s thoughts.

Or, the castle's teludav malfunctions, alternate realities are mixed, and Keith finds out that he and Lance are a lot more... close in other realities.

they are fucking in love in every single reality in every single universe always and endlessly. they are Soulmates. i know its cheesy but im obsessed with them literally. also extra incentive this fic has pike/thunderstorm darkness

4. here comes the violence by stardon 

“Fancy seeing you here, Whiskers.”

Keith feels his tail wag in annoyance, which is almost as horrifying as his current situation. “No. Absolutely fucking not.” He looks at his bare wrist, pretending he has a watch. “How about we postpone this? My calendar says I’m free from the seventh of never through to the fifteenth of ain’t-gonna-happen, how does that work for you guys?”

Pidge looks up, quirking a brow. “Lance has an amazing influence on your humour, you know that?”

In which sometimes Keith is a bit Galra, sometimes not.

this fic is excellent because their both so obviously in love and down bad for each other but theyre both also stupid. borderline already dating but also not and driving each other insane is peak peak trope

5. Beast of Burden by melancholymango [EXPLICIT]

“Keith, no, we can’t go again.” Lance pleads fall on deaf ears. Keith is honed in on him now like predator to prey. He’s fighting a losing battle and they both know it. He sees it in the way Keith is raking his eyes over him, sizing him up. “We’ll be so late getting to the bar.”“Just one more.” Keith insists, herding Lance toward the counter with a stubbornness that is innately wolf. Lance pouts, but he doesn't have anywhere else to go but backward.“That’s what you said last time! And the time before that!”--The week leading up to a supermoon, as told by the world's best werewolf boyfriend, Lance McClain. The good, the bad, and the horny.

this is just monsterfucking but its also like soft in there. but mostly its monsterfucking

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!    

[discordiansamba]

for that ship meme you just reblogged: Keith / Romelle, 41 pretty please

I said “I HAVE AN IDEA!”

Keith did not even so much as look up.

Narrowing her eyes, Romelle crouched next to him. He might appear to be entirely focused on the engine of their rental car, but she knew him well enough to know that he had her full peripheral attention.

"I said," she began-

"I heard you the first time," Keith cut her off with a sharp look, "-I'm also pretty sure your last idea is what got us in this situation in the first place."

Romelle opened her mouth. Shut her mouth. He might have a point there. It had been her idea to take this little excursion to a place well outside either of their comfort zones- the mountains of Earth, in the winter. Altea had very mild winters, and Keith had grown up in the desert. It had seemed like a good idea at the time!

She had been the also been the one responsible for renting a car.

Which was now broken.

In an isolated area of the mountains. With no way of contacting anyone. They didn't even have Kosmo with them- Hunk had borrowed him before they left. Something about 'fluffy diplomacy?'.

"That may be true," Romelle said, "-but you were the one who told me to rent the car while you waited for our baggage. I don't know if you'd noticed this, but they don't exactly have cars on the colony."

"...okay, you've got a point there." Keith admitted. "This would have been so much easier if Allura let us take the black lion."

"Well, Pidge is to blame for that one," Romelle said, "-one too many personal trips in the green lion. The less said of the last one..."

"-the better," Keith finished, "-someday I'll get the story out of her of how she nearly ended up beheaded."

Romelle chuckled, letting Keith tinker with the engine for a few more minutes. It was obvious that he only half knew what he was doing. He knew hoverbikes better than he did cars.

"So?" Keith finally asked. "What was your idea?"

"Oh!" Romelle perked up. "See, up there on that mountain? It looks like there's some kind of lodge! I bet we could walk there and ask to use their... what did you call it again?"

"A phone?" Keith frowned, squinting in the direction she pointed. "Sure, I guess. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Wonderful!" Romelle clapped. "I'm sure we'll be out of this situation and on our way in no time!"

"Let's hope," Keith said, "-it's not like it can get much worse than being stranded in the mountains in the middle of winter."

(It did, in fact, get worse.)

[onlythegoodpretzels]

Sketch and lines for Katie/Pidge helping Ulas after finding him prisoner on a druid ship. I love tiny people trying to keep taller characters upright.

For @whumpril alternate prompt 1, crutch! And Whumper of World's birthday prompt celebration day 7: wounded!

Fic WIP snippet below the cut. Comes from my main Voltron AU, so the paladins haven't met Ulas yet. She/her pronouns for Katie.

_____________________________________________________________

These vents were dark. It made it easy to go fast, because she could always see when a room was coming up and she had to be extra quiet. Without Shiro to keep her attention she could zone in, not look through the grates as she went. She had her map and she knew the corridors and she couldn’t be late.

Hunk wouldn’t leave Shiro on his own in here, and she wasn’t going to do it for a second longer than she had to.

But the fourth time completely dark room made her pause, trying to squint and see what it was. Princess had said this part of Galra ships was the barracks. But this was quiet. Like eerie quiet. Shouldn’t someone be here?

Nothing.

She passed three more, completely dark.

When she checked her map, Katie startled when something hazy flashed in front of her. Then she blinked. Her breath misted, glittering faintly in the light her her vizor. It was cold. Very cold. She only now noticed the chilly sting on her face, so apparently the armor had uses.

Were the Galra colder-liking than humans? Shiro hadn’t said anything about that.

Katie curled her hands in as she kept going. It hadn’t been cold upstairs. Now she could feel it in her fingertips and in her mouth. Winter in a tiny corner of space. Why?

Up ahead, a grate flickered with faint purple light. She should have crossed by as far from it as she could. Quiet. Out of sight. But Katie’s heart beat in her throat and the cold felt sharp. Why did the Galra want it cold here? Was it servers or storage or…or…?

The room glinted from faintly glowing lines across the floor. It was bare-edged, small. Splotched and stained. Katie could see how white her breath misted easier here. It was freezing.

A heavy metal frame loomed along the farthest wall, and a Galra dangled from it, slow plumes of its breathing roping around its chest. It hung by wrists and ankles, arms forced up and out, legs pinned back and bent, head sagged forward over the floor. A heavy-looking mask obscured the lower half of its face, fastener straps crossed behind its head to loop at the neck. Shreds of clothing ribboned down off its shoulders, tassels slowly shaking.

Prisoners. Katie’s throat felt dry and thick. That’s why they made it cold.

But she hadn’t been thinking Galra. Did they even have a justice system? What did they even care enough about to lock someone up?

The Galra tremored in the quiet. Shivering? Katie couldn’t stop the part of her brain that stared, trying to tell if the clumped, stained patches on it were fur or scales or something else.

She needed to, needed the distraction, because this was already more than she wanted to know. The wondering made her queasy -- had they ever hung Shiro like that? Waiting somewhere shivering until they were satisfied? And ready to hurt him more?

How cold was Dad right now?

“Katie, what’s your --- ?”

Shit! Katie flicked the comm off instantly, but the whisper still ricocheted in the space.

The Galra’s eyes snapped open, the stark yellow like an error in a room so dark. Shit shit! Katie froze, skin crawling. It was facing right at her! But maybe those blank no-pupil eyes couldn’t see in the dark well?

No. The Galra’s eyes widened and it lifted its head, tufted ears swiveled back. As it looked up at her, Katie got a really good look at the nasty crusted patch of something at the base of its neck, thick and congealed.

Blood, her brain insisted. On a person that would be blood. The Galra twitched on its shackles, a harsh punch of mist bursting out of the mask thing.

Shit shit shit it definitely saw her! It was going to shout! Katie’ clutched at her borrowed Altean gun. Should she shoot it? Wouldn’t someone hear. Wouldn’t…wouldn’t that be wrong if it couldn’t move?

Before she could decide, a strange, frigid burst of cold rushed through the air, skittering up her back like it went right through the armor. Sudden sweet smell cluttered the air.

“N-nnnh!” The sound was half a hiss and half something shriller, so quiet Katie barley heard it. The Galra shook its head violently, ears going flat to its neck. “Ghhhh.”

Katie stopped breathing as the vent beneath her jarred, and a door underneath her feet opened. And a Galra druid drifted into the room, the awful point on the top of its head within arms reach of where she crouched.

The cold reached all the way into her teeth now. Katie had never seen one this close before. It’s robe looked slick and gnarled somehow, like it had the texture of thin treebark. Something about how its back moved set hers prickling and aching, like the joints were in the wrong places for her human-style brain to interpret it as something that wasn’t damaged.

“Okaxar.” The druid’s voice had uncomfortable dissonance, like it had two sounds at once. “Kal sakar Zagarax. Tra bakilkol gaal?”

Gaal. The word for speak. Katie only half recognized some of the others. She needed more time to be any use eavesdropping. But the druid’s tone swung up, then down. Mocking.

Katie’s mouth went dry. This was…this was an interrogation.

The hanging Galra full-body shuddered when the druid tapped the mask. The object hissed and shifted, sections moving down and up, and the Galra lurched. The mask settled, looking looser. It’s next puff of breath sounded more like a voice and less like an animal.

Not a mask. A muzzle. Which had been sealing its mouth.

“V-va….Vash…” The Galra broke off choking, eyes clenched shut. It swallowed.

It was going to tell the druid. She’d failed all of them.

The druid clicked, quiet and low. Even thi close Kaite couldn’t tell if it had teeth or if it were making the sound with something even creepier. It said something long and sick-slow as it reached to the Galra’s chest.

Except halfway there, the druid stopped. Completely still, claws starkly edged in the ominous light from the floor. Slowly, silently, it straightened, terrifyingly tall. The edge of the curved, bright porcelain mask-piece glinted, reflecting the lights like they were spears right at her. She couldn’t see any of the glowing eyes, but they must be just past.

Katie’s heartbeat thudded in her head, harder and harder with each second. She didn’t breathe. Shit shit, did it hea herr? Did it feel her, like some kind of awful eel thing? She needed to run, to get out, but if she moved at all it would know.

A weak snarl broke the silence. “V-Vash rib hagox.” The bloody Galra wrenched its head up and away from the druid. “Tra ket----”

The druid glitched forward, suddenly shadowy and see-through, and a second later it loomed across the room, pinning the Galra to the wall by the throat, the chains limp and dangling. Shit it was strong! It lifted its prisoner and raised its free hand. The lights on the floor burst bright, pulses streaming along them toward the frame, up its support struts, and down into the shackles.

The Galra shrieked, fighting the chains.

Katie flinched. The sound was alien, thicker and in more pieces than a human scream. She wanted to close her eyes. To cover her ears. But she didn’t. She needed to know when the druid found out about her.

Wait, no, she needed to run! 

The druid clenched its fist and the energy stopped. The Galra sagged in the sudden silence, heavy plumes of cold mist dragging out of it. Its head lolled sideways, not looking at her.

Not --- wait --- 

The Galra tensed and yanked its head away from the druid again. “Tra ketral,” it wheezed.

The druid crackled, like an electrical outlet ready to zap. Its hand snapped flat.

Whatever it was doing wasn’t electricity. The Galra didn’t spasm like it couldn’t control itself. Its eyes didn’t close and its skin rippled behind the mask, fighting to open its mouth. It’s fighting looked desperate. Voluntary.

This time, it screamed even louder.

This time, Katie crawled.

Moving at all zapped terror through her. But she had…she had a distraction. The druid was busy. She couldn’t get caught. She couldn’t ---

The scream stopped, and she froze. An awful, three-second pause, listening for the attack, the words that would send the druid after her.

Nothing.

The druid asked a question, which she was too terrified to understand.

The Galra choked an answer.

ZAAAAP. The Galra howled.

Katie moved again.

She kept to the rhythm until finally she was at the far end of the ventilation branch. Far away from the grate, around two turns. She should go further. She was too close to the druid, to the awful sweet smell choking the air when they made things glow, made things hurt.

But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t! What if it followed her? She needed to know what happened. Katie made sure her comms were still off and curled into a ball. She held onto her helmet and waited for something to change.

The prisoner kept shrieking.

In the quieter pauses, the druid kept speaking. Short, curt sentences. Demands? Questions? This far she couldn’t make out the words, and it wasn’t like she knew enough of them to be useful anyway.

When the next scream bounced around her, Katie dug her fingers into the unforgiving hardness of the helmet, like she could cover her ears. Since she didn’t understand it wasn’t the same as listening for real to something like this. She could do it. She needed to know if the prisoner alerted the ship. Somehow, it hadn’t yet. If it did, the others would need to know as soon as possible, if they had any chance of finding the lion first.

She was staying. She could do this.

Finally, finally, it stopped. The prisoner made a sharp, high pitched whimper, so much like a hurt animal Katie twitched. Then, silence.

A door hissed, far off.

Chill stabbed through Katie like an icicle to the back.

Then it was gone.

___________________________________________________________

For a moment all Katie could do was shiver, clutching her borrowed Altean pistol, every muscle locked and ready to fight. But nothing else changed. Nothing mateiralized out of the shadows. No more of that awful grating voice.

The druid was gone.

Katie bit her gauntlet and blinked furiously as tears tried to get in her face. It was ok! It was ok? The druid hadn’t found her!

As the pounding in her ears cleared, rough ragged breathing filled up the tiny passage around her.

Katie swallowed, skin prickling.

The prisoner. It…it hadn’t told the druid. It hadn’t looked at her, not at all, as soon as the druid entered the cell. And…it had taken the druid’s attention right at that pause, right when she’d been sure the monster was going to turn around and see her. She’d been right there. It would have been over.

And the Galra…what? Covered for her?

It moaned. So soft she almost didn’t hear it.

She should go.

Something heavy and frantic rattled in Katie’s gut as she shuddered. Her comms had been of for minutes -- she didn’t even know how long. The others must be furious. Shiro must be worried sick, if he even was aware who he was with right now. She had to get back to him. She had to get back to him now.

It was a Galra. She should go.

But --- but it had helped! It had helped and she’d heard…she knew what it screaming sounded like!

Cursing silently, Katie inched back to the cell vent.

____________________________________________________________

The room flickered dark now, the floor lights dim. The Galra hung trembling, head lower than before. Limp and still in the chains.

Something dripped from the front of the muzzle. Please don’t be blood.

It…no. She wasn’t going to it someone who helped her. They didn’t look good. Katie’s mouth went sandpaper dry. If they really were unconscious, she’d be screwed. No way she could move them on her own.

She slid down into the cell as quietly as she could. “Hey. You there?”

The Galra flinched away from her voice, eyes closed. A barely-there sound whined in their throat.

Fair, honestly. This close Katie could see dark marks across their arms where the energy had flared into them. She moved as slowly as she could make herself, wracking her brain for anything. “You don’t know what I’m saying. Um…shit, listen is…Yalki? Yalki.”

The Galra finally dragged their eyes open, squinting at her. They gasped, ears twitching. “Yhhh…?” They sounded garbled and wordless again. “V-vllll.”

Moment of truth here. If they decided to scream now, she’d be doomed. “Shh. I’m not going to hurt you,” Katie whispered. She hated putting her back to the door, but she forced herself to do it. She’d feel the chill, if that thing came back. And she needed to get the Galra down. And figure out how to say that.“I…Vash…” Yes! That was the word! “Vash kakorhi? Help? G-grax. Wait.”

The Galra didn’t yell or growl. They blinked, eyes lighter yellow than she’d thought they were. They lowered their head, spots across their scalp prickling. “Vllln,” they slurred again, as soft a whisper as hers. Softer, even, it was so hoarse.

Ok. Well that wasn’t bad. Keeping half an eye on the Galra, Katie stepped up to the corner of the frame. It held them so high she could only reach the shackle points on their ankles. Katie felt along the metal struts, cursing internally at how smooth and featureless they were. No exposed interfaces. Hunk would be able to do something with the machine, the power conduits, the joists and joints, but she couldn’t. She needed an in.

Damn it was weird being near them, with their long ankle bone as big as her forearm. Kaite felt strangely, impossibly small. She had to work hard not to keep glancing at the strange stony glint on their foot.

No good. She couldn’t do anything down here. “Sorry.” Taking a deep breath, she caught a central strut and hauled herself up onto the mechanism. It had crossbeams and connectors, enough places for her to grab and step to climb. She had to see more of it.

The Galra hissed and went rigid. Katie felt it, felt the tremor skittering through the shackles up into the frame beneath her. Every hair on her arms stood straight up at the sound, the inhuman toothiness of it. She froze.

She couldn’t do this without climbing up across them.

But then her brain caught up, as the Galra made a confused mewing noise and tried to look down at her, but flinched before they could. Sure, they sounded like a hunting thing out to eat her, but they were shaking. She could feel it. They couldn’t kick. They couldn’t bite. They couldn’t even see her down here. They couldn’t do anything about anything she did. She wasn’t in danger here.

Katie swallowed and kept climbing. “It’s ok. One sec.”

The Galra didn’t move or protest as she clambered across them. Their weird shallow breaths brushed her chestplate as she scooted past, trying to keep track of where the pressure moved so she didn’t wrench on them. They craned their neck, trying to keep her in view, then closed their eyes when they couldn’t turn anymore. A rippling shudder ran up their back, and this time she was sure they had fur there as it puffed up.

Their breath caught. Hurt. Not trying to hurt her.

Katie scrambled high enough to reach the wrist cuffs. Finally some good news! The hard-light chain threaded into the mechanism behind the Galra’s pinned arms. After anchoring, the cords continued down and joined in the center with a small panel right behind the Galra’s upper back. Not a bad design; completely impossible for the person on the machine to reach. But easy for her. Katie grinned and wormed her hand beneath the Galra’s back. She could almost reach… “Hang on.”

But she bumped something hard with the back of her hand. The Galra mewled, sharp and sudden, then cut off like they bit down the sound.

Shit. Katie hung on, trying to listen past the creaking and the awful grating gasps from the Galra. Why was she so good at hitting spots like that without thinking?

No chill. Nothing yet. She had to hurry. “Hold still -- uh --- grax.”

The Galra clenched their eyes shut and leaned down as far as they could. “Z-zhhhhr.” 

That she knew, and it should be ‘zar.’ What was wrong that it came out like that? 

Get them down first. 

The panel had shoddy security, no two-factor, no nothing. Of course. Shouldn’t underestimate who might want to steal your prisoner. Katie hooked in her wrist console and the protocols took like a minute. She made sure she had a good grip on the struts, wishing she had the words to actually warn them. “Sorry.” Maybe the tone would scan. “Now.”

She deactivated the chains.

The Galra pitched forward roughly, arms spasming. They didn’t manage to get their hands under them fully and hit down with a rough thud, the impact jarring up their still-pinned legs. The grating force made Katie flinch in sympathy. A strangled, almost silent sound wrenched out of them and they kicked instinctively, except the ankle tethers hummed and sparked.

The Galra curled desperately, hands clutched near their face, and went completely still. They heaved in rattling, drowning gulps, but didn’t make any more noise.

Thank everything --- that hit had been loud enough on its own.

Katie dropped back down as fast as she could, trying not to stare at how much of them she could see now, at the dark purple of their back and the lighter fur that speckled down their spine from where it covered their neck and head and the very-intuitively-wrong crusted orange patches that jaggedly interrupted both.

At the whitish ends of their legs and the weird hoof-like growths on the bottom of their pinned feet. And the dark singed circles in the fur she carefully avoided as she reached in, where the druid had hurt them.

She deactivated the ankle panel as fast as she could.

The Galra folded instantly into a ball, limbs tremoring badly. Not fetal position, but too close not to tug terribly at Katie’s gut. They pressed their face hard into the floor, like they were trying to stay quiet.

She wished there was time to wait. Katie reached for their shoulder. “Come on. Get up. Uh, Ga --- no -- Zek.” Oh geeze they were shivering, so hard it felt like little punches against her hand. Was that bad? “Zek!”

The Galra choked. Their eyes flickered up at her an alarming creamy color. They nodded vaguely, or they buckled against the floor, she couldn’t tell. Panic clenched her hands. Did they know she was here? Was it like Shiro, and they weren’t even seeing her?

Katie cursed how small the vent looked up at the edge of the wall. It hadn’t been small before. “Come on!” she snarled, and, hesitating only a second, she dragged the Galra up with both hands and ducked under their chest.

The Galra cried out in surprise, a short yip-sound. Their weird narrow torso almost slipped right off her immediately, falling in directions she didn’t anticipate and brace. Katie stumbled, catching an arm and fistfull of fur. Then they scrabbled their too-big hands on her armor, the tink-tink of claws feeling all kinds of wrong.

The Galra heaved a desperate gasp and held on, shuffling to their feet under her as she stood. They sagged heavily, scrabbling to stay upright. Now the force of their shivers shook her too, so big Katie could feel it rattling in her head.

Ok, ok, assume that’s bad. Get them out of the cold.

Katie hobbled them to the wall, half-guiding, half-dragging. The Galra was so ridiculously big everything about them felt wrong, their enormous palms plastered across her chest, their bent knees in the way of her steps. It felt dangerous, but distantly, like her whole body know that if they spasmed again they’d knock her over. Their grip wasn’t steady -- she could feel it falter between claws and palms and back again. Polite? Half-conscious? Both?

Ugh she needed more words. And she had to get them both out of here. "Ok, come on."