#it was nice to take a brain break from Voltron and return to my Forever Favs

[leenfiend]

based on the train chapter 95 of Observations by J-anon

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 4 start

Having messaged Lance through the files on their missing operative, Keith followed up with an inviting for drinks on Daibazaal, or on Erathus if Lance felt more comfortable there. The Blades could live without him for a quintants, and honestly with how concerned he was for Lance, he'd be completely useless until they'd reconciled. Not receiving an immediate reply was disheartening, but given he'd already stated he was leaving, he had no other choice to do just that. If he returns to Daibazaal, he'd only be nagged to death by his mother until he'd finally admit what had transpired on Erathus and ultimately cause things to be blown way out of proportion. There were a few rebel planets he could take refuge on, yet his mother's words lingered in his ears. He really should visit Shiro. Hunk had practically begged him to visit... And Shiro had always been there for him. Shiro was also the one who'd understood Lance's pain the most. The pain of losing the one you'd planned forever with. Keith could only understand what he himself had experienced. Lance was still alive. He was still alive, and though he'd seen him twice face to face, it felt as if his friend had died and left some new stranger in his body. Those thoughts hitting far too close to home for comfort, especially when he considered the fact that Lance's marks truly seemed to be gone. Calling through to Hunk, Hunk was confused yet ecstatic when he mentioned he planned to visit, agreeing to help hide things from Shiro until they rendezvoused in the region of space that the Atlas was currently patrolling. Requesting permission for a wormhole from Erathus, he was left waiting half a varga before receiving permission. Not wanting to give the Atlas away, he jumped through to a few quandrants away from the ship, where his navigation system informed him that he'd be upon the ship within the varga, possibly sooner if the Atlas was moving in his direction. Keith had hoped the distance would be closer as now he was left to let his mind roam back to the medication sitting on his bed with his Blades uniform. Even if it felt like he was lying to himself, he still wanted to believe that there was no way Lance was taking illicit substances, that he'd abuse that beautiful body of his in such a way. Once he reached the Atlas, he intended to have the samples screened, which may have also been his reason for visiting even if he couldn't state as much to Hunk. It'd break Hunk to know Lance wasn't ok, that he wasn't enjoying his job, and that he'd let himself fall into whatever situation he was now stuck in. Whining softly at him, Kosmo dropped his head down in the half-Galra's lap. His dopey wolf still hurt from being shunned by Lance when they'd grown so close during the flight back to Earth. Ruffling Kosmo's thick fur, Keith silently promised he was going to save Lance from himself, if not for his sake then for Kosmo's. * Dressing in his Blade uniform made asking for help from Shiro all that much easier. Explaining that there was missing Blade member, and that he samples that needed to be tested, there was a small twinge of guilt as Shiro leapt the conclusion he'd hoped he would, that both cases were related. Turning over the samples, Shiro was quick to pass command over to Veronica before spiriting him away to the dining hall to surprise Hunk. Glowing with genuine happiness, he didn't have the heart to admit that Hunk had helped planned everything. Veronica seemed to know he was coming, which made sense given she and Hunk had known each other before the whole "Voltron" thing had gone down. "Keith! Man, it's so good to see you!" Swept off his feet, Keith snorted as he was treated to one of Hunk's trademark hugs. His former teammate quick to release him "Sorry, man. It's just... is it really you?" Laughing at Hunk, Keith nodded slowly "It's been too long. Sorry, even with the fall of the empire work never seems to end. Most of the previous generals were dealt with by Haggar, which is nice and all, but she failed to deal with the ones who had their eyes on that role and have now struck out on there own" "I feel you man. It's like, why can't we all eat and be friends!?" Trust it all to be food related. Crossing his arms, Shiro frowned his infamous dad frown at both of them "Hunk knew you were coming, didn't he?" "Maybe?" "I can't believe you two conspired against me" Spluttering Hunk held his hands up as if telling Shiro to stop "I didn't conspire against you. Keith was the one who called me, and I thought with how busy you've been, it'd be a nice surprise. Man, if only Pidge and Lance were here, it'd be like old times" Uncrossing his arms, Shiro pulled up a screen on his communicator as he spoke "Pidge has had great success with Rover, you know she barely steps out her lab these days" "And Lance has to work. We should call them though" "Yes! I mean. Yeah, it's been ages" Fuck. He couldn't have sounded any more eager if he'd tried "Ooooh. Is someone missing Lance?" Jabbing Shiro in the ribs with his elbow, Shiro yelped "Don't give me that. You and Lance were always close, whether because of your rivalry or not" Moving to pat his back with enough force that he was nearly knocked off his feet, Hunk kept his hand there as he started leading the pair of them towards the kitchen "Yep! Shiro's right. It's not weird if you miss him. I miss him. Shay got tired of me turning around and expecting Lance to be there to taste test whatever was on the stove" "Have either of you talked to him lately?" Hunk shook his head and looked to Shiro who also gave a shake of his head, Hunk then sighing deeply before replying "I haven't talked to him since he arrived on Erathus. Veronica's always telling me he says "Hi", but he hasn't messaged in phoebs. And the few times when we have talked, it's been on Veronica's coms, so it's never for long" "What about you? Has he been talking to you?" Keith could hear the starts of the cogs turning over in Shiro's brain as he started to worry for Lance. He wanted to yell at both of them for neglecting Lance, but he'd done the exact same thing "Actually I talked to him, the missing Blade member vanished near Erathus, so I reached out to him on the off chance he'd happen to have heard something. He promised to take a look at the file and keep an eye out" "Let me guess "As long as it doesn't get in the way of his job"? Veronica said he's happy working as a bodyguard" "Hunk, he's in security. The first job was as a bodyguard, then he was hired to do some kind of planet security..." Shiro's sentence stalled "See, you know about as much as we do. Did he... say how he is? If he's ok?" Other than yelling at him because their friends had no time for him, Lance was totally fine... He hated lying. The atmosphere between the three of them was good. Like... being reconnected with missing limbs he didn't know were missing "He seemed ok. You know Lance though. Surrounded by all the beautiful aliens he could ask for" "I don't know about that. Rachel said he was still upset about Allura when he left. I know he loved her, but he needed to move on" Rachel... He knew the name... "His sister. Don't worry, man. He has enough family that even I get confused and I've known them for years" Thank god for Hunk "I doubt he even remembered her name" "Hey! I do too. He's got a crazy amount of family though. Hunk just said so" Ruffling his hair in the same manner Keith was always ruffling Kosmo's, Shiro was all smiles "I know. I have to get all my teasing in before you leave again. They grow up so fast" Pretending to wipe fake tears away, Hunk bit his lip. Pushing Shiro away, Keith laughed as he dodged his brother's mechanical arm "I remember why I don't come back now. It's this!" "Aw, Keith. Don't be like that. We've all missed you" "Shiro hasn't. He's been too busy pining over Curtis. Isn't that what you said?" Shiro gaped at Hunk, Hunk blushing red "I told you that in confidence!" "If you're both going to tease me, I'm going to tease right back. You're lucky I'm mad at Shiro, or I'd be teasing you over Shay" "You wouldn't!" Pretending to be angered for a moment longer, Keith couldn't hold down his smile "No, man. She's great for you. I'm happy you're happy" Catching him in a headlock, Shiro held him playfully "You're right, Hunk. I think this might be an imposter. Who are you? And where's the real Keith?" Rolling his eyes, Keith huffed "Ha ha. You're hilarious. I don't know what Curtis sees in you. It's definitely not your sense of humour" "You're not about to let his go, are you?" "Not at all" "Quiznak. Right. I guess there's no avoiding it, we're dating" Hunk let out a joyous whoop. Shiro released him half a tick before they were both swept into his arms "See Keith! This is why you need to visit more often! I'm going to make you a celebratory lunch. Keith, make sure he doesn't leave!" "I will"

[wateryourplance]

Cold (Lance/Pidge)

(Pidgance Month, Day 5: rainforest | i’ll make this one cute and fluffy-- oops never mind lolol and yes, horrible title but i couldn’t come up with anything else Earth setting, Voltron doesn’t exist here but human Allura and Coran do)

“Come on, Pidge! It’s not that cold, I swear!” Lance called as he around in the cool, surprisingly clear water, instantly refreshed.

“You’re just in your underwear!”

“So?” He countered. “You can stare. I won’t mind.”

Pidge groaned loudly, still covering her eyes. “I don’t swim.” She muttered.

“It’s not deep. Plus, you stink. You need this.” Lance said bluntly before submerging himself in the water completely. The sound made Pidge instinctively look up, making sure her companion didn’t get sucked in by some water monster or something.

Fortunately, he was fine.

And Pidge got to find out in the best way possible.

Lance emerged from the water with closed eyes, the sun shining down on him. The water on his body made his body glisten and seemingly glow beneath the sun - he looked like a god. He pulled his wet brown tresses out of his face away from his eyes, the muscles on his glorious back flexing as the droplets of water dripped down his lean figure.

He looked ridiculously gorgeous.

Pidge was frozen in place, ogling in awe at her friend. She couldn’t help but watch, greedily drinking everything she was seeing like fine wine. "Fuck,” she breathed. She had always found Lance attractive, but she didn’t think he was capable of reaching a god-like level.

Lance’s eyes finally fluttered open, his dark lashes still adorned with tiny water droplets. His eyes looked even more blue surrounded by the clear blue water.

Pidge bit down on her bottom lip, insane thoughts filling her head. This was so wrong.

“Pidge?” Lance asked. “Are you feeling okay? You’re like, really red.”

“…maybe I do need to swim.” Pidge sputtered in spite of herself.

Lance grinned. “That’s the spirit!” He whooped. “Strip, strip, strip!”

“Fuck off.” Pidge pushed herself up, trying to figure out how to do this.

She never cared about her physical characteristics; her care was focused on her brain. But right now, she couldn’t think about anything else other than how she looked. Lance looked impossibly perfect, while she was almost certain she looked like a gremlin. She figured to dive in with her clothes on, but she didn’t want to walk around in soggy clothes.

“What’s keeping you?” Lance added as he continued splashing himself with water. “You on your period?”

Pidge glared at him. “No, I just…”

“…don’t have a bra on?”

“No, I do!”

“Then why’re you taking forever?” Lance carped impatiently as he crossed his arms over his firm chest. “We’re friends! I swear I won’t do or say anything stupid.”

Pidge sighed, still indecisive. Lance did have a point.

Hesitantly, she gripped the hem of her top before looking up at him with a warning look. “Look away.”

“What? But it’s not like I won’t be seeing you in your underwear later anyways!”

More heat crawled up her face and to her ears. Lance had a point again.

“Just...just do it!” She yelled in irritation.

“Okay, okay! Jeez...” Lance turned around, grumbling something under his breath.

A surge of relief let her release the breath she had been holding as she pulled her long sleeved top off, a cool gush brushing through her. She was tempted to let out a satisfied moan after freeing herself from that godforsaken jumper (sweater?) that was simply unfit for the tropical climate of the rainforest. She was surprised herself she hadn’t passed out yet due to the weather.

Not that she planned to get stranded in one, anyways. Neither she nor Lance planned any of this.

A chill tickled her spine as the episodes played freshly in her head.

‘It’ll be fun.’ Lance had said. ‘They said that this helicopter’s old but gold. Works perfectly fine! Shiro used it yesterday.’ He had told her. ‘We’ll come back safely. And yeah, man! I totally know how to fly this thing.’

She remembered Lance flying the helicopter smoothly and properly (to her surprise). She remembered them admiring the magnificent green expanse. She remembered them laughing and joking about.

She also remembered when the engine failed. She them plummeting hundreds of feet rapidly. She remembered when the helicopter finally fell hard. She remembered seeing Lance unconscious, forgetting about her own well-being to make sure he was fine. She remembered when he woke up in horror, telling her about how much she had on her face. None of them sustained any serious injuries, other than the dark bruises that had initially hurt and the rather deep wounds. The helicopter caught fire, but almost instantly the rain poured before it could spread.

But they didn’t know how to get back.

The first day was horrific. The rain was pouring hard, and she remembered them taking cover beneath the tallest tree with huge leaves in site, but that didn’t work out too well. After the rain stopped, Lance couldn’t think straight as he was in constant panic while Pidge could only awkwardly encourage him. She encouraged him saying that she’ll get them out of here, and that calmed him down to an extent.

But as more days passed, Pidge’s hope began wavering, while Lance seemed to only grow more and more optimistic, finding the positive sides to nearly everything. (”Did you know that vines can give clean water? Animals can lead us to clean water, too! At least, that’s what I read behind that fruit box...Oh look! Come on, Pidge! After that bird!”)

“It’s already been a week or more.” She said quietly, stripping off her shorts as she neatly folded her clothes. She put them atop a smooth rock as she dipped her foot in the water. “That’s really cold, Lance!” She called.

Lance laughed as he finally turned around. “I know, isn’t it great?” His eyes stayed longer on her than intended as he blushed slightly. She had an adorably petite body, but he noted that she still had slight curves. ‘Wait, ew, was I just checking her out?’ he cleared his throat, “Uh, do-do you need help getting here?”

“No, I got this.” She replied confidently as she took her first step in the water. It was really cold, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She laughed nervously as she put in her next foot, walking slowly towards Lance as she got deeper and deeper. Eventually, she was next to him, waist deep while he was on hip deep. “This feels nice-- LANCE!” She yelped as , the cold shocking her.

Lance laughed heartily. “Oh man, your reaction was priceless!” He taunted.

Only to be splashed at back by surprised as he let out a high-pitched shriek.

Now it was Pidge’s turn to laugh.

“Oh you think that’s funny, huh?” Lance smirked.

Pidge returned the look on his face. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Then this means war!” Lance proclaimed as he rapidly splashed her without any pauses, consequently splashing himself as well. 

“Hate to break it to you, but in literal war you’d be killing yourself right now.” Pidge laughed as she tried shielding herself with one arm while the other one worked in throwing the water at her ‘enemy’.

The pair sloshed around the water like a bunch of children, sharing giggles and profanities. It was the most fun they’d had in days.

For a moment, their current situation was forgotten. They forgot that they were stranded in the middle of a rainforest. That it was possible for them to never be found again. That sudden death was absolutely possible.

But right now, they didn’t think about that.

They focused on each other and how much fun they were having and how adorable the other one would look whenever they’d try doing a huge attack.

Eventually, both parties grew tired and the laughter faded into broad grins as they both sat on a large rock to rest. “That was fun,” said Lance, nudging his companion gently.

“It was.” Pidge confirmed as she caught her breath, tired. “Thanks for that.”

Lance tilted his head. “For what?”

“You know, that.” She gestured to the water. “Thanks for pushing me. to join you.” She awkwardly released.

Lance smiled earnestly at her, pulling himself closer to her. “I had to. You haven’t been in the best mood lately, so...” he shrugged, “there’s that.”

Pidge felt a twinge in her heart upon hearing his words. Right, they were stuck. They were lost. And possibly going to die. A frown replaced the wide smile she had worn. “Do you think...do you think that we’ll get out of here?” She asked quietly.

“I don’t think, Pidge.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Hey, excuse me, I’m trying to be nice here! I wasn’t done yet!” Lance sulked.

Pidge managed a dry chuckle. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

Lance glared at her jokingly, but the corners of his lips twitched upwards. “I don’t just think we’re getting out of here. I know we are.” He assured, slowly taking her hand. To his relief, she let their fingers intertwine, and she didn’t even flinch. “We’re getting out of here. I promise.”

Pidge’s tears blended with the water droplets on her face as she let out a soft whimper, leaning against Lance. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her to sit on his lap, their bare skin against each others’. He slipped one arm off and began stroking the top of her head comfortingly as she cried into her hand. Her other hand was resting on top of Lance’s arm on her waist. “I’m not scared of death, Lance.” She sputtered out through her sobs. “But my family, my job, my friends...”

“I know, Pidge.” Lance soothed. “I feel the same way.”

“All those unfinished projects I had.” She anguished. “I was sup-supposed to visit my parents this-this weekend. And walk my dog I haven’t seen in...in such a long time..” She sounded so miserable, her shoulders shaking violently as she cried.

Lance kissed her damp hair softly. “You will. I promise you.”

“Matt and I were supposed to...supposed to prank Shiro by temporarily dyeing his white hair pink.” Pidge croaked miserably as a soft chortle escaped her throat. “Keith and I were going to test out th-the enhancements I added to his...to his bike.”

Lance rested his chin on her shoulder as the shaking died down. “Yeah?”

“And Allura wanted me to go shopping with her, even though I didn’t want to.” A ghost of a smile finally made its way to her pale face. “Coran suspiciously broke his laptop and wanted me to fix it too.”

“You’re gonna do all of that, I swear it.” Lance encouraged as he left another sweet kiss on her shoulder, but his lips remained there, unmoving.

Pidge calmed down as they sat there without speaking, the sounds of wildlife filling their ears. Though it served as an innocent reminder about their current situation that Pidge had despised for the past three days, she decided that it was only bad if she made it bad.

She was safe. She could still she, hear, breathe and feel.

And most importantly, she wasn’t alone.

She had someone by her side, and it wasn��t just anyone. It was a man she trusted. A man who had been showing her nothing but his kindness and care even before they had ended up in this dismal state. A man who was her friend. A man she loved.

“Pidge?”

Pidge hummed, urging him to continue.

“Would it be weird to say that I love you?” He murmured, sounding a tad bit embarrassed.

Speak of the devil.

She figured this was a tactic of his to get her into a better mood, but their body’s were so close she could faintly feel his heart beating fast.

Pidge didn’t hesitate at all.

“Is it bad to say that I do too?”

And her leapt in joy when he gently took her chin, kissing her lips.

Two weeks and three days - that’s how long they’d been stranded. No helicopters flew past. It was almost like Hunk and the others completely forgot about them.

“You didn’t tell them where we were headed, you idiot. You just wanted to go already.” Pidge had told him once.

They sort of adapted to this living arrangement and learned to improvise, but that didn’t mean they were getting used to it completely. They still wanted to get out and go back to their lives with things staying the way they were before the helicopter had crashed.

It was nighttime now, and the lovers were clinging to each other, trying to share their body heat. Layers of large leaves were over them, but it just wasn’t enough. “Are you feeling okay, Pidge?” Lance whispered.

“I’m...fine. Are you?”

“Yeah, just really cold.”

Pidge frowned as she moved closer to him as she possibly could. “Sorry I can’t give you a lot of heat...”

“It’s okay, Pidgey-pie. The warmth of your love keeps me alive~” He sang jokingly, earning an eye roll from his girlfriend.

“I’m going to sleep. Night, dork.”

“Night, beautiful.”

Lance yawned, smiling sleepily at the still slumbering Pidge. She was on her side, her back turned against him. She must’ve rolled off from his arms when it started getting hot again. He chuckled lovingly as he leaned over her, planting a kiss on her chillingly cold forehead.

Wait.

Cold?

“Pidge?” Lance called, shaking her slightly. “P-Pidge, wake up.”

But she stayed limp.

“Pidge!” He yelled, growing frantic as he made her stiff body lie down on her back. She was so much paler than usual. He leaned close to her face, expecting to feel her warm breath against his cheek

Nothing.

“N-no, Pidge!” He cried hoarsely as large tears formed in his eyes, checking for a pulse. “Come on, Pidge! Wake up! Please!” He screamed in desperation, pumping on her chest. He leaned close once again.

Still nothing.

“Shit, no! Oh my God...” He hissed, pumping a little harder as he picked his pace up. “Pidge, come on!” Angry tears streamed down his cheeks as he opened Pidge’s mouth, placing his mouth on top as he furiously breathed out air.

Nothing.

Lance repeated the process over and over again, desperate to see any signs of life. One breath, a single pulse, a jerk, her temperature to rise again - anything.

He always found himself back to square one.

Lance picked up the corpse through eyes blurred with tears with the remaining strength he had left. His lip was violently quivering as he kissed her cold, blue lips devoid of any warmth. 

“Katie...” He whimpered. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep my promise...”

Lance jolted awake in cold sweat, his eyes and face damp with his sweat and tears. He was...no longer in the rainforest.

Instead, he was in an unfamiliar room with a white blanket on his body. He had no shirt on, but he was wearing a new pair of pants. His pants.

He let out a nervous laugh. That was a crazy dream.

That is, until he saw his hands were covered in bandages. 

So it wasn’t a dream.

In a frenzy he fell off the bed, producing a loud thud. “Pidge!” He screamed, alarmed. He groaned as he weakly pushed himself up, cussing underneath his breath.

Loud footsteps entered his ears. The door flew open, revealing Hunk, Allur, Keith and Shiro. “You’re awake!” They cried in unison as Keith and Hunk immediately ran to his side

“No, get off of me!” Lance violently flailed, trying to get out. “Take me back! Oh God, please! Take me back!” He cried out. “I need to be there for Pidge, please!”

Allura frowned in concern. “L-Lance, please, control yourself--”

“You should’ve given her a proper burial instead of just-- just leaving her to rot out there!” Lance barked angrily, his actions growing more and more aggressive. Hunk and Keith struggled to hold him down.

Shiro finally spoke up.

“She’s being taken care of by Coran in the other room.”

Lance stopped abruptly as he gaped at the older man. “She...she’s not...dead?”

“No. In fact, she was the one awake when we found you both.” Shiro explained. “We couldn’t find you guys anywhere.”

“B-but I remember she was dead...I tried saving her but...”

“It was a bad dream, Lance.” Allura said soothingly, visibly relaxing when Hunk and Keith got him to sit up.

Hunk immediately latched himself to Lance, squeezing the poor Cuban. “It’s so good to see you again, buddy! We were all so worried about you and Pidge! If it weren’t for Keith we wouldn’t have found you guys!”

Lance patted his bulky friend gently on the back before smiling at his emo frenemy. “Thank you, edgelord~”

“Whatever.” Keith murmured, though he returned the smile. “I’m gonna check on Pidge.”

“Wait, Keith.”

“What?”

“Take me with you. I need to see my girlfriend again.”

Everyone in the room but Lance and Keith stared with shocked expressions.

Keith merely shrugged. “I knew it was happening at some point. Just in a less traumatising way.”

[it-has-the-gay-fanfiction]

Pull Me Closer

Chapter 2: Netflix and Chill... Out on the Couch

Part 1 here

Sorry for not posting this sooner, totally forgot to post the other chapters here!

Lance stepped out of the shower and dried off while he listened to the water from Keith’s shower continue to run. And they say I take long showers… He laughed quietly to himself as he put on his clothes. The water shut off and Lance barely had time to turn around before Keith got out of the shower himself. “What are you laughing about?” Keith asked from behind Lance. “Just laughing at the fact that everyone seems to think I take long showers. Sure, every once in awhile I’ll treat myself to a nice long shower, but when you’ve lived in a house with as many people as I have, you learn to take short ones.” Lance smiled to himself and brushed through his hair with his fingers. Keith let out a breathy laugh and wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, “I’ve noticed that you take shorter showers than the rest of us, I don’t know how everyone else hasn’t picked up on it.” Lance turned around in Keith’s arms and draped his arms over Keith’s shoulders, “I think it’s because no one pays more attention to me than you do.” Keith’s face burned bright red and he looked down, “S-shut up,” he pulled out of Lance’s arms, “Let’s just go get something to eat and maybe watch a movie or something.”

Lance sighed, but linked their fingers before he pulled Keith out of the shower room, “Do you think we should tell the team?” He asked as they walked down the hall. “I… I don’t know. I feel like it’s too soon, this is all still new.” Keith chewed his lip as he thought about everything that could go wrong. Lance rubbed his thumb over the back of Keith’s hand to try to soothe him, “It’s okay, I get it. I mean, they will find out eventually. It’s hard to keep secrets when we form Voltron or when we do the mind melding training…” Lance sighed before continuing, “I’m worried too. There’s no way to tell how they will react, I guess the best we can do is hope they don’t get mad.”  Keith squeezed his hand once before letting go as they got to the kitchen doors, “Can we… can we at least try? To hide it, I mean.” Lance smiled and nodded, “If that’s what you want to do, I’m game.” Keith looked like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and he gave Lance that smile again before walking into the kitchen.

Lance followed after him and took his seat beside Keith at the table, “So, whose turn was it to cook today, because I’m starving.” “I believe it’s Hunk’s turn.” Pidge offered from their spot across the table. Lance looked around, “I assume he’s still cooking then…” He poked at his growling stomach and sighed, “I actually don’t think I’ve had anything to eat today.” “Unless you ate breakfast, neither of us has had food today.” Keith had his body turned slightly so that he could look at Lance while he was talking. Lance gave him a small smile, “Well maybe next time we shouldn’t wait so long to eat, that’s how you make yourself sick.” Lance gave Keith a pointed look, receiving an eye roll and a small smile in return.

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen you two all day. What have you two been doing?” Shiro asked, drawing Lance’s attention to the older male. “We were sparring, you got a problem with that?” Keith replied, sounding kind of defensive. Shiro held up his hands in surrender, “No, nothing’s wrong with that. I’m happy that the two of you finally seem to be getting along.” Lance placed his hand on Keith’s knee to calm him down. “As soon as Keith gets rid of that mullet, we’ll be golden.” Lance laughed a little and patted Keith’s knee to show he was just kidding before returning his hand to its spot on his own knee. “We’ll be golden as soon as you get better at hand-to-hand.” Keith smirked and poked Lance’s arm. Lance raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, “Excuse you, but if you hadn’t noticed, aside from you and Shiro, I have the highest level in hand-to-hand combat on the team.”

“Of course I noticed.” Keith muttered darkly under his breath. “Oh what are you getting so mad about now? I think you’re just jealous that I’m just as good as you.” Lance smirked. But of course you don’t really think that do you. Some dark part of his brain whispered to him. “Yeah, sure, anything to help you sleep better at night, princess.” Keith replied sarcastically, drawing Lance out of his darker thoughts. Lance sputtered, “P-princess? Nope, none of that.” He turned his head away from Keith’s smug look, trying to desperately hide the growing blush that was staining his cheeks. “Is something going on between the two of you?” Shiro questioned, his eyes flicking between the two of them. “Why would there be?” Keith raised an eyebrow and leaned his elbows on the table, the perfect image of nonchalance. Ouch… that kind of hurt a little bit. “I don’t know… you two just seem a little… softer towards each other.” Shiro replied, the suspicious look still in place on his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Shiro.” Lance set his chin on his hand and looked over at Shiro with a forced look of confusion on his face. I wonder if they’ll notice… probably not, they never do…  “You two are being way too nice to each other,” Pidge piped up from their spot across the table, “what’s changed between you two?” Pidge narrowed their eyes and looked between the two of them like they were trying to solve some complicated piece of coding. “Nothing has changed, Pidge. I’m just too tired to mess with Keith today.” Lance sighed and brushed his drying hair out of his face. “Why does anything have to be going on between us anyways? We’ve been sparring all day and we’re exhausted.” Keith added, rolling his shoulders to loosen the tension in them. “Excuses, excuses.” Pidge leaned forward, laptop set aside for the moment. “What were you really up to?” Lance refrained from looking over at Keith, “We really were sparring, what else would we be doing?” He sighed and set his head on his hand. “I’m not sure...yet, but I will find out.” Pidge picked their laptop back up and went back to typing furiously.

Lance just sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Pidge is smart… they’ll be the first to find out… if we don’t tell everyone before that happens. What if they don’t accept this? What if there’s some rule that paladins aren’t allowed to have relationships? Maybe we shouldn’t have done this, a relationship could tear the team apart, it could distract us from our mission. I’d gladly give my life for Keith, for anyone… They don’t need me, I’m just a seventh wheel, Keith is probably just pity da- A nudge in the back of his mind cut off his train of thought. “Lance, my cub, do not be so hard on yourself. You are not a seventh wheel, you are just as important as any of the other paladins. Do not worry so much, you have a place here.” With her rant done, Blue retreated to the back of his mind again. A hand on his knee reminded Lance that he probably just zoned out in the middle of a conversation. Lance blinked a few times to refocus before looking over at Keith. “You okay?” Keith questioned softly. Lance gave him a small smile, but was saved from answering by Hunk and Coran walking into the dining room with trays of food.

“Hope you guys weren’t waiting too long.” Hunk smiled at them as he set the trays of food on the table. “I’d wait forever for your food, buddy.” Lance grinned and quickly grabbed some food before it was all gone. Hunk laughed and ruffled Lance’s hair, “Well I guess it’s a good thing you won’t have to wait any longer.” Lance playfully swatted at Hunk’s hand, but smiled up at him nonetheless before replying, “Hey man, I’m starving, I think I’d eat anything at this point.”  “I really don’t think you would bud, but thanks anyways.” Hunk grinned before heading over to his seat to get his own food.

Lance watched everyone talking while he shoveled food into his mouth. He knew he should probably join in, make some joke, tease Keith, anything but sit there quietly like he was doing, but he didn’t really have it in him. He was just too tired from sparring all day with Keith, and the thoughts he usually kept at bay kept coming back again and again. All Lance wanted to do was snuggle up on the couch with his boyfriend and maybe watch a movie… but he didn’t know if they would ever get the opportunity. Everyone was suspicious of them already, plus the only place to watch anything was in the common room and as the name states, it’s a common room. It was open to everyone. Lance sighed and leaned his elbow on the table to prop his head up as he ate. Where’s a guy gotta go to get some privacy with his boyfriend?

“Paladins, I know you have all worked hard today, so I will allow you to have the rest of the day to yourselves.” Allura looked between the paladins, lingering on Shiro. So that’s it, Shiro made her give us a break. “Sweet! I’m going to go work on some upgrades for Green.” Pidge pushed their plate away before tucking their laptop under their arm and pushing their chair back. “See you guys later.” Pidge waved and walked out. “Don’t work all night!” Shiro called after them, but the kitchen doors were already shutting, so there was no telling if Pidge heard him or not. Shiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t worry, Shiro,” Hunk stood and placed a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, “I’ll make sure Pidge gets some rest. I wanted to go do some bonding with Yellow anyway.” Hunk released his grip on Shiro’s shoulder as the older man shot him a grateful smile. Hunk smiled back before leaving the room, shouts of “Hey wait up Pidge!” sounding as the doors closed behind him.

“Well, I think I will return to my quarters to catch up on some much needed sleep.” Coran mused before making his exit, muttering something under his breath. Lance stood, drawing the attention of the remaining people in the room. “I think I’m going to go watch a movie or something in the common room if anyone wanted to join me.” At that he gave Keith a pointed look, hoping the other would catch his meaning. He didn’t wait for a response before leaving the room. If they wanted to join him, they would.

Lance walked down the hall with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. When he heard footsteps behind him, a slow smile spread across his face. “I’m glad you got my meaning.” He said as he turned his head to look over at Keith as said teen walked up beside him. “I figured you wanted some company, you looked kind of put out at dinner.” Keith replied, slipping his hand in Lance’s jacket pocket to twine their fingers together. “It’s nothing, I’m just tired.” Lance lied smoothly. “If you say so.” Keith squeezed his hand, causing a smile to slip back onto Lance’s face. “I do say so, mullet. Now let’s get a movie or something started so we can cuddle on the couch.” Lance gently freed his fingers from Keith’s and walked over to the Altean version of a television. It had taken some getting used to, but Lance could get it working almost as fast as Coran could, not that anyone cared. He set it up and grabbed the remote before walking over to the couch where Keith was waiting for him with a blanket. He smiled gratefully and slid under the blanket, leaving a little space between Keith and himself. All Lance wanted to do was curl up with Keith and sleep, but he didn’t know if the other paladin would be comfortable with that, so he kept his distance.  

“What do you want to watch?” Lance looked over at Keith to find him already staring with a slight frown on his face. What did I do now? “What are you doing?” Keith asked, his eyebrows were pinched and his frown finally settled, making him look like he was extremely angry at someone … at me . “W-what do you mean?” Lance stuttered out. He was scared, borderline terrified of the next words that would come out of Keith’s mouth. Keith reached out and gently traced his fingers over Lance’s face before dropping the motion and pulling Lance against his side. “I thought you said you wanted to cuddle, but how are we supposed to do that when you were way over there.” Keith grinned as he took in the shock on Lance’s face. “I… I just thought…” Lance couldn’t form a proper sentence in his head, he was blown away by the tenderness Keith was showing him. I don’t deserve this. “You just thought what, Lance?” Keith questioned, pulling Lance out of his thoughts. “Just thought that you wouldn’t actually want to… be close to me…” Lance turned his head away from Keith and started flipping through the movies to hopefully distract Keith.

“Hey,” Keith placed a hand on Lance’s jaw, “Look at me, Lance.” I screwed up, he’s mad. Lance slowly turned his head to face Keith, but kept his eyes averted so he wouldn’t have to see the look on his boyfriend’s face. If… he still wants that. The hand on his jaw slid under his chin, forcing him to look up at Keith. “Why wouldn’t I want to be close to you? We’re dating aren’t we?” Keith asked softly, his thumb gently sliding over Lance’s jaw in an effort to calm him. “Yeah… we are. I just… why me?” Lance closed his eyes, afraid to see Keith’s reaction. “Why not you? You’re funny and smart, you’re pretty good at hand to hand, you are our sharpshooter, Lance. You’ve saved my life on multiple occasions, you keep me grounded, and damnit Lance, you’re just so beautiful and selfless, how could I not want to be with you?” Lance’s eyes snapped open and he stared at Keith in shock. “W-what?” Keith pulled him closer, “You heard me,” Keith said lowly, “I really, really like you, Lance. I’m not going to give you up once I’ve finally gotten you. You’re mine and I’m yours, so you better cut that self-deprecating shit. You are perfect the way you are.” Keith pressed his forehead against Lance’s and looked into tear-filled blue eyes. Lance sighed and his shoulders sagged, but he pressed back against Keith. Keith gave him a small smile before pulling back.

“Let’s watch that movie, okay?” Keith’s eyes flicked across Lance’s face. Lance took in a deep breath and released it slowly, wiping the unshed tears from his eyes. “Sorry about that.” Lance chuckled weakly before pressing play on the movie. The lights in the room dimmed as the movie started and Lance felt an arm snake around his waist. He had just gotten comfortable when Keith pulled Lance into his lap. “There, that’s much better.” Keith wrapped both arms around Lance’s waist and held him tightly against his chest. Lance hummed and settled into the embrace, pulling the blanket tighter around them. He could feel himself starting to drift off, and as much as he didn’t want to, the warmth radiating from Keith, the comforting weight of the arms around his waist, and his exhaustion, dragged him under.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 4. Can ya'll see I'm aiming for shorter chapters?

Having messaged Lance through the files on their missing operative, Keith followed up with an inviting for drinks on Daibazaal, or on Erathus if Lance felt more comfortable there. The Blades could live without him for a quintants, and honestly with how concerned he was for Lance, he'd be completely useless until they'd reconciled. Not receiving an immediate reply was disheartening, but given he'd already stated he was leaving, he had no other choice to do just that. If he returns to Daibazaal, he'd only be nagged to death by his mother until he'd finally admit what had transpired on Erathus and ultimately cause things to be blown way out of proportion. There were a few rebel planets he could take refuge on, yet his mother's words lingered in his ears. He really should visit Shiro. Hunk had practically begged him to visit... And Shiro had always been there for him. Shiro was also the one who'd understood Lance's pain the most. The pain of losing the one you'd planned forever with. Keith could only understand what he himself had experienced. Lance was still alive. He was still alive, and though he'd seen him twice face to face, it felt as if his friend had died and left some new stranger in his body. Those thoughts hitting far too close to home for comfort, especially when he considered the fact that Lance's marks truly seemed to be gone. Calling through to Hunk, Hunk was confused yet ecstatic when he mentioned he planned to visit, agreeing to help hide things from Shiro until they rendezvoused in the region of space that the Atlas was currently patrolling. Requesting permission for a wormhole from Erathus, he was left waiting half a varga before receiving permission. Not wanting to give the Atlas away, he jumped through to a few quandrants away from the ship, where his navigation system informed him that he'd be upon the ship within the varga, possibly sooner if the Atlas was moving in his direction. Keith had hoped the distance would be closer as now he was left to let his mind roam back to the medication sitting on his bed with his Blades uniform. Even if it felt like he was lying to himself, he still wanted to believe that there was no way Lance was taking illicit substances, that he'd abuse that beautiful body of his in such a way. Once he reached the Atlas, he intended to have the samples screened, which may have also been his reason for visiting even if he couldn't state as much to Hunk. It'd break Hunk to know Lance wasn't ok, that he wasn't enjoying his job, and that he'd let himself fall into whatever situation he was now stuck in. Whining softly at him, Kosmo dropped his head down in the half-Galra's lap. His dopey wolf still hurt from being shunned by Lance when they'd grown so close during the flight back to Earth. Ruffling Kosmo's thick fur, Keith silently promised he was going to save Lance from himself, if not for his sake then for Kosmo's. * Dressing in his Blade uniform made asking for help from Shiro all that much easier. Explaining that there was missing Blade member, and that he samples that needed to be tested, there was a small twinge of guilt as Shiro leapt the conclusion he'd hoped he would, that both cases were related. Turning over the samples, Shiro was quick to pass command over to Veronica before spiriting him away to the dining hall to surprise Hunk. Glowing with genuine happiness, he didn't have the heart to admit that Hunk had helped planned everything. Veronica seemed to know he was coming, which made sense given she and Hunk had known each other before the whole "Voltron" thing had gone down. "Keith! Man, it's so good to see you!" Swept off his feet, Keith snorted as he was treated to one of Hunk's trademark hugs. His former teammate quick to release him "Sorry, man. It's just... is it really you?" Laughing at Hunk, Keith nodded slowly "It's been too long. Sorry, even with the fall of the empire work never seems to end. Most of the previous generals were dealt with by Haggar, which is nice and all, but she failed to deal with the ones who had their eyes on that role and have now struck out on there own" "I feel you man. It's like, why can't we all eat and be friends!?" Trust it all to be food related. Crossing his arms, Shiro frowned his infamous dad frown at both of them "Hunk knew you were coming, didn't he?" "Maybe?" "I can't believe you two conspired against me" Spluttering Hunk held his hands up as if telling Shiro to stop "I didn't conspire against you. Keith was the one who called me, and I thought with how busy you've been, it'd be a nice surprise. Man, if only Pidge and Lance were here, it'd be like old times" Uncrossing his arms, Shiro pulled up a screen on his communicator as he spoke "Pidge has had great success with Rover, you know she barely steps out her lab these days" "And Lance has to work. We should call them though" "Yes! I mean. Yeah, it's been ages" Fuck. He couldn't have sounded any more eager if he'd tried "Ooooh. Is someone missing Lance?" Jabbing Shiro in the ribs with his elbow, Shiro yelped "Don't give me that. You and Lance were always close, whether because of your rivalry or not" Moving to pat his back with enough force that he was nearly knocked off his feet, Hunk kept his hand there as he started leading the pair of them towards the kitchen "Yep! Shiro's right. It's not weird if you miss him. I miss him. Shay got tired of me turning around and expecting Lance to be there to taste test whatever was on the stove" "Have either of you talked to him lately?" Hunk shook his head and looked to Shiro who also gave a shake of his head, Hunk then sighing deeply before replying "I haven't talked to him since he arrived on Erathus. Veronica's always telling me he says "Hi", but he hasn't messaged in phoebs. And the few times when we have talked, it's been on Veronica's coms, so it's never for long" "What about you? Has he been talking to you?" Keith could hear the starts of the cogs turning over in Shiro's brain as he started to worry for Lance. He wanted to yell at both of them for neglecting Lance, but he'd done the exact same thing "Actually I talked to him, the missing Blade member vanished near Erathus, so I reached out to him on the off chance he'd happen to have heard something. He promised to take a look at the file and keep an eye out" "Let me guess "As long as it doesn't get in the way of his job"? Veronica said he's happy working as a bodyguard" "Hunk, he's in security. The first job was as a bodyguard, then he was hired to do some kind of planet security..." Shiro's sentence stalled "See, you know about as much as we do. Did he... say how he is? If he's ok?" Other than yelling at him because their friends had no time for him, Lance was totally fine... He hated lying. The atmosphere between the three of them was good. Like... being reconnected with missing limbs he didn't know were missing "He seemed ok. You know Lance though. Surrounded by all the beautiful aliens he could ask for" "I don't know about that. Rachel said he was still upset about Allura when he left. I know he loved her, but he needed to move on" Rachel... He knew the name... "His sister. Don't worry, man. He has enough family that even I get confused and I've known them for years" Thank god for Hunk "I doubt he even remembered her name" "Hey! I do too. He's got a crazy amount of family though. Hunk just said so" Ruffling his hair in the same manner Keith was always ruffling Kosmo's, Shiro was all smiles "I know. I have to get all my teasing in before you leave again. They grow up so fast" Pretending to wipe fake tears away, Hunk bit his lip. Pushing Shiro away, Keith laughed as he dodged his brother's mechanical arm "I remember why I don't come back now. It's this!" "Aw, Keith. Don't be like that. We've all missed you" "Shiro hasn't. He's been too busy pining over Curtis. Isn't that what you said?" Shiro gaped at Hunk, Hunk blushing red "I told you that in confidence!" "If you're both going to tease me, I'm going to tease right back. You're lucky I'm mad at Shiro, or I'd be teasing you over Shay" "You wouldn't!" Pretending to be angered for a moment longer, Keith couldn't hold down his smile "No, man. She's great for you. I'm happy you're happy" Catching him in a headlock, Shiro held him playfully "You're right, Hunk. I think this might be an imposter. Who are you? And where's the real Keith?" Rolling his eyes, Keith huffed "Ha ha. You're hilarious. I don't know what Curtis sees in you. It's definitely not your sense of humour" "You're not about to let his go, are you?" "Not at all" "Quiznak. Right. I guess there's no avoiding it, we're dating" Hunk let out a joyous whoop. Shiro released him half a tick before they were both swept into his arms "See Keith! This is why you need to visit more often! I'm going to make you a celebratory lunch. Keith, make sure he doesn't leave!" "I will" Choosing a table towards the back of the dining hall, Keith steadied himself for the coming lecture. It was all over Shiro's face as he sat across from him. Eyeing each other for a long moment, Shiro checked to double make sure no one was within earshot "Spit it out already" Laughing lightly, Shiro leaned in, placing both elbows on the table as he did "Am I that transparent?" "Just a little. What's wrong?" "I could ask the same of you. Don't think I'm not happy to see you, but this surprise visit feels rather sudden" "Can't I simply want to see my brother?" "Not when you look like your mind's back on Daibazaal. What's wrong? Is it Lance?" "You know I hate it when you do that. Not everything going on in my life is Lance related" "So you've talked to him about how you feel?" What was he supposed to say to that? He couldn't even tease him over Curtis given he'd bitten the bullet and they were now dating "Keith..." "It's not that easy. He was busy with work and stuff... besides, he's made it clear enough" "Did he? Or did you just assume?" "Shiro, he didn't even tell me he was back in space. Everyone else knew. It was Hunk who told me he was on Erathus" There was a degree of saltiness in his tone that couldn't go ignored. Shiro pinching the bridge of his nose "Are you he didn't tell you?" "Do you think me that much of an idiot? He... I..." He'd nearly slipped and admitted he was sure Lance wasn't as alright as he seemed "He seemed so distant. He was right there, but it didn't feel like it all" "That doesn't sound like him. He seemed to be doing better at Allura's memorial" "But that's the thing, isn't it?! He's always been good at hiding how hurt he is..." "You think he's in trouble?" "No. Maybe. I don't know..." "We can take a trip..." "No! No... he wouldn't like that... This job of his is obviously important to him..." "You've grown Keith, yet when it comes to Lance, you revert back to that moody little teenager" Scowling at his brother, Keith glared "Like you don't when you're with Curtis" "I was never a "moody little teenager". Seriously, if you think Lance needs a hand, it's nothing to redirect the Atlas" "I'm pretty sure Earth would think it a big something if you stole the Atlas because I'm worried about Lance" "Ha! So you admit you're worried!" Shiro sounded so much like Coran that a shiver ran down Keith's spine. Had Coran been there, he would demanding they head out to check on Lance, even if Lance protested it. Out of everyone in the team, it'd always been clear that Lance was Coran's favourite after Allura "So what if I am! He wasn't acting like himself and the place he's living in..." Keith cut himself off. He'd said too much "Is like what? Where's he living?" Shaking his head, Keith sighed "I don't even know where to begin. Krolia's been forced to have Kolivan reassess the mission because I can't get my shit together" "Keith, literally no one in the whole universe can make Krolia do anything. She's a force to be reckoned with" "She's covering up the fact that I can't think of anything but him" Groaning, Keith's hands went to his hair "Why does he do this to me? I was fine. Maybe not perfect, but I could go on a simple mission perfectly fine. Now I'm lying to my mother, throwing off a mission when we have a missing Blade member, who should be my priority, because Lance is in my head" Whisper yelling at Shiro was now the highlight of this saga, and why the quiznak was he getting teary "Was... he that bad?" "I felt like I didn't even know him. We neglected him. I know life happens. I know we're all going our separate ways, but... Don't you miss it? Fighting as team, bringing down the Galra and helping people? Feeling like you're part of something incredible. When Lance said he wanted to remain on Earth forever, I thought maybe one day... he'd be ready and we'd all be there for him. But he's been living off Earth, on Erathus, doing god knows what on his own" "I thought you liked doing humanitarian aid work through the Blade?" "I do. It's just..." It really wasn't the same. Axca, Zethrid, and Ezor weren't Hunk, Lance, and Pidge "You miss Lance" "Yeah. I know we fought, but he always had my back. He was the first to jump into battle, and the first to call me out on my shit. He..." "He is your best friend. It's ok to miss him" "He didn't even realise I had a crush on him. Then Allura broke his heart like that... So many times I've wished I'd told him how I felt. That he wasn't a second choice. That despite his irritating flirting and horrendous jokes, he was his best self when he wasn't pretending" Keith's cheeks were dusted pink with embarrassment. He'd known Shiro would pull his "Space Dad" magic tricks and draw all of this out of him "What's stopping you now?" "Haven't you been listening? We all abandoned him. He would never had done that to us" "He's been busy with his job" Keith was sick of it. Lance didn't spend every moment of every single quintant working, and he'd seen those damn messages "When is the last time you messaged him? Just to catch up?" "We have our team calls..." "And we're all on that chat. It's not use taking the time to actually ask him personally how he is, or what he's up to. I'm as guilty as everyone else. No wonder no body bothered to tell me he was off world" Slumping back in his seat, Kosmo licked at his hand. Closing his eyes, Keith felt like yelling at the universe for all of this "I'll message him tonight" "You can't" "Why not?" "Because the moment he hears I'm here, he's going to think I'm forcing you to make an effort" "Ah..." "Pretty much. I wonder if mum's found out anything about Guile" "Your missing Blade member, right? Why don't we go through everything again? Those test results will probably take a few more vargas, so we have time to figure things out" "There's nothing to figure out. It's like he dropped off the face of the... quadrant" "And space is infinite. If he really wanted to hide, it isn't hard to disappear entirely" "Kolivan doesn't seem to think that's the case. There's been ships attacked and other people have gone missing in the same area" "It might distract you from Lance long enough for you to work out what to do next..." Keith definitely wasn't past saying no to a distraction "... besides, patience yields focus" Groaning at his brother's trademark saying, Keith found himself nodding. There was no good panicking further until the results came back and knew there was nothing wrong with Lance. * Hearing he was onboard Curtis welcomed him happily, his arm sliding around Shiro's waist as Shiro blushed much like Keith had before. Opening his mouth to comment, he was silenced by a glare. How was he supposed to welcome his new brother-in-law if he wasn't allowed to speak to him. Thankfully, Curtis suggested showing him to the quarters he'd be using while on ship, which meant they could discuss the Atlas and not the fact Lance was still on his mind. Separating from the pair at his room due to some kind of no-urgent emergency, if there was such a thing, Keith showered before throwing himself down on the bed, enjoying the fact they'd fitted the Atlas with descent mattresses. Maybe he should steal one? Or two if he could convince to join him working for the Blades rather than for the "police" on Erathus. Despite feeling like he'd betrayed Lance's trust, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders by confining in Shiro. Shiro knew what to do far better than him, and he said wait, then he'd wait. And wait he did. Passing out atop his bed, he was woken by his name being called over the Atlas's speaker system, ruining a particularly nice dream of him between Lance's long caramel legs. Forced into a cold shower to collect his thoughts and redirect his blood flow, he entered the dining hall 20 doboshes later to find he was the last of the group to arrive. Sitting on the end of the joined table was a holopad, Pidge waving happily as she noticed him, before starting to gush over the progress she'd made with Rover, bouncing ideas off Hunk as she did. Keith had honestly thought the pair of them would end up together given their closeness, yet Hunk seemed genuinely happy with Shay and that was the main thing. Sliding in to the empty seat beside Shiro, a folder was placed in front of him "Hey! No work at my dining table!" Making to take the file, Keith snatched it up before Hunk could, skimming through the contents with his brow scrunched. The yellow vials were a highly advanced painkiller comparable to morphine. The red pills were filled with an unknown agent which at best guess seemed to be a kind of party drug designed to work all the way down to a person's quintessence. The blue pills were a mood stabiliser designed on some remote planet who's name he couldn't pronounce to help victims of war deaden their senses. There were traces of other drugs on the pills capsules, birth control and testosterone, which made absolutely no sense to Keith given the didn't see any other pills in the bathroom cabinet, nor did he see any reason for Lance to be self medicating like he was. His heart was hammering in his chest over the fact Lance was doing drugs and shooting up alien morphine "I said no files at the table" Brushing Hunk off, he halfheartedly apologised with his full attention on Shiro "Sorry, Hunk. Shiro, have you guys come across any of these before?" "The first one, the pain killer. I've seen it used when we've transferred alien refugees" "And?" "And what?" "What's it like?" "It's hardly legal, but that was under Galra rule. It's supposedly being redistributed, but still costs a pretty GAC" That wasn't what he was asking "I mean, how does it work?" "It deadens pain receptors in the brain. It's only used on the most severe of cases, generally when other pain killers in the field have failed, or a limb is lost, burns victims, etc. It's also highly addictive with prolonged use, which was another reason it was banned. The Galra knew they could make more money selling it privately to select people. Once addicted, they'd seek them out for more. That's how Coran described it. I had no idea either until we first ran across it shortly before Allura's memorial" Keith felt sick to his stomach. The banquet Hunk had prepared no longer looked appealing, it was all he could do to keep his lunch down. Did Lance know what he was taking was addictive? Did he care? Keith had been in more than his fair share of bad foster homes. Older kids popping pills to forget the pain of no one wanting to adopt them, it'd scared the shit out of him and ever since he'd avoided drugs like the plague "What's wrong? You've gone pale" What was wrong was that every molecule of his being wanted Kosmo to teleport him across the universe back to Lance's side and he was being forced to sit there, play calm, and act like the man he loved wasn't some kind of drug addicted hit man "Sorry. Just thinking" Letting the file be tugged from his grip, Hunk sighed at him "That's enough about work. You're on vacation, so start acting like it" "You're right, Hunk. All of this looks amazing. Way better then purple food goo" Hunk pulled a face at him, looking as if he'd been highly insulted "You guys are still using goo?" Shrugging, Keith had no excuse. He simply followed orders from Kolivan, plus the Galra had been living on purple goo for thousands of years, it took time for change to set in "It lasts" "But what about real food? With spices and textures, and you know, the most important part known as flavour" "Hunk, if you can change Kolivan's mind, we'd all love you for it. But man, they've been living on it for thousands of years and he doesn't have a problem with it" Hunk scrunched his nose up "Can't you just ask Krolia to talk to him" "Yeah. No. No such luck. She's already tried" "Tough luck man. I'll pack you extra when you leave" "Thanks, Hunk" When he left he was going back to drag Lance's arse off Erathus, even if he had to do so by his hair. Lance was probably dying for some proper food too... provided he wasn't high out of his quiznakking mind. Sitting there eating dinner with everyone laughing and smiling wasn't right. Picking at his meal, Keith listened on as everyone else grew progressively louder Shiro the only one to notice him drawing further and further from conversation as the others grew more and more excited over the fact that Shiro had finally ballsed up and asked Curtis out "Lance is fine. He's a smart kid, and he's been on Erathus this long without incident" "How do you know I'm even thinking about him?" "Because we talked about this before. He's a good kid, who's grown into a good man. Whatever Guile got caught up in, I'm sure it has nothing to do with Lance" "And if it did?" Shiro frowned at him, Keith unable to meet his eyes "Then he knows he can ask us for help" No. Lance really didn't. Whatever Lance was up to, Keith was certain that his friend thought the only option he had was to handle it alone "I think I'm going to call him later. Just to... to make sure" "Keith, the offer still stands. I don't mind calling Lance" That was the problem too. Shiro didn't "mind calling Lance". It hardly sounded like he wanted to actually call him, or at least to Keith's low mood that's how it came across. Pushing his chair back, he knew he was making a bit of a scene, but his anger couldn't take it. He needed to walk it off, or risk yelling at everyone for being such shit friends towards his future boyfriend... his best friend. Quiznak. Fuck this "Keith?" "Sorry, Hunk. I have to go make a call. I'll see you later" The moment he was out of the dining room, Keith's fingers were tapping away on his communicator, praying that Lance wasn't going to make things even harder by brushing him off with his seemingly standard "work" response.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 4 update

Having messaged Lance through the files on their missing operative, Keith followed up with an inviting for drinks on Daibazaal, or on Erathus if Lance felt more comfortable there. The Blades could live without him for a quintants, and honestly with how concerned he was for Lance, he'd be completely useless until they'd reconciled. Not receiving an immediate reply was disheartening, but given he'd already stated he was leaving, he had no other choice to do just that. If he returns to Daibazaal, he'd only be nagged to death by his mother until he'd finally admit what had transpired on Erathus and ultimately cause things to be blown way out of proportion. There were a few rebel planets he could take refuge on, yet his mother's words lingered in his ears. He really should visit Shiro. Hunk had practically begged him to visit... And Shiro had always been there for him. Shiro was also the one who'd understood Lance's pain the most. The pain of losing the one you'd planned forever with. Keith could only understand what he himself had experienced. Lance was still alive. He was still alive, and though he'd seen him twice face to face, it felt as if his friend had died and left some new stranger in his body. Those thoughts hitting far too close to home for comfort, especially when he considered the fact that Lance's marks truly seemed to be gone. Calling through to Hunk, Hunk was confused yet ecstatic when he mentioned he planned to visit, agreeing to help hide things from Shiro until they rendezvoused in the region of space that the Atlas was currently patrolling. Requesting permission for a wormhole from Erathus, he was left waiting half a varga before receiving permission. Not wanting to give the Atlas away, he jumped through to a few quandrants away from the ship, where his navigation system informed him that he'd be upon the ship within the varga, possibly sooner if the Atlas was moving in his direction. Keith had hoped the distance would be closer as now he was left to let his mind roam back to the medication sitting on his bed with his Blades uniform. Even if it felt like he was lying to himself, he still wanted to believe that there was no way Lance was taking illicit substances, that he'd abuse that beautiful body of his in such a way. Once he reached the Atlas, he intended to have the samples screened, which may have also been his reason for visiting even if he couldn't state as much to Hunk. It'd break Hunk to know Lance wasn't ok, that he wasn't enjoying his job, and that he'd let himself fall into whatever situation he was now stuck in. Whining softly at him, Kosmo dropped his head down in the half-Galra's lap. His dopey wolf still hurt from being shunned by Lance when they'd grown so close during the flight back to Earth. Ruffling Kosmo's thick fur, Keith silently promised he was going to save Lance from himself, if not for his sake then for Kosmo's. * Dressing in his Blade uniform made asking for help from Shiro all that much easier. Explaining that there was missing Blade member, and that he samples that needed to be tested, there was a small twinge of guilt as Shiro leapt the conclusion he'd hoped he would, that both cases were related. Turning over the samples, Shiro was quick to pass command over to Veronica before spiriting him away to the dining hall to surprise Hunk. Glowing with genuine happiness, he didn't have the heart to admit that Hunk had helped planned everything. Veronica seemed to know he was coming, which made sense given she and Hunk had known each other before the whole "Voltron" thing had gone down. "Keith! Man, it's so good to see you!" Swept off his feet, Keith snorted as he was treated to one of Hunk's trademark hugs. His former teammate quick to release him "Sorry, man. It's just... is it really you?" Laughing at Hunk, Keith nodded slowly "It's been too long. Sorry, even with the fall of the empire work never seems to end. Most of the previous generals were dealt with by Haggar, which is nice and all, but she failed to deal with the ones who had their eyes on that role and have now struck out on there own" "I feel you man. It's like, why can't we all eat and be friends!?" Trust it all to be food related. Crossing his arms, Shiro frowned his infamous dad frown at both of them "Hunk knew you were coming, didn't he?" "Maybe?" "I can't believe you two conspired against me" Spluttering Hunk held his hands up as if telling Shiro to stop "I didn't conspire against you. Keith was the one who called me, and I thought with how busy you've been, it'd be a nice surprise. Man, if only Pidge and Lance were here, it'd be like old times" Uncrossing his arms, Shiro pulled up a screen on his communicator as he spoke "Pidge has had great success with Rover, you know she barely steps out her lab these days" "And Lance has to work. We should call them though" "Yes! I mean. Yeah, it's been ages" Fuck. He couldn't have sounded any more eager if he'd tried "Ooooh. Is someone missing Lance?" Jabbing Shiro in the ribs with his elbow, Shiro yelped "Don't give me that. You and Lance were always close, whether because of your rivalry or not" Moving to pat his back with enough force that he was nearly knocked off his feet, Hunk kept his hand there as he started leading the pair of them towards the kitchen "Yep! Shiro's right. It's not weird if you miss him. I miss him. Shay got tired of me turning around and expecting Lance to be there to taste test whatever was on the stove" "Have either of you talked to him lately?" Hunk shook his head and looked to Shiro who also gave a shake of his head, Hunk then sighing deeply before replying "I haven't talked to him since he arrived on Erathus. Veronica's always telling me he says "Hi", but he hasn't messaged in phoebs. And the few times when we have talked, it's been on Veronica's coms, so it's never for long" "What about you? Has he been talking to you?" Keith could hear the starts of the cogs turning over in Shiro's brain as he started to worry for Lance. He wanted to yell at both of them for neglecting Lance, but he'd done the exact same thing "Actually I talked to him, the missing Blade member vanished near Erathus, so I reached out to him on the off chance he'd happen to have heard something. He promised to take a look at the file and keep an eye out" "Let me guess "As long as it doesn't get in the way of his job"? Veronica said he's happy working as a bodyguard" "Hunk, he's in security. The first job was as a bodyguard, then he was hired to do some kind of planet security..." Shiro's sentence stalled "See, you know about as much as we do. Did he... say how he is? If he's ok?" Other than yelling at him because their friends had no time for him, Lance was totally fine... He hated lying. The atmosphere between the three of them was good. Like... being reconnected with missing limbs he didn't know were missing "He seemed ok. You know Lance though. Surrounded by all the beautiful aliens he could ask for" "I don't know about that. Rachel said he was still upset about Allura when he left. I know he loved her, but he needed to move on" Rachel... He knew the name... "His sister. Don't worry, man. He has enough family that even I get confused and I've known them for years" Thank god for Hunk "I doubt he even remembered her name" "Hey! I do too. He's got a crazy amount of family though. Hunk just said so" Ruffling his hair in the same manner Keith was always ruffling Kosmo's, Shiro was all smiles "I know. I have to get all my teasing in before you leave again. They grow up so fast" Pretending to wipe fake tears away, Hunk bit his lip. Pushing Shiro away, Keith laughed as he dodged his brother's mechanical arm "I remember why I don't come back now. It's this!" "Aw, Keith. Don't be like that. We've all missed you" "Shiro hasn't. He's been too busy pining over Curtis. Isn't that what you said?" Shiro gaped at Hunk, Hunk blushing red "I told you that in confidence!" "If you're both going to tease me, I'm going to tease right back. You're lucky I'm mad at Shiro, or I'd be teasing you over Shay" "You wouldn't!" Pretending to be angered for a moment longer, Keith couldn't hold down his smile "No, man. She's great for you. I'm happy you're happy" Catching him in a headlock, Shiro held him playfully "You're right, Hunk. I think this might be an imposter. Who are you? And where's the real Keith?" Rolling his eyes, Keith huffed "Ha ha. You're hilarious. I don't know what Curtis sees in you. It's definitely not your sense of humour" "You're not about to let his go, are you?" "Not at all" "Quiznak. Right. I guess there's no avoiding it, we're dating" Hunk let out a joyous whoop. Shiro released him half a tick before they were both swept into his arms "See Keith! This is why you need to visit more often! I'm going to make you a celebratory lunch. Keith, make sure he doesn't leave!" "I will" Choosing a table towards the back of the dining hall, Keith steadied himself for the coming lecture. It was all over Shiro's face as he sat across from him. Eyeing each other for a long moment, Shiro checked to double make sure no one was within earshot "Spit it out already" Laughing lightly, Shiro leaned in, placing both elbows on the table as he did "Am I that transparent?" "Just a little. What's wrong?" "I could ask the same of you. Don't think I'm not happy to see you, but this surprise visit feels rather sudden" "Can't I simply want to see my brother?" "Not when you look like your mind's back on Daibazaal. What's wrong? Is it Lance?" "You know I hate it when you do that. Not everything going on in my life is Lance related" "So you've talked to him about how you feel?" What was he supposed to say to that? He couldn't even tease him over Curtis given he'd bitten the bullet and they were now dating "Keith..." "It's not that easy. He was busy with work and stuff... besides, he's made it clear enough" "Did he? Or did you just assume?" "Shiro, he didn't even tell me he was back in space. Everyone else knew. It was Hunk who told me he was on Erathus" There was a degree of saltiness in his tone that couldn't go ignored. Shiro pinching the bridge of his nose "Are you he didn't tell you?" "Do you think me that much of an idiot? He... I..." He'd nearly slipped and admitted he was sure Lance wasn't as alright as he seemed "He seemed so distant. He was right there, but it didn't feel like it all" "That doesn't sound like him. He seemed to be doing better at Allura's memorial" "But that's the thing, isn't it?! He's always been good at hiding how hurt he is..." "You think he's in trouble?" "No. Maybe. I don't know..." "We can take a trip..." "No! No... he wouldn't like that... This job of his is obviously important to him..." "You've grown Keith, yet when it comes to Lance, you revert back to that moody little teenager" Scowling at his brother, Keith glared "Like you don't when you're with Curtis" "I was never a "moody little teenager". Seriously, if you think Lance needs a hand, it's nothing to redirect the Atlas" "I'm pretty sure Earth would think it a big something if you stole the Atlas because I'm worried about Lance" "Ha! So you admit you're worried!" Shiro sounded so much like Coran that a shiver ran down Keith's spine. Had Coran been there, he would demanding they head out to check on Lance, even if Lance protested it. Out of everyone in the team, it'd always been clear that Lance was Coran's favourite after Allura "So what if I am! He wasn't acting like himself and the place he's living in..." Keith cut himself off. He'd said too much "Is like what? Where's he living?" Shaking his head, Keith sighed "I don't even know where to begin. Krolia's been forced to have Kolivan reassess the mission because I can't get my shit together" "Keith, literally no one in the whole universe can make Krolia do anything. She's a force to be reckoned with" "She's covering up the fact that I can't think of anything but him" Groaning, Keith's hands went to his hair "Why does he do this to me? I was fine. Maybe not perfect, but I could go on a simple mission perfectly fine. Now I'm lying to my mother, throwing off a mission when we have a missing Blade member, who should be my priority, because Lance is in my head" Whisper yelling at Shiro was now the highlight of this saga, and why the quiznak was he getting teary "Was... he that bad?" "I felt like I didn't even know him. We neglected him. I know life happens. I know we're all going our separate ways, but... Don't you miss it? Fighting as team, bringing down the Galra and helping people? Feeling like you're part of something incredible. When Lance said he wanted to remain on Earth forever, I thought maybe one day... he'd be ready and we'd all be there for him. But he's been living off Earth, on Erathus, doing god knows what on his own" "I thought you liked doing humanitarian aid work through the Blade?" "I do. It's just..." It really wasn't the same. Axca, Zethrid, and Ezor weren't Hunk, Lance, and Pidge "You miss Lance" "Yeah. I know we fought, but he always had my back. He was the first to jump into battle, and the first to call me out on my shit. He..." "He is your best friend. It's ok to miss him" "He didn't even realise I had a crush on him. Then Allura broke his heart like that... So many times I've wished I'd told him how I felt. That he wasn't a second choice. That despite his irritating flirting and horrendous jokes, he was his best self when he wasn't pretending" Keith's cheeks were dusted pink with embarrassment. He'd known Shiro would pull his "Space Dad" magic tricks and draw all of this out of him "What's stopping you now?" "Haven't you been listening? We all abandoned him. He would never had done that to us" "He's been busy with his job" Keith was sick of it. Lance didn't spend every moment of every single quintant working, and he'd seen those damn messages "When is the last time you messaged him? Just to catch up?" "We have our team calls..." "And we're all on that chat. It's not use taking the time to actually ask him personally how he is, or what he's up to. I'm as guilty as everyone else. No wonder no body bothered to tell me he was off world" Slumping back in his seat, Kosmo licked at his hand. Closing his eyes, Keith felt like yelling at the universe for all of this "I'll message him tonight" "You can't" "Why not?" "Because the moment he hears I'm here, he's going to think I'm forcing you to make an effort" "Ah..." "Pretty much. I wonder if mum's found out anything about Guile" "Your missing Blade member, right? Why don't we go through everything again? Those test results will probably take a few more vargas, so we have time to figure things out" "There's nothing to figure out. It's like he dropped off the face of the... quadrant" "And space is infinite. If he really wanted to hide, it isn't hard to disappear entirely" "Kolivan doesn't seem to think that's the case. There's been ships attacked and other people have gone missing in the same area" "It might distract you from Lance long enough for you to work out what to do next..." Keith definitely wasn't past saying no to a distraction "... besides, patience yields focus" Groaning at his brother's trademark saying, Keith found himself nodding. There was no good panicking further until the results came back and knew there was nothing wrong with Lance. * Hearing he was onboard Curtis welcomed him happily, his arm sliding around Shiro's waist as Shiro blushed much like Keith had before. Opening his mouth to comment, he was silenced by a glare. How was he supposed to welcome his new brother-in-law if he wasn't allowed to speak to him. Thankfully, Curtis suggested showing him to the quarters he'd be using while on ship, which meant they could discuss the Atlas and not the fact Lance was still on his mind. Separating from the pair at his room due to some kind of no-urgent emergency, if there was such a thing, Keith showered before throwing himself down on the bed, enjoying the fact they'd fitted the Atlas with descent mattresses. Maybe he should steal one? Or two if he could convince to join him working for the Blades rather than for the "police" on Erathus. Despite feeling like he'd betrayed Lance's trust, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders by confining in Shiro. Shiro knew what to do far better than him, and he said wait, then he'd wait. And wait he did. Passing out atop his bed, he was woken by his name being called over the Atlas's speaker system, ruining a particularly nice dream of him between Lance's long caramel legs. Forced into a cold shower to collect his thoughts and redirect his blood flow, he entered the dining hall 20 doboshes later to find he was the last of the group to arrive. Sitting on the end of the joined table was a holopad, Pidge waving happily as she noticed him, before starting to gush over the progress she'd made with Rover, bouncing ideas off Hunk as she did. Keith had honestly thought the pair of them would end up together given their closeness, yet Hunk seemed genuinely happy with Shay and that was the main thing. Sliding in to the empty seat beside Shiro, a folder was placed in front of him "Hey! No work at my dining table!" Making to take the file, Keith snatched it up before Hunk could, skimming through the contents with his brow scrunched. The yellow vials were a highly advanced painkiller comparable to morphine. The red pills were filled with an unknown agent which at best guess seemed to be a kind of party drug designed to work all the way down to a person's quintessence. The blue pills were a mood stabiliser designed on some remote planet who's name he couldn't pronounce to help victims of war deaden their senses. There were traces of other drugs on the pills capsules, birth control and testosterone, which made absolutely no sense to Keith given the didn't see any other pills in the bathroom cabinet, nor did he see any reason for Lance to be self medicating like he was. His heart was still hammering in his chest over the fact Lance was doing drugs and shooting up alien morphine "I said no files at the table" "Sorry, Hunk. Shiro, have you guys come across any of these before?" "The first one, the pain killer. I've seen it used when we've transferred alien refugees" "And?" "And what?" "What's it like?" "It's hardly legal, but that was under Galra rule. It's supposedly being redistributed, but still costs a pretty GAC" That wasn't what he was asking "I mean, how does it work?" "It deadens pain receptors in the brain. It's only used on the most severe of cases, generally when other pain killers in the field have failed, or a limb is lost, burns victims, etc. It's also highly addictive with prolonged use, which was another reason it was banned. The Galra knew they could make more money selling it privately to select people. Once addicted, they'd seek them out for more. That's how Coran described it. I had no idea either until we first ran across it shortly before Allura's memorial" Keith felt sick to his stomach. The banquet Hunk had prepared no longer looked appealing "What's wrong? You've gone pale" "Sorry. Just thinking" Letting the file be tugged from his grip, Hunk sighed at him "That's enough about work. You're ok vacation, so start acting like it"

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Watching Red touch down in her hangar, Keith forced himself not to blow his top. Lance had run off once again and done something stupid, and he hadn't even known about it until he'd returned to the bridge with Coran and Allura. Vargas had passed since dinner time, and he'd thought his boyfriend had returned to his quarters, not stolen Red and run off to Haggar's ship on his own. That stupid fool. He was only grateful that Pidge and Hunk didn't have to see how foolish Lance was. They'd both be hurt by his actions... his actions seemingly telling them all he didn't need them. His alpha was just as hurt. It wanted to be the one to protect the omega from doing anything remotely dangerous, yet Lance had gone off and... oh hell no. Instead of Lance appearing at the top of Red's mouth ramp, it was his mother... with Shiro. How could she be so stupid?! Marching Shiro down the ramp, the alpha looked barely conscious

"Get him back in a prisoner pod!"

Snapping at his mother, the woman glared at him

"Keith..."

"No. I can't believe how stupid you are. How could you go off with Lance like this? What if he'd been hurt? What if he'd died? Did you think about that?"

"And did you think about what you're putting him through. He's desperately trying to figure out who he is and how he fits in here. Yes he was stupid for wanting to go on his own, but he didn't do this for himself"

"Right. He didn't think that this would somehow make up for letting Shiro escape. Like if he brought Shiro back, it would be like nothing ever happened"

"He brought him back because he was worried about everyone else. Even if he's not the original Shiro, you all have ties to him. That's what Lance said. He brought him back because he didn't want Shiro dying. He might not be the real Shiro, but he was your friend for a time. Stop thinking as the leader of Voltron, stop thinking with your alpha and think about what you want for yourself"

Shoving Shiro forward, his mother lead the alpha through the hangar, before disappearing out the door. What did he want? He wanted for Lance to start taking better care of himself. He wanted his boyfriend to stop putting himself in danger and he wanted them to stop fighting.

Waiting what he considered a fair amount of time, Keith started up the ramp. Lance was probably hiding because he knew he'd messed up. Tiny part of him hoped that was the case... ok, it wasn't such a tiny part. Stepping into the cockpit, he made his way around the pilot seat and sighed at the sight in front of him. Lance was fast asleep with his hands still on Red's controls. A small, somewhat smug smile was on the omega's lips, only irking Keith more. His boyfriend clearly didn't regret his actions at all. Stooping down, he lifted Lance in his arms. The omega's warmth and strongly sweet scent instantly calmed his agitated alpha. There was no hint of pain at all, either physical or mental... in fact, Lance smelt happy. With everything being so nonstop and missions seemingly piling upon top of each other, it seemed like forever since his boyfriend had been happy. There hadn't been a moments rest, and as soon as Haggar was out the picture, he was ordering them all to take a break. They would return to Olkarion, and take a break... a real break where they did nothing but the absolutely necessary.

Carrying Lance through the corridors, Keith was brought up short by both Pidge and Hunk running towards him

"Keith! Is it true? Did Lance really go to Haggar's ship?"

Skidding to a stop in front of him, Pidge stared up at him with wide panicked eyes, while Hunk slowly came to a panting stop

"Did he? Why would he do that? Is he alright? Is he hurt? Why didn't he wait for us?"

Keith felt his anger rising at the upset beginning to roll off Pidge. The relief of holding Lance had quietened his own anger, but now it was flooding back

"He went with Krolia and they brought Shiro back. He doesn't seem to be hurt, and Krolia has escorted Shiro back to a prison pod"

"How did he get past Haggar?"

"I don't know. It wasn't until she started attacking that we even knew he'd left. I'm taking him back to his quarters"

"Not to yours?"

"No. Not to mine. Right now, I'm so mad at him for being so stupid and I need to cool down before I do something stupid"

"I'll take him"

Looking to Hunk, he didn't want to offend the concerned alpha, but he didn't want Hunk touching Lance while he slept

"You should check in with your mother, so Pidge and I can take Lance back to his room"

If it was both of them, then it should be alright. Nodding his consent, he left Hunk lift Lance out his hold

"I know he was sorting his things out, so don't be surprised if you find everything everywhere"

"Alright. Well, we'll see you later"

He wanted to chase after the pair and take Lance back from Hunk's hold, and his alpha was screaming at him over his decision, but maybe some space was what they needed? They'd only begun courting properly not long before he'd left... of course it was going to take some time for all the pieces to fall back into place...

"Mum, what the quiznak happened?"

After stalking around the castle looking for his wayward mother, he'd found she was standing in a different section of the prison pods, just staring up at Shiro's encased form

"What do you mean?"

"I doubt Haggar just let you go. So what happened?"

"Lance flew us over and we boarded through one of the rips along the top of the ship. I took lead, and we made our way through the ship until I caught Shiro's scent which lead us to him. He was chained up, and we couldn't get them undone, so Lance shot through them. In his state, he was easy to keep subdued"

"Too easy?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know... but why would Haggar let you take him back?"

"I don't know. Maybe she has no use for him now?"

"He was with us for phoebes, and no one knows more about the coalition than he does..."

"Well he's contained now. That's one less thing we have to worry about"

Keith wished he could agree, but there were too many questions. Like if Haggar had gotten her hands on Shiro, how was he still alive? None of them could even look at the woman, yet he'd been chained by her? Why? Why not just data mine his brain and kill him? She no doubt would have expected them to come for him... so what if he was some kind of Trojan horse? A ticking time bomb?

"In any case, what's done is done now. You should be with Lance"

"No. I'm so mad at him I don't know what I'd say. I had Hunk and Pidge take him back to his old quarters. They'll stay with him"

Letting out a huge sigh, his mother took him by surprise. Pulling him up against her, she kissed his forehead softly

"You're both so stubborn. I just hope you don't miss your opportunity to tell him you love him while you still can"

"I do love him... it's just... everything's been so full on and the moments where we could talk... well, he's either been mad at me or sleeping"

"Then do something nice for him"

"Didn't you just hear me? Everything's been so full on. We're all exhausted"

"Does this place have a bath?"

"A bath?"

"Yeah. You both need to shower anyway..."

"Mum!"

"It doesn't have to be sexual"

Oh god. This wasn't happening

"I am not talking to you about my sex lite"

"And I said it didn't have to be sexual. Even just taking a shower together and touching and kissing. He needs reassurance"

"If he would stop making things worse than we wouldn't have to worry like this"

"Lance is trying his hardest. He might not always go about it the right way, but yelling at him is only going to make him mad and more likely to lash out. Today, he really was trying to think of everyone else. Just remember that when you talk to him"

"Fine. I'll try talking to him in the morning. I doubt he'd want to take a random shower with me"

"I don't think he'd say no if you asked him the right way"

Sighing in resignation, he really needed to get it through his head that his mother wasn't shy about voice her opinions when it came to his love life.

*