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izlaria · 4 years

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Someone you like (part 5)

This is the fifth chapter of my “Someone you like” inspired fic. It’s also available on AO3 in case you prefer that platform.

This and the fourth chapter are also inspired by the “Distance” and “Talk to me” animatics by @suerakocy, so please check that out and give the artist some praise. They deserve it so much, because those pieces are beautiful.

Summary: It takes Lance years to come back to the Garrison but, when he does, his friends are there for him.

We finally get Lance pining hour!

Trigger warning: Talk of PTSD and mention of blood, but no description of violence. The story really just starts right in it.

24 and 22 years old

Lance woke up to a dark, quiet room and for a moment he couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. The air felt stuck in his throat, because as soon as he inhaled the sound of his haggard breathing would break the silence and alert whatever awaited in the shadows.

But there’s nothing there, Lance told himself.

He had dreamt of the war, again. In his nightmare, there was another explosion and Lance hadn’t been quick enough to shield whoever was with him in the room. The darkness that followed was oppressing, dense enough that he’d felt like it was water flooding his lungs.

And then the water had turned into blood.

He sat up in bed, trying to control his shaking. It had taken years and a lot of therapy, but Lance had managed not to fall into panic attacks every time such memories made their way into his dreams. Still, he was glad to have built his own house on the farm grounds. His parents deserved a good night’s rest, especially after what Lance had put them through during his time with Voltron.

He reached for his cellphone with unsteady fingers. After their last battle against the Galra, Lance had learned to leave it on during his sleep, just in case he woke up like this: with adrenaline running through his veins and the vague sensation that something was terribly wrong.

He hesitated over his contact list, before finally scrolling down and pressing call. It didn’t take long for the other person to answer.

“Is anyone hurt?” was Keith’s greeting.

“No.” Lance swallowed once, trying to erase the grit from his voice. “Nightmare.”

There was a second of silence and then the rustle of sheets. “Okay.” He heard Keith exhale harshly, but Lance knew it wasn’t in annoyance. The whole team had gone through this more times than they could count. “Okay.” Keith seemed a little calmer now. “Are you all right?”

“Not really,” Lance confessed. He leaned against the headboard and pulled his knees up. It was easier to concentrate on his breathing when he wasn’t lying down. “It was Sendak’s first attack, again.”

“You’ve been thinking about that one a lot lately.” Keith’s observation made Lance grind his teeth. It was true, but he didn’t need to say it.

“Could you call her?” Lance breathed out. His voice sounded pained and he winced, thankful that only Keith was privy to it.

“Lance, we can’t keep doing this.” His friend’s tone was weighted with his own share of hurt. “If you want to know how she is, then you need to call Pidge.”

“I do call Pidge. Just not…”

“Not when you are feeling vulnerable?” Keith sighed into the phone, sounding more tired than normal.

“You weren’t sleeping, were you?” Lance latched onto this realization. He felt stupid not to have recognized it earlier, with how quickly Keith had answered the call.

“Don’t change the subject.” The reply came harshly and it only served to confirm his suspicions.

“I’m not! We made a deal to call one another if the flashbacks started again.” He lit up the lamp on his nightstand and frowned at the pictures he kept on the opposing wall, as if it could make the real Keith feel his irritation. “Would you have talked to anyone if I hadn’t called?”

“My mom is here with me,” Keith admitted after a moment. “She and Kolivan have kept me company while Xitry is away.”

Lance let relief replace his anger. “Are both Xitry and Acxa on a mission?”

“Yeah… My leg still isn’t completely healed, so I couldn’t join them. Acxa will take another phoeb to come home, but Xitry should be back in a few days.” Keith paused and there was the sound of other muffled voices. “Mom says you should call Pidge.”

“You are a traitor and a hypocrite.” Lance scowled, despite how no one could see him.

Keith scoffed and Lance could feel the mockery in his expression even so many miles away. “I have called my partners every day they’ve been gone. Can you say the same?”

“Pidge is not my partner!” he protested, feeling heat rise up his neck.

“No, she’s just the first person you think about when waking up from a nightmare and then you call me, because if you called Hunk he would just spill it to her first chance he got.” Lance did not appreciate all the sarcasm Keith was giving him.

“I just want to be sure that she’s okay!” He frowned down at his knees, picking at a piece of lint that stuck to his pajama pants.

“Then ask her yourself!” Keith, too, was being too loud for the middle of the night. His vexation almost felt like a victory to Lance. “Pidge is smart, she can tell there’s something strange about my calls.”

“How are you a spy with this kind of acting skills?” Lance chastened.

“I’m no longer a spy, remember? I’m part of a humanitarian organization!” He heard Keith take a deep breath. “This would be much easier if you just told Pidge you’re in love with her.”

The words gave him pause. Lance didn’t yet know how to describe what he felt for Pidge. She was one of his best friends, the person who had stuck around the most after the team went their separate ways. Shiro had his own family to rebuild, and Keith and Hunk had a whole universe to help stabilize.

Pidge and Lance had found their own goals, but staying on Earth allowed them to check in on each other much more often.

“She doesn’t see me like that, Keith.” Lance hadn’t meant to sound so defeated, but it came out that way.

“Yeah, well, neither did Allura, but you wore her out.”

The reminder didn’t bring the same pain it would have a few years earlier.

Lance knew that he would always love Allura, but his feelings had settled into a more comfortable kind of affection. With the privilege of hindsight, Lance was able to see that their relationship didn’t have the same base as his friendship with the other paladins. Even if she had lived, Allura would have left to be queen, too invested in the rebuilding of Altean society.

And Lance would have stayed on Earth. That had never been in question. He had put his family through enough suffering while with Voltron.

He had seen the greatness in Allura when he was only eighteen, but that also meant he would have stepped aside if he thought their relationship was putting a strain in both of them. He didn’t regret the time they’d had together, but her continuous rejections had also taught Lance to value himself.

Keith’s voice snapped Lance out of his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to bring up Allura.”

“No, it’s fine.” Lance rubbed his eyes. “I just… I don’t want Pidge to think of Allura if I ever do ask her out.”

“I can’t promise you that.” He respected Keith’s honesty, even though it did nothing to calm his worries. “But she will never see you as a romantic prospect if you don’t make things clear to her. As far as Pidge knows, you’re still in mourning.”

Again, Keith was right. Lance had been ruminating this notion for quite some time. There were times when he still felt indebted to Allura, like he was the one responsible for maintaining her legacy, but the years had given him enough maturity to understand that was a burden Allura would wish on no one.

It was difficult to take the first steps towards a new future when he’d spent so long wallowing in the darkness of the war. In the middle of it all, Pidge had been a beacon of light, a safe port for him to rest his mind. It was no wonder that he had fallen for her.

“I’m thinking of going back to the Garrison.” He swallowed thickly, the fear of this confession rising up to knot at his throat.

The line went silent for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled. “I’ve been working with Shiro and Doctor Holt, because the quintessence Allura left in me allows me to interact with Altean technology a little better than most. And since I’ve put my pilot license to good use in my travels, Shiro said the officers are ready to reinstate me.”

“That’s amazing, Lance!” It was weird to hear Keith sound so enthusiastic.

“I think that’s why the memories are coming back again, actually.” His next exhale came out shaky and forced. “I keep thinking of the Garrison and I just – I’m afraid that I’ll get there and it will be too much.”

“The place has changed a lot since the war,” Keith assured him. “Even if something happened, though, Shiro and Pidge are there to help you through. This could be really good for you.”

Lance snickered at his directness. Keith didn’t hide his opinions, didn’t coddle him like so much of his family. “So you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.” His friend’s voice was blunt, without the dramatics that Lance himself would have added to such a statement. “Which is not saying much,” Keith teased.

“Hardy har har.” But Lance felt a smile pull at his mouth. “Does that mean you will call Pidge for me?”

There was a groan from the other side of the line. “Lance, no. I’m putting my foot down.”

“What? Why?” he complained and, with his movement, one of the pillows slipped to the ground. Lance glared at it.

“Because I’m sick of watching two of my closest friends dance circles around each other.” Keith sounded increasingly exasperated. “Talk. To. Her. Pidge is a tough girl, but she has grown a lot. She won’t be mad at you for calling.”

“I know that!” Lance grumbled.

“Then do it!” Before he could disagree, Keith had already hung up the phone.

Lance stared at the screen in discontentment. The display told him it was just before 4 am in Varadero, meaning that it wasn’t even 2 am in Arizona. His talk with Keith had distracted him from the nightmare, but now that Lance was alone with his thoughts images of it had begun to flash in his mind.

Against the dimly lit wall of his bedroom, he could almost see the silhouette of Pidge’s younger self, her body contorted by the force of a blast Lance hadn’t been quick enough to protect her from.

His need to know Pidge was safe overrode his anxiety over disturbing her sleep.

The phone rang more times than it had with Keith, which was a bit nerve-wrecking, but also a relief. Lance hoped she was having a better rest than he was.

“Lance?” The breathiness of her voice made him swallow. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he replied, at a loss of what else to say.

“Nightmares?” From her low volume, Lance could tell that Pidge must have been at her parents’ house. He felt bad for disturbing them.

“You’re okay, right?” His words were jumbled together. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, but– You are safe, aren’t you?”

“I’m safe, Lance.” He closed his eyes, feeling the last of his distress leave him with the sound of her voice. “I’m glad you called, actually.”

He tilted his head back until it hit the headboard. “Were you dreaming of me, Pidgey-Pidge?”

“No,” she cut him off brusquely, “but I imagine you were dreaming of me.”

“Why would you think so?” He grimaced at how strangled his voice sounded.

“Because I know you have had Keith calling me for the past couple months.” Her no-nonsense attitude made Lance feel like a deer-in-headlights.

“I can’t believe he ratted me out!” Once again, Lance directed his glare at a photo of Keith on the wall. “I have some choice words for that half-alien tattletale!”

“Keep your words, he didn’t say anything.” Pidge heaved a sigh. “I just know you two. As soon as he mentioned the explosion Sendak caused, I knew he was acting on your behalf.”

Lance winced, but didn’t protest. He should have realized that Pidge couldn’t be tricked. Not only was she a certified genius, but her loyalty to her friends often translated into being more observant than one might like. She and Hunk had that in common: the uncanny ability to get involved in other people’s business.

“Keith dreams of Shiro or his father. When I do appear in his nightmares, it’s usually about not being able to grab me when we were in Honerva’s mindscape,” she went on. “That dude still harbors a displaced sense of responsibility towards us.” Her tone shifted into accusing. “Which we should not be exploiting.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that.” Lance slipped on the sheets until he was lying down again.

“What’s going on, Lance?” Pidge sounded concerned. “Why didn’t you just call me?”

There were many reasons, but none that he felt comfortable sharing. It had been a year since Lance had realized how much of an effect Pidge had on him, how happy he was to hear her voice, how warm his chest felt when she visited the farm. It wasn’t even a new development. He had loved her for as long as he could remember, so he couldn’t really define when it had gone from platonic to romantic.

Maybe the roots of it had always been there, hidden by the flashiness of other infatuations.

A part of him had resisted the urge to call Pidge because, despite how she probably knew him like the charted universe, he had hoped she would see strength in his recovery. Lance still wanted to be perceived as the hero who survived the war with a smile on his face and his psyche intact, no matter how far from the truth that might be.

“Shouldn’t it be easier?” he asked, so low that he hoped Pidge couldn’t hear him. “Shouldn’t I be over it?”

“Lance…” Even the way she sighed his name sent a shiver down his spine. “No. It shouldn’t be easy. We’ve talked about this.”

He had heard this from a number of therapists, as well as every other member of the team, but it was difficult to go against the ideals he’d created in his head.

“But you’re doing good,” Lance argued and his gaze fixed on the ceiling, without really seeing it.

“So are you, most of the time.” When Pidge said it like that, full of confidence, he could almost believe it. “When I feel like the memories are hurting me, I reach out. I come to see my parents, I stop by Shiro’s office.” She paused to take a breath. “I call you.”

Lance turned on his side, sticking the phone between his ear and the pillow. He badly wanted her to be there. They had slept side by side once, though he couldn’t remember the details of it. Even then, what had stuck out the most was the softness of her presence and the calm she provided.

He closed his eyes and focused on Pidge’s voice. “I really miss you.”

“I’m right here, Lance.” Like this, he could pretend she was in bed with him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I can’t believe you put a firewall to keep me out of your virtual diary, Pidge. It’s rude that you would think so low of me.”

Lance stopped short. It wasn’t the content of the conversation that surprised him, but the fact that it was Hunk’s voice, coming from the laboratories. His best friend had been on a diplomatic mission of two months and was supposed to contact Lance when he stopped on Arus to refuel his ship.

“I was clearly right, because you wouldn’t know of it unless you had tried to hack in.” And this was Pidge, sounding more incensed than he’d heard in quite some time. “I learned my lesson during our Garrison days, Hunk!”

“Shouldn’t you be buttering me up? You called me for help on this aircraft, young lady.” Lance almost snorted at this. He could already imagine the indignation on Pidge’s face.

“If I had known you’d be like this, I would have found a way to neutralize drag simply to negate your role here!” she spit back. From behind the glass walls, Lance observed the redness of her complexion and how her freckles disappeared into the color.

He expected Hunk to back down, but the man crossed his arms stubbornly and looked down his nose at Pidge. “You’re only saying that because I’m right.”

Lance knocked against a metallic frame on the door, which had been open.

“Team Punk is back at it?” He raised his hands in mock despair. “I knew I should have stayed home.”

“Lance!” Hunk rushed over to him, engulfing Lance in a hug. Over his shoulder, he saw Pidge hang back, but the anger had melted away from her expression. “Sorry I didn’t call you earlier, man. This little menace caught me on the way back from Firilar and she wanted me at the Garrison ASAP.”

“Yeah, I regret it now,” she retorted with a glare.

Hunk let Lance go in order to direct another exasperated look at Pidge.

“Hey there, Pidgeon.” Lance scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to do. She didn’t move from her spot on the workbench and he approached almost without thinking. “Long time no see.”

As soon as he was within reach, Pidge pulsed on the balls of her feet and threw her arms around his neck. Lance’s arms were around her with no hesitance, holding her up against his chest.

“Hello,” she muttered into his shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Cabul complex with Shiro and Curtis?”

Even as she talked, Pidge didn’t give up her grip on him. It made laughter bubble up Lance’s throat. He’d been all around the world, assisting the Garrison centers in completing Earth’s first fully functioning planetary defense system, so it had been months since he’d last seen Pidge in person.

“I flew over once the installation was done. They needed me to activate the shields with quintessence, but then Arizona called.” She slowly slid down back to her feet, putting some space between them. “Something about needing their star pilot to test a new jet.”

He watched as first confusion, then realization dawned on Pidge’s face. To the side, he could see that Hunk was also grinning.

“Are you back? Don’t you lie to me, McClain!” She pushed at his shoulders, but there was excitement in her eyes.

“I’m back. I got the go-ahead earlier today.” He felt awkward under the combined stares of his two best friends. “I do remember telling you I wasn’t ready to retire. Guess my vacation ran a bit long.”

“Oh, man, we’re back together! The last time it was just the three of us in the Garrison we were still cadets.” Hunk jumped in, waving his arms widely. “I still couldn’t go on a simulator without getting motion-sickness! Lance still thought Pidge was a guy!”

“Yeah, I’m not making that mistake again.” Lance gave Pidge a cheeky once-over, making her flush.

She had let her hair grow out again. It was tied back in a long braid, but some strands had already escaped and framed her face in a reddish halo. She looked pretty like this, but Lance thought she was always pretty.

It had taken her some time to find middle ground between the androgyny of her adolescence and the femininity of Katie Holt. Lance hadn’t always been the most tactful during this period, but Pidge had known he meant well and that he was supportive of however she felt like expressing herself. It was nice to see her feel good in her own skin.

Pidge socked him on the arm. “We’ve talked about this, loverboy. No flirting with me unless you want a new bruise.”

“But, Pidgeon,” he put a hand over his heart, “this is how I show my love.”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Hunk put a hand on their shoulders. “We don’t want to start a fight right next to the billion-dollar prototype.”

“Fine,” Lance drew out his vowels, making a show of it. “Honestly, though, you two look good.”

He wasn’t just saying this. Coming back to the Garrison allowed him to juxtapose the images of who Pidge and Hunk had been with their current selves.

Hunk hadn’t grown much taller and he had maintained the same robustness from their first meeting, but the anxiety that had followed him as a teenager now gave way to self-assuredness. He didn’t curl into himself anymore when going past other groups of students, nor did he cower in the face of Garrison officers.

They were all still young and maybe a little broken up after Voltron, but it had also taught them a lot about themselves and their worth. It was nice to see.

And then there was Pidge. With her long hair, her high-tech glasses, her unconventional wardrobe. She was nothing like what younger Lance had thought he wanted in a girl, but that didn’t stop her from occupying all of his thoughts.

“You do too!” Hunk exclaimed, clearly a little embarrassed. “I haven’t seen you this excited in years.”

“Yeah.” Lance chuckled, unable to stop himself. “It feels good to be back. We’ll see how things go with the other MFE pilots, but I’m not too worried.” He wiggled his brows at Hunk. “I’m pretty sure I can charm the pants out of them.”

“And if that fails, you can always count on Shiro and I to intimidate people,” Pidge cut in, a teasing smile on her face, but there was a deeper current of truth to her words. They had his back and Lance was grateful for it.

“I’m pretty intimidating myself.” Lance smirked. “We just need Keith and then the gang will be completed: the Garrison bad boys, who stole a prisoner and disappeared into the night!” He made a motion in the air, like a ship cutting through the sky.

“I take it back, I don’t want to be associated with you.” Pidge’s dry comment earned a laugh from Hunk and a pout from Lance.

“Oh, come on, Pidge!” He draped an arm around the girl to pull her closer, but Pidge didn’t react as he’d hoped. She leveled him with unimpressed eyes, making no move to acknowledge their proximity. Lance found himself as the one feeling flustered and hurried to mask his discomfort. “You could at least say you’re happy to have me around.”

“Of course I’m happy, Lance,” she conceded with little fanfare. “That doesn’t mean I feel like contributing to enlarging your already massive ego.”

Pidge was looking at him over the top of her glasses. Uncovered from the greenish tint of the lenses, the honey brown of her eyes appeared strangely expressive. There was an emotion in them that he had seen a lot through the years, when they were on video calls at night, by themselves, but that he hadn’t had the opportunity to see in person yet.

Lance felt his own expression soften as he stared down at Pidge.

Before he could figure out what to say, Hunk, who had been preoccupied with a series of beeps from his communicator, had turned towards them and snapped his fingers. “We have so much to show you, now that you have the clearance!” His smile was even more contagious in person than through a screen. “I don’t know how much Veronica has told you–”

“Told me?” Lance interrupted with a laugh, trying to seem as innocent as possible. “As if my sister would spill transnational secrets.”

Hunk’s mouth twisted disbelievingly. Pidge, too, shook her head.

“I know how it is to have a family in the Garrison, Lance,” she admonished, slipping out of his hold. “Everything is confidential until something slips out in the middle of Sunday lunch.”

“Well…” Lance squinted at the LED lights on the ceiling. “If something did slip out, like the existence of a certain wormhole-jumping craft that is supposed to make teludavs obsolete, then you couldn’t really blame Ronnie.”

“Especially since the only one with a high enough rank to know about that is Shiro.” Pidge groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “A lifetime in the military and he’s still the most trusting person I’ve ever met.”

“It’s not like he’s broadcasting it to the rest of the coalition,” Hunk pointed out good-naturedly. “It’s just Lance.”

Pidge didn’t look appeased. “I’ve seen Lance reveal all our identities because he wanted to impress an alien groupie.”

Lance grimaced at the memory. It had been a little after the war, when the Garrison was still arranging diplomatic meetings with the liberated planets. As a result of his words, he and the other paladins had been mobbed and Coran had to create a diversion to get them back in their ships.

“That was a long time ago,” Lance whined. “Besides, the so-called groupie was a child and you know I can’t resist children!”

Pidge fixed her glasses, her expression a mixture of aggravation and amusement. “If you ever have kids, you’re gonna spoil them rotten.”

Lance had to bite back his immediate response. His mind had come up with an image of what his and Pidge’s children might look like – brown haired and brown skinned and too smart for their own good – and the idea warmed him to the core. He had almost said that his kids would be fine, because of their mother’s genius.

His thoughts must have shown somehow because Lance caught Hunk looking at him with a smile that promised no-good.

Lance cleared his throat. “What were you two fighting about, anyway?”

“Hunk has been trying to access my daily annotations,” Pidge explained, moving to one of the nearby computer monitors.

Over her head, he and Hunk continued to share looks and mouthed words. He couldn’t really tell what his friend was trying to say, but Hunk pointed at Pidge, then at the computer, making exaggerated facial expressions that would have been comedic in any other circumstance.

At their apparent silence, Pidge’s fingers paused over the keyboard and she whipped around to look at them in suspicion.

“She means her diary,” Hunk interjected quickly, only to receive the brunt of her glare. “How am I supposed to know what’s going on over here if you won’t let me read it? I spend half my time out in space!”

“Can’t you just believe the things I tell you? Like, I don’t know,” this Pidge grumbled with a sour look on her face, “a normal person?”

Hunk snorted. “You want to talk to me about being normal?” He glanced at Lance, as if to ask if he had actually heard her correctly. “Pidge, we had to build you a dorm in the Mecatronics Advancement building, because you kept falling asleep in the lab.” Hunk turned back to Lance and pointed a thumb at Pidge. “She would be passed out with the new Rover just constantly knocking against her back.”

“So what?” She crossed her arms and jutted out her chin in defiance. “I like what I do. At least I’m not a busybody!”

Lance could feel a new fight brewing. Or maybe it was fairer to say that it was an old fight, one that every paladin had already had with Pidge.

“Katie.” His use of her given name made Pidge’s attention snap to Lance. “We’ve talked about this. Your therapist has talked about this.” He put a hand on her shoulder, then slid it down until their fingers intertwined. “I know you like feeling useful, but we’re not at war anymore. You can rest.”

“Exactly.” Hunk sighed, thankfully not making a big deal of Lance’s touches. He reached out to ruffle her hair. “We worry, girl.”

Pidge let go of Lance to bat Hunk’s hand away from her braid. The smile she gave them was tight-lipped but fond. “Then just say that, you idiot.”

“Why should I?” Hunk shrugged, sending her a sly look. “You only seem to believe it when it comes from Lance.”

He was saved from Pidge’s cold fury by his communicator going off. It sounded more like an alert than the normal message, filling the lab with high-pitched beeps that could have awoken even Pidge in her days of all-nighters working on the lions.

“Shoot!” Hunk frowned at the device. “I have a meeting on the other side of the complex!” He looked around with wide eyes.

Pidge picked up a folder that rested on her workbench and thrust it into Hunk’s chest.

“I hope you’re late,” she said in a deadpan, making both Lance and Hunk laugh.

“I’ll see you in the taxiway later, right?” Hunk asked, already half-out of the door.

Lance gave his friend a thumbs-up. “And we can go into town after the demonstration!”

When he turned to face Pidge, she was back at the computer, shaking her head at the screen with a smile still on her lips. He leaned against the table and simply stared at her as she worked, knowing full-well that part of her attention was still on him.

“What?” she caved after a few seconds. Lance batted his lashes at her. “Ugh, stop! If you want me to go into town, then I have to finish this calculation.”

“Eight years since we were cadets here and you’re still a stick-in-the-mud.” He watched her roll her eyes. “Please, you gotta come! I don’t know any of the cool spots anymore and Hunk has been off-planet!”

“As if that could stop Hunk from knowing the good restaurants,” Pidge muttered under her breath, frowning at something on the computer. She clicked one final key, before fixing her gaze on Lance. “Also, it’s actually been twelve years since we were cadets. Time might not have gone by for us, but things here certainly did change.”

“Quiznack, don’t even remind me of that!” Lance ran a hand across his face. “Rachel has finally shut up about how we’re the same age now.”

“Did she?” Pidge raised a brow at him, leaning her hip against the workbench in much the same way as Lance had. “Cause she still called me hermanita the last time I visited the farm.”

“Yeah, you ain’t getting rid of that nickname.” He chuckled. “It’s better than mami and pop-pop calling you Palomita, though.”

Machines whirred around them, a distant sort of sound that barely registered in Lance’s mind. His thoughts were stuck in the contentment displayed across Pidge’s features, like talking about their adventures on the farm filled her with as much warmth as it did him.

And maybe it did. The paladins and their families had grown closer during the years following the end of Voltron. They had all needed support in ways that only those who had also gone through the same grief could understand. His mother had talked to Colleen and Krolia multiple times, looking for advice on how to handle his PTSD, and Lance himself had reached out to Matt when he didn’t feel like speaking to his siblings or to the team.

It was odd to look back and remember how lonely he would feel back in Castle of Lions, when there were so many people now who he loved and who had gone to the ends of the universe for him.

“What are you thinking about?” Pidge tilted her head to the side, her eyes glinting with curiosity behind those glasses.

“About the team,” he answered, because it was partially true. “About how long we’ve known each other.”

Pidge nodded, but her gaze had shifted to the ground. Hesitance furrowed the line of her brow.

“Does being here–” She paused, then seemed to gather her courage. “Does being here remind you of Allura?”

The question caught him a little off guard. It was inevitable to think of Allura when looking back at their time as a team, but Lance hadn’t expected Pidge to focus on that. Keith’s words from a few months ago echoed in his mind, that Pidge couldn’t know he had finished mourning for Allura if Lance never told her.

“A little, I guess, but it’s not bad.” He made a humming noise, considering what to say. “It feels strange to realize we’ve been without her for longer than we ever knew her.”

She pushed away from the table, just a little, so that they were facing each other. “Time doesn’t have to limit how significant a person is to us.”

“I know, but no matter how important Allura was to me, I know now that she wasn’t the love of my life.” Lance let Pidge catch his gaze, willing her to recognize that he wasn’t lying. “Because my life goes on.”

“Which is why you’re here?” There was doubt in her tone, as well as something that Lance wished he could call hopefulness.

“Which is why I’m here,” he repeated with more certainty.

#plance #pidgance #lidge #flirtyrobot #cyance #katie holt #pidge gunderson #lance mcclain #vld lance #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #vld fanfiction #vld syl verse

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loveafterthefact · 4 years

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Love After the Fact Chapter 76: Going Home? Question Mark?

Lance, Keith, and their ‘associates’ give their farewells and prepare to leave.

Sorry for my perpetual lateness :’(

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Keith sits across from his mother, sipping some tea. Krolia watches him. He’s very still, waiting patiently for her to speak. He's put his circlet back on, though not his Altean clothes, as they no longer fit. A part of her wonders if he has what it takes to be a leader. He always seems so gentle outside of combat.

Perhaps a little too gentle.

“Are you going to tell me, or are you two keeping it to yourselves for now?”

“Putting it like that sort of backs me into a corner,” Keith observes. He worries his lip. “We’re very excited, but I don’t feel ready to celebrate yet.”

“Because you don’t want to feel sad if you miscarry,” Krolia concludes.

Keith nods. Guilt stings at his hearts. “Lance is so happy. I don’t know what I’ll do if-”

“You’re allowed to be happy, kitten.” Krolia pushes some hair out of her son’s face. “Thace’s equipment only goes so far. A few movements ago, we weren’t certain you could get pregnant. Now, you know you can, and you will have every possible chance of bringing this kit into the world.”

"Right..." Gazing around his freshly cleaned den, Keith’s visibly saddened. The windchimes are gone from outside; BleepBloop’s climbing towers missing; the fireplace has been cleaned and scrubbed of soot. The den is empty, like it’s never been lived in. It feels wrong.

“Keith? What-”

“I don’t want to go,” he whispers, throat tight and ready to choke him. “I want to stay here with all of you. I want to see Lance be happy and feel like himself.” “Feel like himself?” Krolai’s ear cocks, trying to understand.

“When we return, Lance will become busy again, with no more excuses to delegate so much of his work. He’ll sort through it, and give me the easy tasks so that he finds time to eat and sleep, and we’ll be together, but apart all over again. He’ll be distant, and coy, and never touch me unless we’re alone and I’ll hate it!” The young man sighs, tugs on a lock of his hair. "I know he's trying, but I don't know how to help him break out of these habits. I don't think he can do it alone, either. I don't want him to."

Krolia fixates on her son, watching his frustration over the rim of her cup. “This is my fault. No one ever told you what being a bearer means on Altea, did they.”

“Obviously I know what it means-”

“No, you don’t.” Krolia’s stare is searing. “Pregnancy is power, Keith. A good man or not, the crown prince is no different than any other Altean sire. You carry his progeny, and he will worship at your feet. He will give you anything you ask for. If you want to be his fawned-over, spoiled pet, tell him. If you want power, tell him. If you want luxury, tell him. If you want to share in his duties, tell him. If you want him to hold you, keep you close all the days of his life, tell him. Whatever you want, he will give it to you.”

“Momma. That’s…”

“That’s survival, kitten. You have power over him. He’s desperate for heirs. After your first kit, hold out on him. You’ll have whatever you want.”

“Momma, what I want is my mate. By my side. Sharing my life.” Keith sips his tea. “I understand what you’re saying. And I understand that you still have concerns about me mated to an Altean, and living on Altea. But I promise, Momma. I promise I don’t have to manipulate Lance into giving me things that I need. I can just ask.”

He waits until his mother meets his gaze. When she does, her eyes are so very sad. Sad for everything they’re still struggling to build between them. He taps his fingers against the clay of his cup, tries to find a way to explain why he’s not worried about having to ask for things.

“You know, when I first arrived, I spent the first movement avoiding everyone, including Lance. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he was watching me. Asking the guards about me. He must have asked the gardeners, or was approached, because it’s the only way he found out about this flower I stole from a greenhouse.” Keith laughs. “The next thing I know this garden he built for me is full of orchids. I kept finding new blankets and pillows, uh. Puzzles. Random trinkets. Raw crystals. Snacks.

“We’re addressing his control issues, obviously, but… He was so desperate to make me comfortable, to make it easier. He cared about me even then. I don’t need to manipulate or use him to get what I need or want. Chances are he’ll give it to me before I even ask.”

“I hope you’re right. I do think better of him. But he wears the face of the species that slaughtered your father. My mate.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be blaming my uncle for that?” Keith asks, steady, completely serious.

“An excellent question, kitten. One I ask more every quintant.” The soldier woman gets to her feet. “We should go and meet your mate and your friends. It’s about time for you to leave and we need to stop by my den on our way to the Compound.”

Keith nods, reluctantly following his mother to her own den. BleepBloop is already on their ship, ready for Altea. It’s on the edge of the community. No one owns dens, or even has an ancestral den anymore. Too many people have left, or died. A den becomes empty, and whoever’s lived on the fringes the longest gets to move inward if they like.

“I have something for you,” Krolia tells him. “I suppose, in a way, you have your mate to thank for this. Perhaps you can educate him about it.”

“Okay?”

“Wait here.” Krolia ducks inside her den, coming back out seconds later with a very small wolf cub. “So your mate decided to save an orphaned wolf cub, which was incredibly honorable and respectful of him, but his mother’s companion could not find a surrogate for him, and now he needs a home. The hunter decided that since your mate saved him, you two might like to have him.”

“I-” Keith gulps. Being offered a cub is an extreme honor, especially as an outsider. And the cub is cute. He takes the animal from his mother, rubbing his ears, looking him over. “I love him already. So much.”

Not that he could turn down a wolf cub even if he wanted to. Especially not this one, the one that carries not only a piece of his mother's life force, but Lance's as well. He strokes the wolf’s midnight fur, working a tangle out of the pale blue ruff circling around the animal’s neck and down his back. The cub stares up at him with brilliant, golden eyes.

“I knew you two didn’t have the time for him, so I told Lance I’d keep him here. It was his idea to give him to you today. I guess he thought it might make going home easier.”

“It doesn’t,” Keith whispers. “But it’s still something. Stupid idiot, he’s really toeing that line between secret and surprise.” He holds the cub up to his face, smiling. “You had a rough start, huh?” The cub licks his nose. “Me too. Don’t worry. It gets so much better.” Keith smirks. “Finally someone to take BleepBloop down a peg. He’s gonna be so jealous-”

Keith’s comms unit buzzes in his pocket, a message from Adam: It’s time to go. He takes a deep breath. “Well, little one. Wanna come with me to Altea?”

The animal licks at his face again, tail wagging. Keith grins, cuddles the cub close. Yeah, he’s keeping this little guy.

Keith stalls on his way to the compound, stopping to talk to people, ask a few carefully worded questions about the political climate and what the villagers think of Lance, ask if those thoughts have spread. It’s good news. It means their kit will be a little safer.

“So… Lunch last quintant was a thing, huh?” Lance nibbles at his breakfast. He’s in Allura’s sitting room, one of the few rooms she and Lotor have deemed safe from prying eyes and ears. Meaning Lotor and Pidge searched the room from top to bottom.

Allura nods, eating as quickly and as much as her manners will allow. “It really was quite something.”

“What do you think?”

“I think…” Allura wipes her mouth with her napkin. “I think I should stay closer to Lotor and keep a closer eye on Romelle. I think you should keep an eye on yourself and keep closer to Keith.” She gives her brother a meaningful look.

“Was it that obvious?”

“No. The others wouldn’t have caught it. But I know you, and I know Keith. I could tell… Are you trying to keep it quiet?”

“For now. Keith may very well miscarry and feels too uncertain to make an announcement.” Lance sips his tea.

“And?” Allura gives her brother a pointed look. Lance sighs.

“And the longer we can hide this, the longer our child will be safe. The moment Alfor and Zarkon know, our baby’s future will be dictated to us.” Lance leans forward in his seat, expression tense. “Remember our cousin, Griffin? His son is four years old and rumor is Alfor’s already made an arrangement. Keeping it quiet means I have time to come up with something myself, or pass some legislation under the table to protect the rights of our children. We only have a few movements until the thaw, and I’ve just got ideas, nothing written.”

“Do you plan on including Nibling in that?” Allura asks, gesturing to her belly with her spoon. “Because frankly I don’t like the way Honerva’s been looking at me lately. Lotor doesn’t like it either.”

“Of course. Anyone possessing Altean blood, or under Altean rule.” Lance frowns. “How long do you have?”

It’s a more difficult question than it seems. Galra gestation is only five phoebs, their children born small-bodied, vulnerable and useless with eyes and ears still shut. Altean infants gestate for a decaphoeb and a half- three times as long. They’re born hearing and seeing, ready to learn how to walk and talk.

“Well, I’m about six phoebs along… We’re guessing six more, judging by their development.”

Lance nods. “I don’t know how long we have. I just- I want us to be safe and happy.”

“Lance…” Allura taps her finger on the table. “You don’t remember what Mother was like. She wasn’t at all how she’s described. I mean, she was kind and all that, but she was also wild and very strong. A powerful leader and presence. She didn’t die by accident, Lance. Her death was on purpose. When she was assassinated, they chose her for a reason.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Safe and happy are not available to us. Be respected instead. Be the type of leader that people will kill on purpose, because of who you are, not what you are. That’s how you can best protect our children. Be feared and respected.”

Lance nods, licks his lips. “I should visit Romelle before I go.”

Allura sighs. “I’d appreciate it if you would… I know father was lying about looking for more possible solutions. It was unusually kind of him.”

“I… had a screaming fit with him before we left Altea. I think I got through to him. Somewhat. He’s still Alfor, but he’s a slightly less frustrating Alfor.”

Allura laughs through her nose. “We must take what we can get.” She meets her brother’s gaze. “I am going to miss you, brother.”

“I’ll miss you, too.” Lance rises to his feet, giving his sister a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll come visit again when I can.”

“So… When I make you an uncle?”

Lance grimaces. “Or when Keith makes you an aunt.”

The princess nods, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. They stay like that for a long moment, Lance standing, Allura sitting, missing each other, still in the same room. This woman, his sister, raised him, loved him, supported every one of his choices, even if she disagreed.

Sometimes, he still feels lost without her.

“I love you, Lance.”

“Love you too, ‘Lura.” Lance kisses her cheek again, slips his hand from hers as he heads for the door. “I’ll see you again soon.”

Across the hall, in another room, Lance finds an even sadder affair. Romelle is sitting by a sunny window in yet another red stone room, eyes staring into some unfathomable distance. Despite her vacant expression, she’s visibly well cared for. Her hair is groomed and braided how she always wore it before and she’s clean. Her clothes are fresh, fingernails files short and round so she can’t hurt herself.

He wonders if she still knows how loved she is.

“Hey, Romelle. I just thought I’d come say goodbye. We’re leaving today, so…”

Lance sits in the chair opposite the frail woman, disrupting his sister’s imprinted shadow. Before he knows it, Lance’s eyes are stinging, welling with tears. He grew up playing with this woman, watching her and Allura fall in love. She was so, so young when she went on that final voyage with Alfor, and she won’t ever get better. Not hoping for conversation, Lance elects to sit quietly and keep his friend company for a while-

“Are you afraid of the water?”

“I-” Lance blinks, unsure of the proper response. He takes a chance on the truth. “No, I’m not afraid of the water. I love the water.”

Romelle hums, skeptical, quizzical. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t be. You would not even be aware.”

“Beg pardon?”

“What has come to pass will pass again... the love story theirs and yours are so very fond of. Only neither of you knows it.”

“Romelle-”

“Generations of flesh give way to the rebirth of souls… The guardian waits for the descendants.”

“...I understand,” Lance lies. It’s easy, like lying to a small child, promising that there are no monsters outside their door. He stands, having had as much as he can bear. He gently squeezes the woman’s hand.

“Do not fear the water,” Romelle whispers. “Even submerged, you will still burn.”

“Good, uh.” Lance clears his throat. “Good to know.”

As Lance leaves to gather Pidge and Adam and say goodbye to Lotor, Shiro, Thace, Ulaz, and a few other Blades, he can’t quite shake the anxiety. He struggles to convince himself that Romelle is unwell, just spouting random nonsense from her collapsing mind.

He doesn’t quite succeed.

Sooner or later, Keith finds himself in the courtyard where they arrived, the ship open, revealing a number of packages- gifts and other items they’ve accumulated since their arrival. Lance is talking with Thace and Kolivan, hands animated, eyes shining. Whatever they’re discussing, Lance is excited for it.

“Keith.” Krolia turns him to face her, grips his shoulder tight. “Listen to me carefully. Are you listening?”

Keith turns to his mother, nods, holds the wolf cub closer between them, petting his head.

“You train this animal well. You keep him close. Do not trust anyone except the crown prince… There is something in the stars. I have seen it. All we can do is brace ourselves and wait.”

“What do you mean?” Keith whispers, fear trickling like ice down his spine.

“I mean that the sociopolitical strain on Daibazaal is reaching a breaking point, and none of us are prepared. There are enemies in every corner, and fools behind and beside them. You are carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire civilization in your womb. Know your place, even if it is to run.”

“I-” Keith gulps, nods. “I will… I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, kitten.” Krolia embraces her son, kisses his temple. “You tell that Altean of yours I’m allowed to visit, because I can and will.”

“Okay. Just let us know you’re coming. There’s an entry medical procedure.”

“Noted. I see your mate-”

“Ready to go, beloved?” Lance slips an arm around his waist.

“Not really,” Keith whispers.

The Altean’s smile is so, so sad and so very gentle. “Me neither. But we’ll come back soon; I promise.”

“I know.” Keith doesn’t want to ask for one more trip before their kit is born, but he imagines Lance is already trying to set up the same thing. Lifting his gaze, he spies Adam, holding both of Shiro’s hands. They’re talking quietly.

He’s not the only one breaking his heart today. As he watches, Pidge trots up to the Altean, tugs on his vest, gently whispers that it’s time to go. The look on Adam’s face is inscrutable as he nods, leans up, whispers something in Shiro’s ear before he slips away and onto the ship. The conflicted expression on Shiro's face tells Keith it was a tender confession. His heart breaks for his littermate and for Adam, who finally found each other only for them to be kept apart by duty and honor.

As the ship lifts off the ground, Lance catches Keith sniffling into his new pet’s fur, trying to hide it. The crown prince doesn’t question the cub’s presence, having known about it the whole time. Instead he just holds his husband close, lets him cry.

There’s not a whole lot else he can do. Pidge’s feelers creep over his hands, investigating them both. They hum, soft enough to barely register, sitting quiet for a moment before going to watch Altea loom larger and larger before them. They whisper quietly to Adam, who only shakes his head.

Leaving here is far harder than leaving Altea.

#LoveAftertheFact #LAtF #klance #galtean au #altean lance #galra keith #adashi #altean adam #galra shiro #voltron legendary defender #vld

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legendarysharpshooter · 4 years

Text

Lost Prince CH. 2

First, Last, Next

A03

******

“So… you can just declare emergencies like that, huh?” Hunk comments from his spot behind Lance.

“Yeah….. She’s not exactly the leader of Earth? But the ruler of New Altea has certain powers they can exercise when needed,” Lance explains. “In this case, declare an international emergency if there’s a threat from space…. And since I’m next in line for the throne, I have the ability to do the same. It’s a safeguard in case I become aware of something before she does so we don’t have to wait for her to make the call.”

“Huh….” Hunk falls silent, mulling over Lance’s answer before he’s asking questions again. “So… the Black Lion talking to you?”

“Well…. Not really talk? More like… it shows me things and… feelings? Kinda…”

“Kinda?” Lance huffs. It’s not exactly the easiest thing to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it….

“Like…. I get these images in my head sometimes,” he tries to explain. “They’re just kinda vague pieces of events and stuff…. I think…. From what I can gather at least.”

“Like premonitions?” Pidge asks.

“I guess so? I’ve never really known any to actually happen though…. Other than that I just… get these vibes from the Black Lion…. Like if danger is coming or whatever. It’s less ‘hey, something’s coming’ and more just a feeling.”

“Oh… do all the lions do that?” Hunk asks.

“Uh… I think so?” He doesn’t see why they wouldn’t all do it… unless it’s just a Black Lion thing since it’s the head of Voltron. Does that even make sense? “As far as I know, they all communicate with their Paladins in some way.”

“Su-”

“Something’s coming!” Pidge snaps, leaning over the back of the chair and pointing at the radar. Sure enough, something’s flashing across the screen, growing closer by the second. Lance stares at the screen and then straight ahead, eyes straining to see the vessel as soon as it appears.

“There!” he points, spotting the faintest red dot in the distance. Pidge leans over him, squinting to see the approaching vessel. Even Hunk leans over, shading his eyes to get a better look.

“I don’t see anything,” Hunk comments. Lance frowns but continues to stare, knowing it’s whatever is showing on the radar. He reaches out and presses a few buttons. “Uhhh… what are you doing?”

“I’m gonna reach out to them,” Lance explains as he opens a call to the ship. He catches Hunk’s skeptical look out of the corner of his eye. “They could be friendly.”

“Or they could be Galra,” Pidge points out. Lance shrugs.

“Only one way to fi-” A face pops up on the screen. Lance jumps and then blinks, taking in the black mop of hair, dark purple eyes and ever present frown on the person’s face. There are two lines on his cheeks that Lance has never seen before. “Keith?!”

“Lance!” Keith snaps, face falling in shock. “What are you doing out here?!”

“What am I doing out here?” Lance scoffs. “Why are you in this section of the universe? And why do you look like that?”

“There's no time to explain,” Keith snaps. “We ne-”

“Hold the phone,” Lance says, leaning closer to inspect what little he can see of Keith's surroundings. “Is that the Red Lion?!”

“Yes, Lance,” Keith replies, growing impatient. Now really isn’t the time for this. He has more important things to tell him…. Like the fact that he has Shiro. “Listen, I-”

The alarms start blaring again from both lions. Above them, a Galra cruiser appears. Lance stares at it wide eyed for a moment before glaring at Keith.

“You lead the Galra here?!” he hisses.

“How was I supposed to know they were following me?!” Keith snaps back. He jerks on the handles of the Red Lion, dodging a shot as the ship fires at them.

“Gee… I don’t know, Keith… Maybe because you’re flying a Lion of Voltron through space?!” Lance snaps back, flying the Black Lion away from the ship’s firing. He growls, frustrated, and spins Black around, firing his own shots at the Galra. Fighter pilots spill out of the vessel’s large holding bays.

“There’s too many of them!” Pidge shouts as the Black Lion takes a hit. “We need to fall back!” Lance huffs and directs them over to Keith and the Red Lion.

“We need to lead them away from here,” he says. Keith is silent on his end for a long moment before the video feed cuts off. The trio can hear him quietly speaking with someone else. Lance strains to hear the conversation but the other voice is too faint to really be picked up. It sounds vaguely familiar though….

“There’s a chance they won’t follow us,” Keith finally says, turning the Red Lion around. “We’d risk them to finding Earth.”

“We have two Lions of Voltron, right?” Pidge chimes in. “Maybe if we only had one it wouldn’t be worth following, but two would be a big catch for them.” He glances at Lance. “It should be enticing enough for them. We can use that to our advantage.”

“Okay,” Lance agrees. “So we lead them away from here and then make our getaway.”

“There’s a planet not too far from here,” Keith says, finally relenting. “We can lose them there. Follow me.” Their connection cuts off a moment later, as the Red Lion steers away from the Galra. Lance follows closely behind, praying the Galra come with them.

“Why didn’t you want him to see you?”

“Now isn’t the time for reunions, Keith.” Keith frown at him…. Yeah, he knows Shiro’s probably right. It would definitely distract Lance from the task at hand but… they’ve been separated for a year now…. Doesn’t that mean anything? Shiro glances at him and sighs. “I do want to see him, you know… just… after we land…. And get away from the Galra.”

Thankfully, the Galra actually decided to follow them. Keith watches them on the radar until suddenly, the change course and leave. He stares at the screen, puzzled.

“Huh... Why would they just give up like that?” Keith mutters. The Red Lion jolts, crashing into the Black Lion as Lance blocks their journey forward. Scowling, Keith reopens their communication. “What the hell, Lance?”

“We can’t go that way.” It takes Keith a moment to realize that voice isn’t Lance but the one of the others inside the Black Lion. The voice chimes in again. “That planet has a highly corrosive gas surrounding it. The lions would be gone in a matter of minutes.”

Well… at least that explains why the Galra left so suddenly. Keith huffs and looks to Shiro, unsure of what they should do now.

“We need to find a safe planet to land on,” Lance says. “And preferably a little further from our solar system?” Keith huff and rolls his eyes.

“Of course, Lance,” he replies. “Just give me a minute to think.” The Red Lion rumbles around him, giving him the impression that it knows where to go. Keith looks to Shiro who just shrugs ever so helpfully. He groans. “Okay… it seems the Red Lion knows where to go? I guess we’re just gonna follow it…”

“Sometimes the best thing you can do it just trust your lion,” Lance replies. “If Red knows something then we should listen.”

The Red Lion turns and lets out a large roar. A portal opens in front of it.

Unperturbed, Lance pushes the Black Lion forward and they disappear into the void; Keith and the Red Lion following close behind.

The come out on the other side to a beautiful green planet. Bodies of water span the surface in intervals, connecting the larger ones together. It’s remarkably similar to Earth.

“Is this… where their home?” Keith asks. Lance scoffs.

“Don’t be stupid, Keith,” he says. “The lions were created on Altea and that was destroyed, remember?”

“Oh… right….” Lance steers them down to the surface, letting Black just sort of guide the way. He’s not too sure where they’re going but something’s telling him to just listen to the large robot. They eventually come to a stop by some lake. Lance looks around, jaw dropping when he spots a large castle atop a cliff… with unmistakably Altean designs.

Black rumbles through their connection and leads Red over to the castle.

“Whoa…” Hunk mumbles as they land. He leans over Lance’s seat and stares out at the large structure. Pidge leans over from the other side, peering up as well.

“Is that…”

“The Castle of Lions,” Lance breaths out. “It’s been here this whole time…” Why did it never make it to Earth? Did Alfor send it away like he send Akiva and the Black Lion? Does that mean Alteans are living on this planet as well?

He looks more closely at the Castle. Vines grow around its tall pillars. It’s embedded into the ground, and appear to have been untouched for a long time. Whatever Alteans arrived in the Castle are long gone….

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Keith chimes in suddenly. “Let’s go check it out.” The lions lower their heads, allowing the group to disembark.

Keith steps one foot off the ramp and is instantly tackled. Lance’s long arms wrap around him as they fall to the ground together. He sits up, smiling down at his friend.

“Long time, no see,” Lance says. Keith huffs, smile dancing across his own face and he sits up as well and shoves the prince off him. He stands, pulling Lance up with him and looks back up at Red.

“It’s nice to see you too,” Keith replies, gesturing up the ramp. “But… I think there’s someone else you’d rather see…” Lance stares at him for a moment, face twisting in confusion, before he follows the length of Keith’s arm up to the lion.

They hear the footsteps before they even see anyone. It takes the Altean a long moment to register who he’s looking at as they emerge from the Red Lion. He looks at the right arm, now a prosthetic, gaze sliding up it to the scar running across his face. There’s a shock of white on his bangs.

“Shiro…” Lance breaths out, tears springing to his eyes. Shiro looks just as shocked to see him, but welcomes Lance with open arms as he darts up the ramp. The pair stumbles, coming together in a tear filled reunion. Lance buries his face into Shiro’s chest, muffling a broken sob. Shiro places a hand on his head, brushing his finger through the white locks.

His own eyes burn but he refuses to let the tears fall.

“I thought I lost you…” Lance says once he’s collected himself enough to speak. He looks up into Shiro’s cloudy gaze. “You came back.” Shiro brings up a hand, brushing a stray tear off Lance’s face. His knuckle grazes the mark on his cheek. Shiro smiles.

“I-” He jerks away from Lance as the boy slaps him across the face. Holding his quickly reddening cheek, Shiro looks at his charge in shocked confusion. Lance’s shoulders shake as he glares at his former bodyguard.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Shiro huffs, grimacing a little at the ache in his jaw.

“I won’t,” he says. Lance stares at him, pout forming on his face. His eyes brim with even more unshed tears. Shiro smiles and brings his hand up, closing his fingers until only his pinky is showing.

Lance scoffs, looking away from Shiro, though a smile dances at the edge of his eyes. Shiro wiggles the pinky at him. Lance looks back to it, eyes lighting up in amusement now.

“Promise?” he asks, finally meeting Shiro’s gaze. Shiro lifts his hand up more.

“It’s a promise,” he replies. “I’ll never leave you again.” Smiling, Lance hooks his pinky around Shiro’s the the two shake on it. Lance pulls him into one more hug.

“Thank you,” Lance murmurs. “For coming back to me.” He feels Shiro brush a hand through his hair before pulling away once more.

“You should thank Keith for bringing me back,” Shiro tells him. “I couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Well then...,” Lance replies, grabbing Shiro’s hand and leading him down the ramp. He lets go long enough to pull Keith into a hug. “Thank you, Keith.”

“I would have brought him back sooner….” Keith voice fills with regret; anger hanging just on the edge of his tone. He takes a deep breath to steady himself. “Nobody told me…”

“Um…. not that this isn’t heartfelt or anything but… can someone tell me what’s going on?” Lance laughs, pulling away from Keith to look over at Hunk and Pidge. Hunk eyes Shiro curiously while Pidge stares at some device in his hands.

“Right…. Hunk. Pidge. These are my two oldest friends,” Lance begins. He gestures to Keith and then Shiro. “Keith, and Shiro, my former bodyguard.”

“Hello,” Hunk says, waving at the pair.

“Former?!” Shiro sputters. Lance looks at him, expression haughty.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gone gallivanting off into space without me,” he says.

“It’s not like it chose to do that!” The ground rumbles, cutting off whatever reply Lance may have had. The group watches, amazed, as the lions rise and let out a large roar.

The door to the castle opens. Excitement rushes through Lance. He’s only ever heard stories of the Castle of Lions. It’s been missing for so long, many believe it’s just a myth. His family certainly though it was destroyed all those centuries ago.

Keith leads the group into the castle, every pair of eyes looking around in awe. It’s dark inside, lights turning on only once they’re in and the doors have closed behind them. They enter into a foyer and a voice calls out to them, light illuminating the ground where they stand as a beam appears from above.

Hold for identity scan.

Lance is just barely able to recognize the words as Altean. He glances between the rest, though Keith seems to be the only one who looks vaguely familiar with the speech.

Must come from being out in space for so long… Lance muses. Though… does anyone even speak Altean anymore? Or is it a dead language like Latin?

Either way, the castle scans them and more lights come on. The whole castle comes to life. The voice chimes in again.

Welcome, Prince Akiva.

“Whoa…” Pidge mutters, gazing up in the direction of the sound. “That thing must have picked up on our language and translated accordingly….”

“It must act as a universal translator,” Hunk adds, just as amazed. “But… how does it know our language? And English at that? Earth as so many different languages.”

“I don’t think it matter,” Pidge replies. “If it can translate anything then no matter what language we speak it’ll sound like we’re speaking the same thing…” He adjusts his glasses, frowning. “Maybe the lions are connected to it? So it was able to pick up our speech from them?”

“Either way… I think we’re supposed to go that way,” Keith says, pointing to the corridor before them. It lights up, inviting them further into the castle. They begin following the line of lights to where the castle is leading them.

Shiro falls behind to walk beside Lance as the group journeys down the hall. Lance is so busy taking in the castle that he doesn’t even notice at first.

“The castle thinks your Akiva,” Shiro say, amused. “Must be because you share DNA.” Lance huffs out a laugh. Ahead of them, Hunk and Pidge continue discussing the nuances of languages and translations.

“I guess so…” he replies, looking everywhere but at Shiro. There’s just so much of the castle to take in and this is only one floor! “I didn’t think we’d be close enough for something like that…Akiva’s like…. My great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather or something. Our shared DNA can’t possibly be that much.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know about the Castle,” Shiro points out as the group begins to descend a set of stairs. He shrugs. “Maybe it’s technology is just that advanced.”

“Maybe…” Lance’s attention is drawn from the conversation and to the room they suddenly find themselves in. There are strange, raised platforms in the center of the room, creating a circle around a podium.

Pidge and Hunk step over to the podium, curiously poking at the object. It lights up and a hissing sound fills the space. Keith huffs from his spot by one of the platforms.

“Oh great…” Keith grumbles, crossing his arms. “They broke it.” Lance shakes his head, waving the moody boy off as he approaches the podium as well. He leans down, placing an ear on top of it.

“I don’t think it’s the podium…” he mutters, just as his eyes catch movement behind Hunk and Pidge. Smoke billows out of the ground as two large pods rise from below. All eyes turn to the vessels, wary but curious.

One of them opens moments later, revealing a young female inside. Lance sucks in a breath, eyes roaming form her dark skin and long, fluffy white hair, to the pink marks on her cheeks. They stop at the small tiara placed on her head, just as her eyes flutter open and she steps out in a daze.

Shiro catches her as she stumbles and falls. She brings a hand up, gently placing it on her forehead as her brows furrow.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks. She blinks and looks up at him.

“What…” Eyes going wide, the girl straightens and pulls out of Shiro’s grasp. She stares at him warily, looking him up and down. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my castle?”

“The lions brought us here.” She looks around at all the strange faces, ultimately landing on Lance. Her eyes begin to water as she slowly approaches him.

“It can’t be…” she mutters, lifting a hand to touch the marks on his face. Her gaze searches his as she brushes through his hair. Tears slide down her face. “I thought you were dead…”

Something clicks in Lance’s head then and his gaze twists in sorrow.

“I’m sorry…” he murmurs, grabbing her hand. “I’m not who you think I am.” What little happiness was on her face, disappears in an instant. Guilt twists in Lance’s gut, but it’s best she know now then find out the truth later. It becomes apparent, though, as she takes in his short hair, his thin body… short stature, that he’s nothing like the brother she knows and loves.

Lance releases her hand and she steps away from him, expression lost and forlorn and she looks around at the others in the room.

“I….” The second pod opens then and a man with bright orange hair and a mustache emerges. He groans, stretching his full body as he steps out of the pod. Relief floods the girl’s feature and she rushes over to his side. “Coran…” she catches him as he stumbles. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Oh! Hello, Allura,” the man, Coran, says cheerfully. He lifts a leg and wiggles it a bit. “I’m afraid I have a case of the Sleep Chamber Knees.” The girl, Allura, helps Coran down to the ground so he can sit for a moment. Once he’s seated, she moves over to the podium.

It’s only as she’s tapping away at it that Coran seems to pick up on their guest.

“Oh my…” he says, looking each of them over one by one. “I wasn’t aware we had visitors.” Shiro, ever the gentleman, approaches Coran first. He holds out a hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he says. “I’m Shiro. We were brought here by the Black and Red lions.” Coran regards the outstretched hand with a twist of his mustache before glance up at Shiro.

“The lions, you say?” Shiro’s hand drops, face falling as he gazes down at the ginger. Coran sighs, coming to some conclusion and grasps Shiro’s forearm. “If the lions trust you then you must be good people. Welcome to the Castle of Lions, Shiro!”

Keith seems to take that as his cue as he moves over to the older Altean next. Hunk follows close behind, though Pidge seems content to watch Allura do whatever she’s doing. Lance watches Allura’s gaze become increasingly crestfallen. No doubt she’s coming to some conclusion… and Lance knows she’s not going to like the results.

“Lance.” He nearly jumps, heart skipping a beat as Hunk calls him over. Slowly, he approaches the small group.

“You look just like him,” Coran comments as the young prince comes into view. He holds out his hand. “I take it you must be Lance then?”

“Um…” Lance stares at the hand, nervous for some unknown reason. Shiro nudges him into shaking Coran’s hand. “Yeah… that’s me.” Coran hums thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as he looks Lance over. He grabs Lance’s hand and holds it up for inspection.

“Yep,” Coran concludes. “A bit scrawnier but the spitting image of Alfor nonetheless.”

Alfor?! Lance stares at the man, confused and mildly disoriented. Nobody’s ever compared him to the late king before. Coran smiles, patting Lance’s shoulder, a knowing glint in his eyes as he steps away from the prince and over to Allura.

“How’s it going, Princess?” Allura taps away at the screen, troubled by what the data is showing her. Coran takes a peek himself but patiently waits her response.

“I don’t understand…” she mutters. “According to this data we’ve been asleep for ten thousand phoebs! This can’t be right.”

“Oh it’s right, alright.” Allura glances at Pidge with a frown as he stares at the information. He adjusts his glasses and looks up at her. “Alteans have been on Earth as far back as anyone can remember.”

“Earth?!”

“Our home planet,” Pidge offers.

“But… the Alteans…” Allura trails off, mind racing as she tries to piece everything together. He expression darkens as it all begins to sink in and memories of her last moments come forward. “Zarkon.” She looks around the group at everyone present, anger flaring. “Where is he?”

“Not here,” Keith growls. Allura looks at him, anger simmer under the surface of her dual colored eyes.

“He’s still alive?” she asks, voice eerily calm.

“That can’t be possible,” Coran says. “The Galra may have long lives but certainly not that long.”

“Well, Zarkon’s still alive,” Keith snaps. Lance and Shiro throw him disapproving looks. There’s not need for such hostility right now.

“Don’t mind him,” Shiro says, slowly drawing his gaze away from the moody boy to face Allura. “Zarkon’s been spreading his empire across the galaxy, enslaving thousands of planets.”

“Why hasn’t anyone tried to stop him?!” Allura snaps, rounding on Lance. She points an accusing finger at him. “And you! What have you been doing all this time to allow such a thing to happen?!”

“We’ve been protecting our people!” Lance snaps back, anger flaring as he slaps her hand out of his face. “Don’t act all high and mighty when you’ve done nothing but sleep!”

A hand comes down between them, slicing through the mounting tension.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Coran says, looking between the two. “Bickering won’t get us anywhere.” Lance huffs, crossing his arms and turning away from Allura with a pout. Shiro places a comforting hand on his shoulder and the tension eases just the slightest bit. Coran eyes Allura for a moment before looking to Shiro. “You came in the Black and Red lions, yes?”

“Yeah.” Coran nods, twirling the end of his mustache in thought.

“Then our top priority is retrieving the remaining three,” he concludes. He gestures back up the stairs they came from. “Right this way.”

One by one, they begin filing out of the room, only stopping when Coran notices Allura, staring at her pod.

“Is something wrong, princess?” he asks as the others turn around to see what’s happening.

“I can hear something…” she mutters, stepping back over to the sleep pod. She kneels, reaching inside and coming out with a quartet of mice in her hands. They squeak at her, looking around curiously. Allura smiles, eyes lighting up in wonder. “I can understand them! It’s like we have a telepathic connection!”

Three of them climb up onto her shoulders, two stopping there with the third moving atop her head.She gently pets the belly of the remaining mouse as she makes her way back over to the group.

“I will have to find names for them…”

“Perhaps we can do that up on the bridge then?” Coran suggests, urging her to keep up with the others. “I need to run a diagnostics and you lot need to find the lions.”

“Yes, of course,” she replies, letting the last mouse up on her shoulder. It burrows into her hair chirping happily. Allura looks at the small group walking in front of them. Hunk and Pidge have once again launched into a conversation about the castle. It makes her smile to see someone will share Coran’s love of maintaining the large ship.

Her gaze slides over to the boy next to Hunk. He keeps glancing back at her, dark gaze suspicious as they move through the castle. She frowns, catching his eyes. They widen in surprise and quickly turn back forward.

Allura looks to the final pair, wandering far ahead of the others. Their heads tilt towards one another, no doubt lost in some private conversation. The Altean gestures with his hand and the other laughs. She can’t help but feel curious about the boy and his friends.

“So,” Coran starts. “These are the new paladins, hm?”

“I suppose so…” Allura replies, watching all of them closely. Their auras radiate off them in varying intensities. Hunk and Pidge are perhaps the brightest, though she’s not sure if that’s due to their compatibility or because of the colors in general.

Hunk gives off the color of the sun; happy and bright. It fills Allura with joy. She can sense a strong desire to do what’s right from him… though there’s a hesitancy and caution underneath it all. He’s loyal then, but not one to rush head first into things without a plan.

Pidge, the smallest of the bunch, gives off a certain type of curiosity about the universe. Allura can feel the need to learn and know more. A critical thinker, then, capable of creative problem solving and tackling any issue head on. Pidge is smart, always asking questions to grasp better understanding of the subject. Allura can’t help but be reminded of another just like him.

Allura looks to Keith next, taking in the fire rolling off him in waves. Impulsive. Rash. He acts more off instinct than anything else. There’s something about him, she notices, that’s hidden; a strange shimmer encasing his aura. Allura watches him for a long moment, trying to decipher its meaning. Even so… she can only assume he’s the one who piloted the Red Lion to the castle.

The last two, Allura notices, are a bit more difficult to figure out. Their auras blend together seamlessly, entwined in way she can’t tell which comes from which as the blues and blacks swirl around them. Perhaps, they’re standing too close… or they share a destiny only she is privy to. Possibly, the most likely, the pair just share a special bond from a long time spent together...

Much like her father and mother.

“Being my brother’s descendant, I can only assume Lance is meant to be the Black Paladin,” she mutters, brows drawing together in thought. “Though... “ She watches him more closely, squinting in an attempt to see beyond the facade. “I sense a hesitancy from him... a lack of confidence perhaps? But Shiro…”

Allura watches the way he carries himself, the relaxed set of his shoulders. His calm, confident demeanor. A take charge attitude yet willingness to help others. Someone who will lead by example. Yet… underneath that….

She blinks, trying once again to decipher which aura belongs to them. With a shake of her head, she gives up the attempt.

“I don’t know…”

“Well perhaps that’s something best left to the lions?” Coran suggests.

“I suppose so…” she replies. “It is ultimately their choice after all.”

Coran makes a beeline for the control panel the second they step onto the bridge. A large cloud of dust enters the air as he blows on it. He coughs, hacking up the dust inhaled as the others look around the space.

“Just need to get the ship’s navigation up and running and we’ll be good to get those lions!” Coran says. Allura watches him fiddle with the control panel, a fond smile slowly forming on her face, as she looks back to the paladins.

“I take it you know of Voltron then?” she asks as she waves her hand and a map of the universe appears around them. One by one, the lions appear on the map. “It takes five lions and a strong bond with their paladins to come together and form Voltron.”

The lions circle around them and come together. In a flash, Voltron rises above the group. Lance huffs, crossing his arms. Of course they know the story of Voltron. Who does she think they are?

“King Alfor connected Allura’s lifeforce to the lions,” Coran comments. “Only she knows how to locate them.” He brings up a screen and jumps as it throws an error. “Oh quiznack.”

“Do you need help?” Hunk offers but Coran just shakes his head and waves him off.

“No, no. I’m quite alright.” Allura watches Hunk thoughtfully, warmed by his offer even if it wasn’t directed towards her. Selflessness. A need to help others. Coran glances back at them. “It should be operational in just a tick!”

“A tick?” Pidge mutters.

“I can find the lions,” Allura says, getting everyone back on task. It would do no good to get distracted now. “However, the bond between lion and paladin is sacred. Only those with compatible quintessence can pilot them… and even then you must have the qualities each lion looks for in a partner.”

The lions appear once again as the group quietly listens to the princess. She looks between them. At the way their auras blend and swirl around each other. Together, Allura can see how they can come together as a team and form Voltron.

“Since the lions are so far apart, though,” she continues. “I think it would be best to split up and send you to the lion you are likely to be most compatible with. After that, it’s entirely up to the lion.”

“Pidge and Hunk are the Green and Yellow Paladins,” Lance says suddenly. Allura huffs, frowning at him. Did he not hear a word she just said?

“That is not for you to decide,” she replies.

“I’m not,” he retorts, rolling his eyes. “The Black Lion already showed me and obviously, Keith is piloting Red.” Allura stares at him for a long moment, mulling over his words. If the Black Lion is showing him things then Lance is either gifted like her or they have a special connection. Still… her gaze slides over to Shiro. She can’t help but feel he’s more suited as the head of Voltron.

“And what of the Black and Blue lions?” she asks. His confidence falters, doubt leaking through the tiniest of cracks. He glance at Shiro, unsure of the answer himself as his arms slowly uncross. It’s enough to tell Allura all she needs to know. “Perhaps you and Shiro should retrieve the Blue Lion together. Let it make the decision.”

“Very well then,” Shiro says, glancing briefly at Lance before looking back to Allura. “Lance and I will get the Blue Lion. Keith, take Hunk to get the Yellow Lion.” He looks back at the holograms floating around them. “It looks like the Green Lion is on the way to the blue one so Pidge can come with us.”

“And I will help Coran test the castle’s defenses,” Allura replies with a smile.

“Then it’s settled,” Shiro responds. “Once the navigation is fully operational, we’ll go get the lions back.”

Pidge, Lance and Shiro watch the Red Lion rise from the ground and shoot off into the sky. Lance watches them go, wishing he had been sent with Hunk instead of Keith. Something tells him this mission won’t be as easy as Coran claims… it has been ten thousand years after all. Their information is definitely out dated.

At least he gets to spend some time with Shiro to finish catching up on everything…. And quality time with Pidge is always fun.

“You guys ready?” he asks as they turn towards the Black Lion. Shiro and Pidge steps up next to him, the trio gaze up at Black. Lance moves forward, watching Black carefully as he comes to a stop right in front of the lion. A frown slowly forms on his face as it remains motionless, refusing to let him in.

“Hellooo,” he calls up to the robot, waving his hand about. “You gonna let us in?” Lance’s hand drops back to his side a dread begins to wash over him.

The Black Lion’s rejecting him.

Again.

His gaze slowly falls to the ground, eyes burning. How? Black let him pilot them to the castle… Black accepted him back on Earth so… why is he being rejected now?

Because there’s someone more suited to lead.

Lance looks back to Shiro, who’s watching him closely, concern coloring his gaze.He swallows down a sob, and looks back up at Black. Heaving a sigh, and blinking back tears, Lance turns around to face his companions.

“Hey, Shiro,” he says, voice surprisingly steady. “I think the Black Lion wants you.” He throws a thumb over his shoulder. Hesitantly, Shiro approached, Pidge in tow. Shiro stares at the prince for a moment before look up at the lion.

“Are you sure?” Shiro asks, looking back at Lance. Lance can feel the tears returning but smiles and nods. He can deal with the hurt later…. When he can be alone. His mind drifts back to the communicator in his back. Maybe his mom will know something.

Lance watches, heart aching as the Black Lion crouches down to let Shiro in. They step inside, allowing the lion to swallow them. Once the trio is situated, Black follows Shiro’s lead and they rise into the sky, following after the Red Lion.

Allura opens a wormhole and they disappear through it.

Lance can’t help but hope that the Blue Lion will be more accepting of him. He doesn’t know if he can handle rejection from two lions.

That would just hurt too much.

#voltron #vld #shance #fanfic #lost prince

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voyager-into-the-unknown · 5 years

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This is another chapter of my ongoing Plance fic. This chapter has more hints of Kallura and Hunay, and be please be advised, there’s a very hot Plance makeout session in this chapter. 🔥💦🌱 The boys have a serious discussion about their future plans, including marriage and family. Also, Loverboy Lance is super sexy in this installment. 😉 You’ve been warned. Please leave a comment if you like this fic.

Here’s the previous chapter if you missed it. https://truegryffindorforever2.tumblr.com/post/188917892600/truegryffindorforever2

Chapter 10: After the Training Mission

After the success of the morning’s simulation on the training deck, the Paladins headed toward the locker rooms, where they could strip off their armor, shower, and change into their Garrison uniforms. As Keith, Allura, and Hunk walked ahead of them, Lance and Pidge lagged behind, holding hands. Lance felt a little tug as Pidge led him toward a vacant supply room. “I need to talk to you about something in private,” she said as she led him inside and shut the door.

“Sure. What is it?” Lance asked as they set their helmets down on a nearby crate. She put her hands on his chest plate and looked up at him adoringly. Even without makeup and with sweat matting the loose strands of the hair that framed her face she looked beautiful. He felt his heart beating a little faster.

“You were incredible in the training simulation just now. Shiro was right, you know. We have never seen you fight like that before. It was amazing.”

Lance felt his face heat up. “Well, it’s like I said. I had the right motivation. My mission was to keep you safe.” He reached down to cup her face in his gloved hands. His voice deepened. “I had to protect the woman I love.” Lance gave her his most smoldering look, and Pidge’s blush was visible, even in the dim lighting.

He leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to draw him closer as their lips came together in a passionate kiss. The room was small and Pidge was already near the wall. She backed into it, and Lance picked her up, bracing her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding onto him as she had when they were tumbling through the simulation of deep space. He kissed her as if she were the breath of life itself, with an urgency neither of them had ever experienced before, and she kissed him back with just as much passion. When their lips parted, they were both panting. She then kissed him everywhere she could reach—cheeks, temples, forehead, and chin. He closed his eyes and allowed her to cover his face with sweet little kisses. “I love you,” she whispered as she kissed the corner of his mouth. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” whispered to her. He covered her face with the same soft little kisses she had given him. She closed her eyes, smiling and savoring the sensation. “You were brilliant today, as always,” he whispered in her ear, then kissed her there, then nibbled at her earlobe. She giggled at this new sensation. This was all so new to her, to both of them. He set her down, then kissed the top of her head. “We shouldn’t get too carried away,” he said.

“Right. Matt doesn’t want us to have to name any little garbage poofs after him just yet, remember?”

Lance laughed. “Well, I was going to take a hot shower to relax my aching muscles, but right now I think I need a cold shower first.” Pidge looked down, suddenly comprehending the meaning of his words. She blushed scarlet.

“I—I didn’t know I could cause that to happen,” she looked away from the place below his belt line where she had been staring. “Sorry.”

Lance picked up his helmet, and turned to leave. “I’m not.” He gazed at her from the now open doorway, silhouetted by the light from hallway beyond. He flashed her his sexiest lopsided grin, unashamed of himself, but secretly hoping that no one would pass by and see how uncomfortably tight his under suit was at the moment. Pidge looked adorably embarrassed, and averted her gaze. She grabbed her helmet and followed him out of the room.

They held hands again on the way to the locker rooms, and upon arrival, they finally parted from each other. “See you at lunch,” he told her, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before they went their separate ways.

Hunk was putting on his uniform when Lance arrived in the locker room, and Keith, who had just come from the shower, had wet hair and was wrapped in only a towel. “What took you so long?”

“Uh, Pidge wanted to discuss the mission,” Lance said, as he turned away to begin removing his armor.

Hunk laughed. “Don’t let him fool you. He was probably making out with his girlfriend again.”

“Girlfriend? Lance finally has a girlfriend?!” Keith said in disbelief.

“Yes, I do have a girlfriend, Keith. Don’t be so shocked by that fact.” Lance sounded a bit offended.

“So, is she someone I know?” Keith was curious.

Hunk laughed. “Still Clueless Keith.”

“Typical,” Lance agreed. “I told you I was discussing the mission with her.”

“You mean Pidge?! She’s just a kid!”

“She’s eighteen now, and way more mature than any of us were at that age.”

“Listen, Loverboy. Pidge is a very important member of our team, and she’s also like a little sister to me, so if you are just messing around and trying to take advantage of her feelings—“

“I have already had this discussion with Matt, so back off, Keith. Mind your own business!” Lance yelled. Keith growled at him.

“Whoa! Calm down, both of you,” said Hunk. “For your information, Keith, I have had this talk with Lance, too, and he is handling things very maturely. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Lance sat on the nearest bench, clad only in the bottom half of his under armor. He exhaled. “Thanks, Hunk.” He looked at Keith, then looked away. “I love her, okay? And she loves me. We are in a committed relationship, and that’s a bit scary for both of us. We have just survived the most brutal war that the universe has ever seen, and all of us have nearly died at one time or another. We aren’t doing anything stupid or irresponsible. We have actually discussed our future together.” Lance looked up at both of his friends. “Pidge and I want it all—marriage, a home, kids...a normal life. We both love being Paladins and serving the universe in the cause of freedom and all that, but we both want something for ourselves too. I think we deserve that. All of us deserve that.”

Keith sat down on the bench beside him. “I’m sorry. You’re right. And you and Pidge aren’t the only ones who have thought about the future in those terms,” he admitted. His expression has softened a great deal.

“Things are getting pretty serious between me and Shay,” Hunk confessed.

“Things between me and Allura are just getting started,” Keith added. “She’s lost nearly everything, and I know she thinks of all of us as her family, but I also know it would make her happy if she had a family of her own.” Keith looked away, embarrassed. “We have both submitted DNA samples to the exobiology lab for testing. There’s a very good chance that an Altean female can produce hybrid offspring with a male who is half human and half Galra.” Keith was blushing so deeply that he couldn’t meet their eyes.

“Shay and I haven’t even thought that far ahead,” Hunk said quietly. “But I still want to be with her even if we can’t have children. I love her.”

“Then you guys do understand. None of us are kids anymore.” Lance said. “And of the original Paladins, we know that Zarkon and Alfor had families of their own. If they can marry the women that they loved, why can’t we?”

“It’s not that easy, Lance,” Keith responded. “As far as we know, Trigel didn’t have any children of her own. Maybe she had to give that up to be a female Paladin. If Voltron is needed again someday, how would we go into battle if Pidge or Allura gets pregnant? Supposed one of them is going into labor when the universe needs us the most.”

There was a long silence. “I hadn’t thought about that before,” Lance admitted. He looked away, lost in thought.

“We have switched lions before,” Hunk mused aloud. “Shiro and Keith have both flown Black, Keith and Lance have both flown Red, and Lance and Allura have both flown Blue. Green has even accepted Matt as her co-pilot. Maybe Blue and Green would accept another pilot if Allura or Pidge were unable to fly for a period of time.”

“That’s a good point, Hunk. I think you could be right.” Keith looked hopeful.

Lance smiled. “I think we should discuss this with the girls, and with the lions,” he said. “And I’m gonna hit the shower before I miss lunch.”

Hunk was finished dressing. “See you guys there.”

Lance grabbed his towel and grooming kit and headed toward the stalls. He had a lot to think about.

Keith smiled to himself, lost in thought as he grabbed a smaller towel to dry his wet hair. He really hoped that Hunk was right. He daydreamed for a bit, wondering how his mother would react to having a grandchild that was half Altean. Then he found himself wishing his father could have lived long enough to meet Allura and the little family that they might someday have. He sighed and began combing his hair.

Lance stood under the hot water, no longer needing the cold shower. He washed his hair and lathered his body while considering talk he had just had with Hunk and Keith. Pidge, pregnant? Colleen and his mother would make such as fuss over her and the baby. Lance secretly hoped that the child would inherit the Holt family’s intelligence. What would it be like to be father to a genius? He imagined Sam would give the baby his or her first scientific educational toys. His own dad would probably pass out the finest Cuban cigars to all of their friends and family, even though none of them smoked. He smiled at the thought of all of the aunts and uncles the baby would have, spoiling the child with love and affection: Matt, Veronica, Rachel, Marco, Luis and Lisa...and the team...he imagined his baby being doted upon by Shiro, Coran, Keith, Allura, and especially Hunk. The thought of it made him so happy he began to cry a little. His mind wandered back to the training mission and how tightly he and Pidge clung to each other when they hurled through space, and that led to thoughts of how she had her arms and legs wrapped so tightly around him when they kissed in the supply room afterwards. What would her body feel like so close to his if they hadn’t been wearing armor? Soft, he thought. Smooth. He had held her in his arms when they danced and kissed before. Even though she had grown considerably taller since they had gone into space, compared to him, she was still so tiny. He would have to be very gentle with her the first time that they... No, he mustn’t indulge in those thoughts right now. He turned the temperature of the water down several degrees, and shut his eyes as it poured over him like cool spring rain.

#plance #kallura #hunay #lance mcclain #katie holt #pidge #keith kogane #allura #hunk garrett #shay #plance fanfic #plance fanfiction

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whatarubberchicken · 5 years

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The Bodyguard’s Tale

Happy Holidays, @staymagical! I’m your Secret Santa for the @voltronsecretsanta2k19 exchange! I hope you like this! (I saw you were a Merlin fan, and I couldn’t resist! But don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten the rest of your request, it’s just a bit of a slow burn! (; )

Read on Ao3 or ff.net! Next chapter>>

......

The Bodyguard’s Tale

Chapter 1

Keith stared up at the tall, white towers of the Altean palace and tried not to wince. It was so different from what he was used to on Daibazaal! The colors, the shapes, the sounds! Back home, there had been noise and chaos, yes, but it seemed so much… more organized than this! There, it was orders being shouted and the ring of blade on blade. Here, people were calling out to each other eagerly, children laughing everywhere—he swore he even heard music coming from somewhere! (You never heard music on Daibazaal unless it was a feast day!)

“Well, this’ll be an adventure, huh?” Shiro said cheerfully, coming up beside him.

Keith rolled his eyes at the Champion. Shiro had been a prisoner in the arena before his fighting prowess had been recognized and he’d been granted his freedom as a prize. Above all, the Galra valued strength, and Takashi Shirogane had it in spades. Since then, he’d become an “ambassador” for his home planet, Earth, which Sendak had conquered on a whim a few years back. Shiro didn’t really have much to do as an ambassador, Earth was still conquered, but the title allowed him to sit in on meetings and not be forced back into the fighting pits.

He was probably elated to get away from Daibazaal for the foreseeable future.

Sure enough, he laughed at Keith’s droll expression and slapped the young prince on the back. “It could be worse,” he pointed out.

“Yes, my great choice,” Keith drawled, looking around this new world with poorly-disguised contempt. “Either become the servant to some jumped-up peacock with royal Altean blood, or become Sendak’s new chewtoy until he decides I need to have an ‘accident.’ Yay, me.”

“Hey, I’ve heard this Altean prince is pretty nice,” Shiro said, showing a bit more sympathy as they entered the palace. “At least he’s your age.” Keith shrugged. “And you won’t be his servant, you’ll be part of his personal guard.”

“Same difference,” Keith muttered.

“We both know he can’t possibly treat you worse than Sendak would’ve,” Shiro added.

That was for damn sure. Keith wasn’t sure why Emperor Zarkon hadn’t just signed his execution warrant. Instead, he’d offered his younger son a choice: become Commander Sendak’s new lieutenant or go to Altea with his half-brother Lotor, where he would become a young Altean prince’s new bodyguard while Lotor attempted to solidfy their alliance by marrying the Crown Princess Allura. And since Commander Sendak had gone through eight lieutenants in the past two years, it had been an easy decision to make. At least on Altea, Keith would live. Shiro’s appointment to the same planet had been a great relief, though. Keith had no idea how to relate to these people. Lotor was half-Altean, and he and Keith couldn’t stand each other.

Hopefully his half-brother would be busy paying court to the Altean princess. With any luck, their meetings would be few and far between.

“Game-faces time,” Shiro whispered as they entered the court. It was a huge room with lofty high ceilings and an overall feeling of light and magic. Big difference from anything he was used to on Daibazaal. Still, one thing was the same; people everywhere were looking at him expectantly. Keith carefully schooled his expression into the blank mask he’d been taught from childhood.

“Announcing Prince Keithyr of the Galra Empire and Champion Takashi Shirogane, Ambassador of Earth!”

Keith resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his formal title. Prince? Sure. Unwanted prince. At least they weren’t trying to call him Yorak anymore.

He was a bit surprised at the murmurs and side-long glances people gave to Shiro when his prosthesis came into view. Apparently, the Alteans didn’t value strength and fighting nearly as much as the Galra did. Shiro might not fit in here as much as he thought he would.

“Beloved baby brother!” Lotor greeted, coming down from the dais to embrace Keith. They both remained stiff, but avoided snarling or growling at each other in public. Keith gave him a fake smile and a nod as they pulled apart.

“Allow me to introduce my intended, Princess Allura.” Lotor said gaily, indicating the Altean royal family. A young woman with long, flowing, curly white hair descended, smiling at them. Keith and Shiro quickly bowed.

“It’s so good to finally meet you, Keithyr,” she said, holding out her hand for Keith to kiss. “Lotor’s told me so much about you!”

Yeah, I can very well imagine what Lotor has told you…. Keith performed a perfunctory salute on her hand and gave her a smile.

“I’ve heard many good things about you too, princess,” he said politely.

She beamed at him. “And this, of course, is my brother Lanceon,” she said, waving him forward.

Keith studied his new charge carefully. He’d seen pictures, of course, but it was always best to get the measure of a man in person. He did a quick inventory. Short brown hair, glowing blue cheek markings (those might make it hard to hide in the dark if they had to make a quick getaway sometime) tall, lanky, a casual air about him that said he didn’t really care to be here—

“He’s shorter than I thought he’d be!” the prince’s aloof air suddenly melted away as soon as he saw Keith, and he bounded forward to get a better look. Keith shied back instinctively as piercing blue eyes roamed all over him. “Aww, I thought he’d be blue! Or at least, ya know, purple,” Lanceon whined. “He’s not even fluffy!”

Keith felt his eye twitch. “Sorry I’m not fluffy enough for his highness,” he growled under his breath. Beside him, Shiro covered up a laugh with a cough.

“My apologies, Prince Lance,” Lotor also appeared to be hiding his mirth at Keith’s discomfort. “Keithyr is only half Galra and doesn’t share all of the traits—”

“Like you?” Lanceon interrupted, looking over at Lotor with a sweet smile. “You’re only half Galra too.”

“Indeed,” Lotor said, his eye barely twitching. Keith noted it down. Aha! It seemed there was some tension between his brother and the resident prince. “But Keithyr is half human,” Lotor said, recovering quickly, “the species of Ambassador Shirogane there.” He indicated where Shiro stood. Lance latched onto him immediately.

“Hi! I’m Lance!” he said cheerfully, shaking Shiro’s hand.

“Shiro,” the man said, amused.

“Man, he wasn’t kidding,” Lance said looking between Shiro and Keith. “Are you sure you two aren’t the real brothers instead of Lotor there?”

Don’t I wish, Keith thought silently, as Shiro and Lance chatted amicably. I would gladly take Shiro for a brother over Lotor any day! He tried to stomp down his growing resentment of the prince. I didn’t get a handshake, or an introduction….

“Lance, why don’t we let Ambassador Shirogane introduce himself to the court,” Princess Allura finally interjected. “You can go acquaint yourself with your new guard.”

“Fine, fine,” Lance said carelessly, leaving the court and obviously expecting to be followed.

Keith gave one last bow to the royal family (guess he wasn’t important enough to be introduced to the king or queen, but that was just fine with him, he already knew his duties), exchanged an eye-roll with Shiro, and hurried after him.

He wasn’t surprised to see Lance whirl on him as soon as they reached a bedroom that obviously belonged to him, and Keith carefully closed the door behind him before the other prince could explode.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” Lance snapped, “I don’t need a babysitter!”

“No, you need a cleaning lady,” Keith said, looking around. There were clothes and bottles of various liquids thrown haphazardly around the room. He even caught sight of a boot on a lamp. What a mess! He’d have been whipped if Dayak ever caught his quarters in this state!

“It’s fine, you can walk through it!” Lance said, dismissing it as easily as everything else.

“It’s a health hazard,” Keith argued, noting all the places where ingenious spies or assassins could be hiding in plain sight. “And it’s my job to keep you safe.” Lance opened his mouth, but Keith beat him to it. “But it’s NOT my job to clean up after you.”

Lance scowled. “Fine, I’ll clean it later. The point is,” he said, launching into another rant, “I don’t like Lotor or his heavy-handed ways, giving me a bodyguard who I’ve never even met!”

“What, you think I want to be here?!” Keith asked incredulously. “You think I like the idea of following you around for the foreseeable future?! It was either this or be stuck as Sendak’s punching bag until enough people forgot about me for me to ‘disappear.’” He stepped closer, daring to get in Lance’s face. “Whether you like it or not, we’re stuck with each other. So, let’s just hope my stupid brother charms your sister enough so we can make this alliance official already, and maybe they’ll let us go back to our regular lives!”

Lance blinked and took a step back, studying Keith in a new light.

“You don’t like Lotor, do you?”

Keith stared at the young prince. “Are you actually this stupid, or are you just pretending?”

“I—I am not stupid!” Lance sputtered. “At least I don’t have a stupid mullet!”

“Really?” Keith said dryly. “You’re comparing intelligence to hairstyles?”

“It looks stupid! You’re stupid!”

Keith felt the beginning of a headache come on. “Oh, this is gonna be a long mission….”

#voltronsecretsanta2k19 #voltron #VLD #klance #keith (voltron)#lance (voltron)#Altean!Lance AU #bodyguard AU

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rainforestgeek · 5 years

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If you lose your strength to stand (I’m gonna reach for your hand) pt. 15 “We Made it This Far”

Part 14

AO3 link

“How the HELL is a ship that huge so maneuverable?” Hunk yelled. He sounded personally affronted by the freak of engineering before him. “She’s deflecting and dodging all of our attacks!”

“If she’s focusing in on us as Voltron maybe we need more targets. We should separate the Lions because we’re getting nowhere like this,” Allura said.

“Pidge, could we disable it from the inside like you did at Olkarion and find Shiro?” Keith asked.

“No way we’ll be able to sneak onto that ship! Haggar’s a lot less stupid than Sendak, no amount of espionage will fool her,” Pidge said.

“I agree,” Allura said. “If I know Altean alchemy, I can say Haggar’s magic will render any attempt at sneaking worthless. We need a more direct approach.”

Lance breathed in then out, thinking as quickly as he could. His mind felt sharp in the violet light of the Black cockpit. It’s like he’d struck a balance between Blue’s laid-back cool and Red’s hot passion and landed in a powerful place between the two. “All right. The Blades have engaged most of the fleet, so we shouldn’t deal with too much of their backup - Pidge, I want you invisible and taking out any fighters that peel away from the fight and towards us. Me and Hunk will blast our way into the main ship. Once there’s an opening, Allura and Keith, you fly in and find Haggar and anything that looks Shiro related. Allura you stand the best chance against the witch. Keith and his sword are on robot duty. Improvise if you have to. We all clear?”

Instead of the resounding yeah! he’d gotten last time he called out a plan, Lance heard three “got it”s and a sarcastic “aye, captain” from Pidge. They split apart, and immediately the Green Lion vanished from his sensors.

“Hunk, Allura, where are her labs most likely to be on that kind of ship?”

Allura answered, “I would think toward the center in the ship.”

“Great, ‘cause we gotta disable and open up the ship without destroying anything she might have about Shiro.”

“Then our best bet is the engine room at the lower stern,” Hunk yelled. “Wait guys, hold on!”

“We can’t hold on, Hunk, we’re in the middle of a battle!”

“My lion’s trying to tell me something, Lance, so just give me a moment .” He sounded like he was concentrating hard on something.

Lance huffed. “Keith, help me defend Hunk or he’s dead in the water.”

“You got it.”

They kept up deflecting attacks, covering each other and baiting and distracting the freak-of -mechanics warship. Sometimes Lance thought he saw it change shape. He definitely saw it light up. Allura and Blue had their hands full helping the still-invisible Green take out runaways fighters.

Yellow started to glow. “Gimme a clear shot, guys!” Hunk yelled. Lance and Keith didn’t need to be told twice before they spun out of the way. In a great blast of bright, sparkling energy, Yellow sprouted a huge, minimalistic, sideways cone thing that looks like a drill without the threads. Whatever it was, energy visibly built up inside it until a beam of pure gold badassery shot from the tip and blew a gigantic, clean hole in the warship’s butt.

“What WAS that?” Came Keith’s astonished voice.

“Yeah, how can a blast that powerful be so controlled?” Pidge demanded.

“You said it yourself: if it doesn’t make sense, then it must be magic.” Hunk said, sounding awed.

Lance said, “You know what, I don’t care what that was because it worked. Keith, Allura, you’re up!”

Keith deftly flew Red into the neat opening Hunk had blown open, Blue right behind them. He and Allura found safe-ish places to land and ejected into the room that was now uninhabitable, then found a door with a redundant airlock to get inside the main ship.

“How are we going to get this open without Pidge to hack it? Cut it open?” Keith summoned his sword.

“Let me try something first.” Allura closed her eyes and placed her hand flat against the door where the locking mechanism must’ve been. About a minute passed, making him antsy. Then the door glowed and clicked open.

“Huh. Neat,” he said. They got inside and their boots thudded to the floor with the sudden artificial gravity.

“Haggar’s magic permeates this entire ship,” Allura explained. “I can feel it around me. I used my quintessence to repel her control of the lock.”

“Can you lead us to where she’s keeping Shiro that way?”

“Possibly. Keith, watch out!” He ducked just in time to miss her glowing whip lash out. It took down three sentries at once, but a lot more were charging at them.

Keith grinned wryly at Allura. “Seems like a fair fight.”

“You take the left, I’ll take the right.”

Keith didn’t know what it said about him that he’d become comfortable in the middle of a melee with opponents that drastically outnumbered him. But he hadn’t been thrashing the gladiator all this time just for fun. He and Allura were in sync with each other as they fought; he cleared her path and followed her lead down the corridors while she focused on sensing the energy around her and taking out opponents from a distance.

They both had a near miss with a group of actual, living soldiers. They were forced back to back and by the time they’d taken everyone out, they were both panting and aching.

Allura finally found where the druid’s brand of manipulated quintessence felt strongest.

It was like Haggar and her druids were waiting for them. They all stood expectantly in the dark, cavernous laboratory. It could also be called a lair, though. There were all kinds of bizarre instruments and machines and tanks and enough of them gave off visible radiation to give him the creeps.

“Paladins,” Haggar’s voice creaked. “Princess. You are only as stubborn as you are foolish.”

“Shut up!” Keith shot towards Haggar with his sword only to get blinded by pain and crash to the ground. If the stinging ache in his chest meant anything, he’d probably cracked a rib.

“Keith!” He saw Allura activate her whip through slightly blurry eyes. He hauled himself back to his feet. “

“I’m disappointed in you. The child of Alfor should have become the greatest alchemist of an age. The power of Oriande is wasted on a closed-minded child like you.

“Dispose of them.” As one, every druid in the room thrust out their hands toward Keith and Allura. Crackling violet magic arced through the air, filled the room, and coalesced on Allura.

Keith wasn’t an expert on magic, but...shouldn’t that have killed her?

Instead, Allura just... absorbed the magic lightning the druids shot at her. For a tense, static moment, her entire body glowed pink with intermittent flashes of bright blue. Then she threw her arms out and felled every last druid at once in a single, blinding pulse. She breathed heavily and her face dripped with sweat.

Only the hooded witch still stood.

“Where is Shiro?” The fury in Allura’s voice was so palpable it burned. Her hair was coming loose and still kind of glowed.

“Long since gone, child.” Haggar smoothly straightened up and lowered her hood.

Keith hadn’t come face to face with the Altean witch often, but he distinctly remembered glowing yellow eyes and purple skin. The woman in front of them now still had crooked red lines down her hollow cheeks, but her complexion was brown; her hair was white; and her eyes had pupils and gold irises.

Allura looked gobsmacked. “ Honerva? ”

“What? The Altean scientist who destroyed the Galra homeworld?”

“The very same,” Allura confirmed. “When the quintessence field corrupted you all those centuries ago - Oriande undid that damage? Why are you doing this?”

With an expression like marble, Honerva solemnly announced, “I am returning to my people.”

“ My people! You are a traitor to Altea!” With blinding speed, Allura attacked her with her whip.

Honerva vanished into a wisp of smoke and immediately reappeared behind Keith. He could only tell by the hot gust against the back of his neck. Something pushed him out of the way and he recovered with a somersault. To his shock, Matt Holt was there with his staff and had apparently surprised the witch with a violent swing at her legs.

Son of a bitch stowed away in my Lion! Keith realized.

Allura took the distraction by sprinting toward the tables, hopefully to find clues about Shiro. “Help him!” she shouted at Keith.

She didn’t need to tell him twice. She didn’t need to tell him at all.

Matt slashed at Honerva like a madman. Gone was the smooth and skilled fighter Keith knew - the man in front of him put all his strength into each haphazard strike with no discernable strategy at all. Honerva blocked each of his attacks almost lazily. She was toying with him, forcing him to retreat even as he did his utmost to kill her, pushing Matt farther and farther away from Keith as they fought.

They were too far away from him. Keith’s sternum and side protested harshly against his running, and it slowed him down enough. He wasn’t going to get there in time.

Allura’s whip came out of nowhere, ensnared Honerva’s throat, and electrocuted her. The witch fell to her hands and knees. Keith sprinted towards them as Matt delivered a blow to her head.

It would have been fatal if she didn’t grab his wrist. In the course of two seconds, Matt fell to his knees, he cried out in pain, and Haggar vanished into smoke.

The chamber flooded with soldiers and sentries.

“Quiznak!”

Matt stood on shaky feet when Keith caught up to him. Together, they started fighting off the robots.

Allura joined the melee shortly. “Why aren’t you with the other rebels?” she demanded.

“I came to save my best friend,” Matt said through gritted teeth.

“Well I couldn’t find anything! I hope it was worth it!” Keith knew it was bad when Allura got pissed like this. Thankfully she was taking it out on the galra.

Matt looked like shit. He was still fighting, but his face had gone gray, his reflexes got more and more sluggish, and sweat poured down his face. Keith kept one eye on him and slashed through as many sentries as he could. He wished Lance were here to take some out from a distance.

Everything came to a head when Matt collapsed. He looked weak. All the color was drained from his skin. Allura deactivated her bayard, grabbed him under the arms and hauled.

Keith forced his eyes on his enemies and defended his friends as Allura dragged Matt to a slightly sheltered alcove to examine him. She felt his pulse, his temperature, his bones. Keith guarded them from incoming sentries. He heard choking then smelled the rancid scent of vomit.

“Your quintessence has been drained and I think you’re bleeding internally. Keith, I need to get him to the Blue Lion so I can heal him.”

“I can’t defeat Haggar without you, Allura!”

“Honerva’s gotten away, and only I have minutes to save his life, so give me a couple of minutes to get him to safety.”

He growled. “Go!”

She picked up Matt’s increasingly limp body into her arms and sprinted away.

Keith was forced to give up. He had no backup, he was probably (definitely) injured, and they’d failed both their objectives for boarding. He retreated back to Red.

The battle outside wasn’t looking good, either. The Blade of Marmora were holding off Honerva’s fleet well enough, but Voltron looked worse for wear. Pidge wasn’t cloaking anymore, Hunk kept getting swarmed by breakaway fighters, and Lance was trying to engage the warship that was now powering up. How the hell Honerva thought she could get through the space-time eddies in a ship that damaged was beyond him, but they couldn’t let her get away.

“Lance, she’s trying to get to the Alteans!”

“Let’s go!” Both Red and Black took off after her.

Something exploded on the warship. Escape vessels expelled from it like vomit. A second explosion, much bigger and probably more magical than the first, slammed into Keith and Lance’s lions, sending them careening into the quantum abyss. The last thing he heard before blacking out was Pidge screaming.

Part 16

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calligraphist-artemisia · 5 years

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Across Time and Space (Chapter 15 - Final)

Summary: Sequel to I’ll Take Her Place. Slav is showing off a piece of experimental equipment, when it malfunctions and blasts Katie and Keithir to another universe. At the same time, it drags Pidge and Keith over into theirs, effectively swapping places. With their fate resting in the hands of Slav, will they be able to get back home? Or are they stuck to live the rest of their lives in the wrong universe?

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net under the username “kishirokitsune”.

–

Here we are at the very final chapter. A big THANK YOU to everyone who has reblogged or liked chapters over the course of this fic. And a bigger thank you to anyone who has left a comment on some of them! I know I’m not the best at responding on here, but I do read and cherish all of them. With this chapter up, the poll is now closed! Next up on my list of Kidge fics to write is the one shot "Instinct", so keep on the look out for that. As far as the next multi-chapter goes, it's a secret. ;) I will say, that it will be fun and set in a non-canon universe.

Chapter 15

Keith comfortably sat on the couch in the paladin lounge, one arm holding a tablet so he could help review possible battle strategies and the other draped lightly across the back of the couch where Pidge sat and was scanning over the latest attempt at integrating Altean tech into Garrison fighter-class ships. If he glanced over, he could see a header which read: “Mecha Flex Exofighter – Prototype 0.8”.

“Do you ever want to just punch Lotor in his stupid, smug face?” Pidge asked, completely unsolicited. She dropped her tablet into her lap and threw back her head in a display of pent up frustration.

Keith set aside his work in a more gentle manner. “You know I do. What's going on now?”

“Nothing. It's just the usual,” Pidge grumbled. “Going on about how the Galra need quintessence and looking into the rift in the remains of Daibazaal is the best way to do that, even though Shiro's pointed out a number of times that without the war, the Galra don't have a need for that much quintessence. I think it's the only reason Allura hasn't given in and started to help him. Well, that and Lance redirecting her to whatever issue the Garrison is having in figuring out how Altean technology works.

“I just wish we didn't have to have him around, even if he has been useful.” Pidge sighed and tipped her head to the side, her hair just barely brushing against Keith's shoulder.

“Best to keep him where we can keep an eye on him,” he recited, trying not to focus on how close she was. Just a few more centimeters...

Pidge grinned and sat up straight so she could playfully nudge him. “Now you sound like Shiro.”

“Does that mean you'll listen to me?”

“Ha! Not a chance!”

The door slid open and they quickly separated as Krolia and Travis walked in. Keith blushed and removed his arm from the back of the couch, pointedly looking away as his heartbeat quickened.

Krolia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing about how closely they were sitting, which Keith was grateful for. He still wasn't sure what was going on between him and Pidge and he appreciated the room everyone was giving them to figure it out on their own.

“Is everything alright?” Pidge asked.

“We got a message from Slav askin' us to meet him here,” Travis explained. “I'm guessin' he's not here yet.”

Keith wondered if he had an appropriate excuse to leave before Slav arrived, but couldn't think of a single one that his parents wouldn't immediately see through. It was a talent his dad had been surprisingly bad at in the beginning, whereas it took his mom roughly two weeks to figure it out.

It was hard to believe it had only been one year since everything in his life changed for the better. Shiro was back to his old self. He had both of his parents in his life. A close friendship with Pidge. The respect of Commander Iverson and other officers of the Galaxy Garrison – which had always felt like an impossibility.

Pidge picked up her tablet. “I should get back to the lab and see what Hunk thinks about the flaxum assembly. There have been some concerns about it coming loose during flight and I need to run some ideas by him.”

“Nice try, but you and I both know Hunk's with your mom talking about solutions for food production in space,” Keith said, stopping her before she could stand up. If he had to deal with Slav, so did she.

Pidge slumped back. “Just wait until it's my turn to design another holo-deck exercise.”

“I look forward to it.”

He knew she meant it as a form of revenge for making her stay, but he genuinely enjoyed the programs she created so far, even the ones he failed at. Each one had its own challenge and unique solution.

Keith's favorite so far was the one most hated by everyone else who tried it. (Except, amusingly, his mom and Kolivan – maybe it was a Galra thing.) It was a ninety minute obstacle course which Lance nicknamed “The Death Gauntlet”. Between the various traps, the training robot stalking the participant through a maze, the portion run in complete darkness, and a half dozen other tasks, it was little wonder that most people failed halfway through. And even if they did complete it, no one managed it in the intended ninety minutes, though Shiro came the closest on his third attempt and got his time down to one-hundred-and-three minutes.

“It will be worse than the Death Gauntlet,” Pidge warned, jostling him from his thoughts.

“You heard about Lance's name for it, huh?” Keith asked.

“Kind of hard not to when everyone calls it that now,” Pidge said with a shrug. “Anyway, you're really not going to like the next one. I've gotten requests for a team-building version of it and while I could just copy the original and add the allowance of more than one participant, that would be boring.”

Keith nodded in agreement. It would be boring, not just for Pidge, but for him as well, even if it did require working with an unknown team.

“But if you're nice to me, maybe I can swing it so you're with someone who takes it seriously, like Shiro,” Pidge tried to bribe him.

As long as it wasn't Griffin, Keith figured he'd survive. Luckily, everyone knew that it wasn't an option as the last time.

The door slid open a second time and Slav shuffled inside, his arms laden with an unfortunately familiar machine.

Pidge went still next to Keith. “Why do you have that?”

Krolia and Travis exchanged worried looks, keeping their distance from Slav as he made his way to the table and set it down. He began pushing buttons and flipping switches.

“Slav, why do you have that?” Pidge asked a second time. “I thought you destroyed it because it's too dangerous to keep around.”

“Don't worry, it's perfectly safe!” Slav cheerily assured them.

Maybe Keith should have let Pidge go after all. Or rolled with her excuse to leave and made up a reason to go with her. His parents probably would have let him.

The trans-reality extrapolater hummed to life and a blue light began to shine from the top, causing the space above it to waver. After a few seconds, an image began to form – a figure with dark hair and pale purple skin.

Travis stepped closer. “Keithir?”

The image solidified until it was clear that it was Keithir, who appeared to be trying to speak to them. Travis walked over until he was standing in front of the machine, at which point a second blue light began emitting from the side and scanned him up and down.

“Dad?” Keithir's voice came through. “Can you hear me? Slav, are you sure this thing is working correctly?”

“There's nothing wrong with my machine!”

Travis chuckled. “I can hear you, but I don't understand. I thought...” He paused to shake his head. “It's good to see you again.”

Keithir smiled back at him; a smile which grew broader as Krolia joined Travis in front of the machine. “We asked Slav to hold off on destroying it and helped him get it to work the way he intended. This is... this is our last chance. It was a risk waiting this long.”

“But one worth it,” Katie said off-screen.

Keithir shifted aside to let his wife step into frame next to him. In her arms, wrapped in a deep purple blanket, was a baby with the faintest fuzz of black hair on top of her head and the trace of darkening markings up each cheek.

Pidge breathed out softly, reaching for Keith's arm.

“We'd like you to meet your granddaughter, Princess Krolia of Daibazaal.”

#voltron #kidge #kidgemas #fanfiction #reality swap au #final chapter

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satire-please · 6 years

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The only way I’m going to accept this “Lance is a Farmer” nonsense...

So after Allura’s sacrifice, the Paladins start falling into their niches and Lance is...struggling.

He didn’t think he’d stop being a paladin? That the term would become more of an honorary title instead of a full time job? He thought that maybe after everything was over, he’d settle down with Allura and maybe do the house husband thing while she rocks the universe in one way or another?

Lance could have been the best house husband.

Instead he flounders. He maybe tries to do something with the Garrison. Maybe starts training the next generation of fighter pilots. Iverson gets a kick out of it. But Lance is a damn good teacher, super supportive and patient too.

He also visits his friends. A lot.

He visits Conan. Did you know if Allura had lived, he could have been the Royal Consort? Weird, huh?

He bothers Pidge in the labs. He visits the Atlas to see his sister, Hunk and Shiro. He bugs and teases Keith whenever he can pin down the location of the Blades of Mamora.

“Hey Emperor-Not-Emperor Keith!”

“I swear Lance if that name catches on, I’ll stab you.”

It catches on.

Seeing his friends is good. Lance finds out something important though...they’re struggling too.

Hunk and Shiro are struggling keeping the crew of the Atlas fed on a long time basis. As well as serving banquet after banquet to mediate between warring planets.

Keith wants to use the Blades as a relief operation but the stigma against Galra is brutal. Few will trade or donate supplies to the cause. Especially food. The Blades are strong, the Blades can fight, the Blades can’t stop one child from starving.

So Lance does what he always does. He steps up. He becomes what people need.

He gets the most stupid and brilliant idea in the dead of night.

He first goes to Pidge.

“You want to become...a farmer.”

“Yes, Pidge.”

“A farmer. Really.”

“Yes, really!”

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

“I have no idea what I’m doing. That’s why I need you.”

So Pidge and her mom set Lance up with all the fancy agricultural equipment and know-how a budding novice could want. Miraculously, despite Lance absolutely wringing it, and with dubious leftover altean magic—

“I KNEW these glowing marks were for something!”

—Lance’s crops grow beautifully. It’s a large endeavor and Lance nails it. Therefore he becomes primary food supplier of the Atlas and the Blades of Mamora.

Hunk bakes him cakes for a month when it becomes official.

He also becomes a cargo pilot to deliver said supplies. He loves it. Especially when he still gets to pull some sweet moves now and then in Blue or Red (Because having the lions randomly disappear for no reason is a stupid turn of events and canon can bite my—plus Lance has and can fly both. It’s bible truth) because of you know...pirates.

Pirates, warlords and thugs that pop out of every asteroid for a piece of his crops.

The call of free food is strong.

Lance is able to outmaneuver every single one.

And that’s how I’d accept the strange twist of fate of “Lance the farmer.”

#voltron: legendary defender #lance (voltron)#lancey lance #bamf lance #lance the farmer #fixing canon #rants #lance mcclain

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 5 years

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CARAMEL SKIN UNDER A PURPLE RAIN - PRT 10 FULL DRAFT

Preparing to leave the outpost left Lance spending most of the day running around, despite Keith's continued nagging that he should rest. Between packing, reassigning staff, and calling his mother to inform her he was going to be spending the next phoeb on Daibazaal, and dealing with another crippling bout of morning sickness, Lance felt like he was sleep walking by the time Veronica finally caught up with him. Mad at him for not informing her he was sick, or calling her to come get him, his sister called him an idiot so many times that by the end of it, Lance was completely done with people, finally letting Keith whisk him off to his ship given the Telula would be staying on world in case Lucteal or Daehra needed her. Having mostly built the outpost into what it was with his decisions, hanging over the reins felt like he was proving he was as stupid as everyone said. They were supposed to be hiring Daehra's staff soon. The idea of making her wait even longer for more staff felt cruel. She was so passionate about medicine, and so beyond happy to share her knowledge. Lance knew she was scared over taking on a teaching role, so had planned to be there to assist... by providing comic relief and encouragement.

There was also the fact that lunch had been painful to deal with. An exhausting experience in it's self. It was clear that no one wanted to respect his wishes of not discussing his seizures, or his health. Hunk sparking the topic back to life as he placed down a plate laden with twice as much food as everyone else's in front him, then enquired to how he was doing after his seizure... then if he'd had another since and if that was why he and Keith had missed breakfast that morning. Now he had no choice but to address the issue, purely because he was miserable with all the fuss being made over him. Why couldn't the people who cared about him trust him enough to understand that maybe he already at under control, or maybe he was taking steps towards getting things under control, without jumping straight to lecturing in the name of "love"?

With the miracle of wormhole travel, Lance had barely flopped down on Keith's small bed before his husband was shaking his shoulder to tell them they'd arrived on Altea. With the Atlas taking an extended stay, of a movement on ground, they'd landed on Altea itself rather than synching into orbit around the planet. Sighing softly at Keith, he shot him his best puppy-dog eyes as he pulled his husband down into a forced cuddle. Not one to say no to cuddles, Keith laughed softly as he wrapped his arms around him

"You know we have to get up, babe"

Kissing his forehead, Lance hugged his husband tighter. Getting up felt too much like effort. Keith had left him to settle in while he moved his ship on board the Atlas. Unfortunately for him, Keith was a skilled and proficient pilot, he'd barely been gone for 10 doboshes before he was back again

"I know... but we cooooould just take a nap"

"You're that tired?"

"Mmm, beyond tired... I want to nap with my husband"

Rolling over to lay back, Keith tugged him gently until Lance was half laying on the half-Galra with his head resting on Keith's chest. It was his favourite place to nap. To be lulled off to sleep by the sound of his husband's heart, and to know he was safe in his arms

"I wouldn't say no to a nap either, if I'm honest. I'm tired from watching you run around all day"

"Then nap with me..."

"As much as I want to say yes... we can't. Shiro went ahead and booked you an appointment for tonight, before dinner"

Since when was Shiro booking his appointments for him? And why hadn't either Shiro or Keith asked his permission?

"What? Why? We're already here a quintant ahead of schedule"

"He called up to book you an appointment tomorrow, but they had an opening today. He mentioned you had blood tests done, so wanted to make you one so we could get your results"

"Why didn't you tell me? All I want to do is sleep and now I have to go be poked at, then sit through dinner with everyone being all annoying again"

Rubbing his arm, Keith leaned up to kiss his hair. Rubbing his cheek against his husband's neck, Lance drew his leg up to rest over Keith's lower stomach. If Keith could be a cuddly octopus and make everything alright, why couldn't he cuddle his way into a little leaway

"I can see if we can move it. I don't think we can get out of dinner though. Coran's excited we're all here"

Lance could tell from Keith's tone and worried scent that his husband didn't want to reschedule the appointment. The memory of how upset over Keith had been on the previous nights seizure and the potential damage it could have done to the twins came to the front of his mind. It wasn't just the two of them in this relationship anymore

"No... I suppose it's best we get it done. Am I having another scan?"

"I think so. Can I be there this time?"

Lance frowned. Where was Keith going to be if it wasn't with him?

"Why are you asking?"

"Because I wasn't there the first time... I didn't know if you wanted me there this time"

"Idiot. You're the father... You should see what you and that dick of yours did"

"I seem to remember you liking what me and my dick at the time"

"It wasn't the worst way to spend a heat... I want you there for these appointments... We can't take back you missing the first one, but I want you to meet your children too. They kind of look like black spots to being with, then Altean's can zoom right in on them. It's kind of weird and kind of cool... and..."

And last time he'd been too upset and shocked to accept the moment. Shiro had seen the twins better than he had... Shiro wasn't even the father and he knew more about the twins than both of them did. His stomach dropped at the thought. He should have been stronger, but he hadn't even been able to ask anything about them

"Babe, you don't need to worry. I'm looking forward to seeing them"

Letting Keith think that was what was wrong was kinder than admitting his was already a failure of a mother

"Sorry. We should get up and get ready"

"Lance?"

"It's fine... I'm fine. If we stay here any longer, I'm going to fall asleep"

"I wish you could. You need your rest"

Not "I wish we could", or "I wish we could because I've missed you". His anxiety being petty over his husband's wording was the cherry on the top of the situation. Keith was going to see their twins... but what if this was what drove him away?

Brimming with nervous energy, Keith couldn't keep still. He didn't know if he wanted to hold Lance's hand or keep his arm wrapped around his husband's waist. The nervousness coursing through his system came from the possibility of the scan results being bad, yet what kept him unsure of how to act was the fact he was going to see their babies. Despite how he acted, and his gratefulness to Shiro, his heart hurt over not being there for that crucial first scan where Lance's pregnancy was confirmed. It was a huge moment in their lives, and yet another moment he'd missed.

Annoying Lance with his nervous energy, his husband had snapped at him to "just hold his quiznakking hand" and "to calm down because he was being weird". Leaving Keith having to be content with simply holding Lance's hand as they walked up to the hospital. He wasn't fond of all the memories from the last time they'd been here, especially having to wait through Lance's surgery then recovery, with the constant fear of what the bleeding in Lance's brain could mean, but again, the twins were where is his mind was at. He hadn't seen any photos of his soon to be sibling. This scan would be the first ultrasound he'd ever attended... and he was going to see their twins...

Following Shiro's instructions on where he needed to take Lance, the clinic area was empty. Outside the windows night has already started to creep through. Feeling Lance shiver next to him Keith took his jacket off, draping it over his shoulders

"You ok?"

Staring at his lap, Lance nodded

"Yeah..."

"You're not being very convincing"

"Sorry. It's weird being back here so soon..."

"Is this the same clinic as last time?"

"Yeah. It's the Altean equivalent of an ultrasound clinic. Even though they don't do ultrasounds the same way as they do on Earth"

"Was it busy? Did you have to wait long?"

Raising his gaze to look away from him, Lance pulled the front of Keith's jacket together

"I don't want to talk about it"

Right. He'd left Lance waiting...

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say"

"I don't want to think about it... it was embarrassing and I want to forget"

Lance's soft mumbling felt like a punch to the gut. Lance had summoned up all his courage thinking Keith would be there for him

"How long did you wait?"

"Didn't I tell you I don't want to talk about it? It was a stupid misunderstanding on my end"

"I want to talk about it because you're obviously still upset about it"

"Upset about it!? Fine. I wanted vargas. Vargas of stupid sympathetic glances as time went on and it became clear you weren't going to be here. Then Shiro had to fucking carry me around in front of everyone. So yeah. I don't want to talk about it. I don't feel comfortable sitting here and waiting, only for them to act all surprised when they actually see you here with me"

"Babe..."

"Don't. I don't want to fight. I know how excited you are to be meeting your twins... so can we focus on that instead"

"Our twins..."

"What?"

"You said "your" twins"

"Oh. Same difference. You're the father"

The shrug that accompanied Lance's words wasn't right. Lance was upset, and trying to play it down. Except, he was failing miserably

"You're their father too"

"I think I'm the mother in this case. I provided the womb and the egg..."

Keith's slumped forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees as he buried his face in his hands

"You make it sound... I thought you were ok with this"

"I don't know what I am. I couldn't handle looking at the first ultrasound. Shiro had to talk for me. I'm already stuffing everything up, and... What kind of a mother am I? I'm biologically a man. I look like a man... but I don't know what I am anymore"

Sitting back up, Keith wrapped his arms around his husband

"You're an idiot. Why do we have to label it? You're you, and that's the only thing that matters to me"

"Can you still say that if my body changes? You were attracted to me when I was a guy... I've always been a guy... I don't know what to call this body. I don't even know what to call me. What if my body changes? What if I grow breasts? Or things down there change?"

"I'll still love you"

"Even if you're not sexually attracted to me!?"

"Babe, sex is only a bonus. I love having sex with you. But I love you being safe and comfortable even more. Your heat was... long, hard and... amazing. I was even planning the things we could do the next time... You're amazing. These twins are amazing. We don't know what's going to happen, but we'll get there"

Giving into his hold, Lance rested his forehead against Keith's temple

"I feel like my body is betraying me again. It's going to grow and change... and all I want is to be normal"

"You are normal"

"I'm not. You saw the way everyone wanted to know about my seizures. I don't have a choice anymore. I have to tell them so they don't keep pushing things. Then... then they're going to want to know what I'm doing about it... I wish we'd stayed in bed... but thinking like that makes me an even worse husband"

"Why? Today has been exhausting for you"

"Because that would mean delaying you seeing them even longer. They're yours and you had to wait..."

He's only found out about them the day before... Thinking about it, it felt like a movement had passed in the last quintant and a half

"We're here now, and we're both going to see them again together. You said you could process it all, right? Then it's like we're both meeting them properly for the first time"

"I wanted you with me... so badly..."

"I know... but we get to see them again today... and I can't help but feel so fucking proud of you"

"What happens when I start showing?"

"Babe... I didn't notice it before, but you have the smallest bump already. I noticed when you pulled me down onto my bed and your shift moved"

"I do?"

"Mhmm. It's small, like after dinner with when mami cooks... you know, when we all eat way too much"

Moving his left hand to Lance's stomach, he rubbed his hand over the tiny swell. It was like Lance had popped a little over night

"Can you feel it?"

"It feels firm... what does it feel like when I rub your stomach"

"Weird... I feel like I'm hyper focused on your fingers... I guess maybe nice too. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm nervous for this and I'm nervous for dinner"

"It's ok..."

"It's not ok. You're my husband and I've been taking all my stuff out on you"

"You said it's been hard..."

"I tried to do everything I used to, before you came back into my life but I can't force those emotions down like I used to... and I know I was out there doing what I could, but my head's stupid"

"Your head isn't stupid. After all, who's lips am I going to kiss if I can't kiss yours"

"Have you tried using a mirror?"

Snorting, Keith shook his head

"I thought you'd tell me I should kiss your arse"

"If you're offering..."

"Don't tempt me..."

"I better not... you'll never let me finally have my nap if I do"

"I'm sorry you couldn't nap earlier. I would have let you if we'd had time"

"I could nap right now..."

"You could, or we could sleep in my bed where I can do all sorts of things to you"

"Like what?"

"Cuddle you. Undress you. Watching you snoring your head off"

"And they say romance is dead"

"Wait until the day of the festival, I'm going to give you all the romance you want"

"I'll hold you to that. You know, though, you haven't asked me to go with you"

"I'm not letting you go with anyone other than me. We've only had one real date, so it's way past time I spoil you"

Keith had hesitated to ask Lance to the festival given it was Allura day. He wanted to respect his husband's wishes, thought now that he could smell how happy he'd made the Cuban, he wished he'd asked sooner

"You really want me?"

"Idiot. I want you all of the time. I don't care if it's riding every single ride and eating way too much, or spending vargas sitting on the bathroom floor cuddling you. I want to make our marriage work"

"That's all I want... to figure this out. But I think I'd still prefer eating too much to be stuck in the bathroom. Vomiting gets old real quick"

"I'm sure it does... Hey, Lance. You know I love you, don't you"

"Yeah. I do... I mean, I know"

Nuzzling into Lance's face his husband pushed him away with a laugh. His smile bright and brilliant. How he wished Lance would always look at him like this all the time

"Your mullet tickles, mullet!"

Taken through to an examination room, Lance's scent had taken on a sour edge. Sitting in the chair closest to the doctor's desk, his husband looked drowned in Keith's jacket, Keith not able to help himself as he straightened out the collar as rubbed away invisible crease lines as they waited the few doboshes for the doctor join them. Smiling as he walked into the room, the man didn't seem to be of Altean origins, instead he appeared to be a mix between Olkari and something else

"Lance. Keith. I'm sorry for the short wait, one of my patients went into labour not that long ago so I was just checking in on her progress. I'm Doctor Ceelra, and I've taken over you case now that your pregnancy has been confirmed. I hope you don't mind, but I do need to take a few ticks to review your file"

Lance opened his mouth, only for nothing to come out

"That's fine. We're grateful that you could get us in tonight"

A few ticks passed with the Doctor tapped away at the keyboard connected to his monitor. Keith felt sick to his stomach with nerves. Not clearing when the man finally turned his attention back to them

"Alright, Lance. I've taken a look at your blood tests, and you appear to be both dehydrated and malnourished last movement. How have you gone with your intake since your last appointment?"

"Um... I've tried. My morning sickness has been pretty bad. I haven't been able to keep much down. I had two IV bags last night...?"

Looking to him, Keith nodded, giving Lance the best reassuring smile he could

"Two IV bags and a folate injection. He was able to keep some dry crackers down for about a varga, and a little tea, but he threw up shortly after breakfast today"

"And what colour has your urine output been?"

Lance squirmed, his scent wasn't happy at all

"Dark yellow. I know it's a sign of dehydration"

"And seizures?"

"He's had two in the last movement"

"Are you aware of the possible complications that seizures could bring? I see you aren't currently taking medication..."

"I don't like... drugs of any kind near me. I don't want to take make medication"

"Understandable given you're a recovering addict. However, I strongly recommend that we start an active plan for your seizure control. There are safer drugs we can give you that won't affect the foetuses. I also want to start you on twice weekly folic supplements. As you husband seems aware, folate is key for development during the early stages. You should be eating of leafy vegetables, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. When seizures occur it can be caused by both too much folic acid or too little. That's why I recommend one pill every three days, of a low dose. I'll also give you a prescription for a medication that will help control your seizures. Due to the damage you've been diagnosed with PTS rather than PTE, this is pending given your previous relationship with drugs..."

Fisting the fabric of his jeans, Keith knew the man had to be frank. But Lance felt guilty enough about his addiction. He didn't want to be on drugs, and he'd said as much

"Is there anything else he can try. Other than medication?"

"Medication is the best option for Lance and your children. I cannot force you to take it, but you do run the risk of miscarriage and foetal death. Possibly the death of Lance if there's a placental abruption. His body initially didn't have the ability to carry, which means we are unsure how to proceed and will need to reassess during phoebly examinations. I feel confident that with Keith's partial Galra genetics, that if Lance does go into labour after 7 months there's a raised chance of survival. But I strongly urge you to monitor your own health. I see you have issues with anxiety and depression?"

"Our situation has changed, and I'll be living with my husband full time now"

"I still want to give you something for your nerves. Running in a constant state of stress may have a range of physical symptoms attached, such as motion sickness, high blood pressure, weight gain, increased depression, lack of libido"

Counting things off on his fingers, Ceelra had no idea Keith wanted to break them. Keith didn't want to know all the risks, though he did, in this manner. He much preferred doctors like Daehra who were honest and open, without the silent judging that seemed to be happening. Keith also wasn't sure if it wasn't Lance's scent putting him on edge. His husband seemed to be sinking further down in his chair with each word out the man's mouth. He'd seemed so nice to begin with.

"Now Lance, I do need to do an external examination. No sexually transmitted diseases were found in your blood tests. And just for clarification against the file, this is your second pregnancy. The first ending in miscarriage?"

"Yes"

"And you have had problems with your menstrual cycle?"

"The last one was longer than usual"

Quiznak. He wanted to reach out and pull Lance close

"Following complications from a case of Vuulufal flu?"

"Yes"

"Ok. Now, why don't you head behind the curtains here and take your pants off. I want you to lay on your right side with your left knee brought up to your chest for me. Keith, if you'd like to wait outside..."

"Keith stays... I mean, he's my husband and the father. He stays"

"Very well. If you'd like to go ahead, I'll be in after I write up these prescriptions for you"

Lance's hands had been shaking too hard to undo his pants. His husband jittery as Keith helped him undress his lower half and settle on the examination bed. Stroking his husband's hair, Keith was stuck half bent as tried to keep Lance calm. Kissing the corner of his lips as he nuzzled into his face, trying to distracted him from what was about to come. When the Doctor pushed the curtain back, Lance whimpered softly

"Alright. Let's take a look back here and see what's going on. Have you had any pain or discomfort when using the toilet?"

"N-no"

"Good. So what I'm going to do first is a external examination. Then I'm going to use a speculum to take a deeper look. The speculum may be a bit uncomfortable, but it is necessary"

Keith winced in sympathy when he caught sight of the speculum. He felt even worse when Lance latched into his hand with a bruising grip, eyes scrunched tightly as whimpered, unable to relax over the intrusion. Detecting blood in the air, he found that Lance hidden down so hard on his lip that he'd drawn blood. With his husband unable to respond, Keith was left to answer the doctor's questions over his husband's health and "how remarkable it was that there was very little damage".

By the end of the examination neither of them were particularly happy. Lance would need a cesarean unless his body adjusted to pregnancy. Trying his hardest Lance had whispered softly that he needed to go back in time and murder whoever thought up speculums in the first place. His joking might have been funny if his body wasn't trembling. All Keith wanted to do was take Lance back to his ship so he could take that nap he so badly deserved.

"Now that all that unpleasantness is out the way, it's time for your scan. Lance, why don't you go ahead and roll onto your back for me, while I have a nurse bring in the scanner"

Helping his husband onto his back, Keith then cupped Lance's face in his hands. His husband's eyes were filled with the tears he'd refused to shed

"How do you feel? Are you sore?"

Shaking his head, Lance sniffled

"It feels gross between my legs"

"Let me clean you up. You did good"

"It hurt. I hate those things"

Kissing Lance's forehead, Keith smiled

"You got zero envy from me. With everything else, I forgot we got to finish things with the scan"

"I did too... He said things looked ok. That's good, right?"

"I think he would have said if something was wrong. He doesn't seem to have much filter on his mouth. Let me wipe you down, if it gets too uncomfortable just tell me and I'll stop"

"I'd rather be clean..."

Using the sheet from the bed to wipe his husband's arse and thighs free of lube, he then used the other end to cover Lance's junk and give him a bit more privacy than he'd had before. They might have all been men, yet with Lance's history on file the doctor should have placed Lance's comfort ahead of everything else. Taking his husband's right hand in his, he nuzzled his cheek against the back of it. Now that Lance was somewhat more comfortable, his excitement was growing again

"You're like a big puppy with all these pats"

"I can't help it. We get to see our twins soon"

"I swear if he takes any longer, I'm going to fall asleep here"

"Fortunately for you both, we're ready to perform the scan now"

Followed in by a rather plain, yet smiling woman, Lance seemed to know her

"Hi, Meria"

"Hello Lance, its lovely to see you again. This must be your husband Keith?"

"Meria was the nurse on duty when Shiro came with me. Keith got the dates wrong thanks to work, but he's ready to meet the twins"

"That's excellent. I see your belly is already exposed for me, so I'll go ahead and pop this one in place"

The device she carried with her looked like a breakfast table, especially when placed over Lance's lap. Activating the device, she tapped on the holopad and soon a screen he hadn't noticed on the wall came to life. Keith had to hand it to the Altean's, when it came to technology they made it appear seamless. Synching the screen and the scanner, Keith's eyes widened as image appeared on the screen. His eyes rushing to fill with the flood of emotion he felt over the two small humans inside his husband. Gripping Lance's hand harder, he couldn't take his eyes off the screen. The word "incredible" didn't come close to how he felt over it. They were their twins. The two tiny humans they'd created together...

"Keith? Babe?"

Pulled back to reality, Keith realised tears were racing down his face

"They're perfect... Babe... look at them... look how small they are"

Wiping at his face with his right hand, Lance squeezed the left one

"How do you feel, daddy?"

"P-proud... so fucking proud... I've never seen anything like it... that's our twins... babe..."

Overwhelmed, Keith leaned down to kiss Lance passionately, not caring about the tears or snot as he tried to convert every ounce of happiness he was feeling into the kiss.

"Both have good heartbeats. You can see the seperate sacs. Shall I go ahead and zoom in now? Or would you like a moment?"

Meria's voice made Lance jump, his husband blushing slightly as Keith broke the kiss to stare down at the man he adored

"Can you zoom in please? Keith wasn't here last time and he's been so excited to see them"

"Here we go"

Keeping close to Lance, Keith sidestepped around the corner of the bed, his cheek against Lance's as he stared up at the screen in wonder. He didn't think he'd be able to see things so clearly on the screen, yet he found himself letting out a sob at their tiny forming hands. And their noses! They had tiny little noses! And... and... god... he was so fucking proud... And quiznak... Lance's tiny tummy was adorable. Kissing his cheek, Lance sighed softly

"Is it everything you thought it would be?"

"And more... we're going to be parents"

"Yeah, we are. Daddy Keith. I hope they look like you"

"No. I hope they look like you, and have your compassion..."

"We'll have to wait to find out... but I still think a copy of you would be adorable"

"No one wants a copy of me"

"I do. I mean, a baby copy. Not like a clone copy..."

Lance was completely wrong in this instance. He'd seen his husband's baby photos, plus the photos of Lance growing up. He was a cute kind of goofy that was adorable. Taking a deep breath, his senses were flooded with Lance's exhausted scent. He was relieved to find happiness in there, but it was very nearly drowned out by how tired Lance truly was

"They're so perfect..."

Kissing his cheek again, Lance was amazing. More than amazing. He was incredible. And even that failed to explain everything

"Like their daddy Keith. I love you, babe"

"I love you too, sharpshooter"

"Everything is looking good. You can see the growth since your last scan... and you're right on track to be giving birth on the 29th of January, by your Earth time and measurements. I'll print you a copy of the scan results"

Keith nodded quickly

"Is there a way to get a copy of the video?"

Meria smiled politely

"If you have your comms, you can film while we take the measurements. Both video files will be stored on file, so if you bring in a data chip with you for your next scan, we'll be able to upload the videos for you"

Lance laughed softly as Keith fumbled to get his comms off his wrist and pointed at the holoscreen

"Thank you. He's been a ball of excitement since we walked into the hospital"

"It's nice that he could be here this time. Let's turn the volume on so you can hear their heartbeats"

Heartbeats? They got to hear both heartbeats?! He was already feeling invincible... and couldn't stop crying even if someone paid him to. They were going to be parents!

Keith was still on cloud 9 as they left the hospital. Lance was pretty much sleep walking next to him, refusing to be carried a second time, while all Keith wanted to do was get back to his ship and look at the photos from the scan again. He was going to be a dad. Daddy Keith as Lance said... As Daddy Lance said. Having stopped to pick up the medication Lance's doctor had prescribed, the battle there had only just begun. Lance didn't want pills. Even pills that were good for him and their babies. He wasn't going to push Lance after all he'd been through that night, nor did he want to upset him at the festival, but he was sure it was one of those things where it was better for Lance to start earlier rather than later.

Keeping his husband propped up with his arm around his waist. Shiro was waiting for them not far from the hospital entrance on the grass area. Seeing his brother, he wanted to yell to the world that Lance was carrying their twins, and that their babies were healthy. Lance was getting there, the Doctor had prescribed additional pills to help with the pregnancy, and emphasised the importance of eating even if it was just grazing on small snacks through the day... Still, as worried as he was about his husband, his heart was still racing from seeing his twins. A phrase that wasn't going to get old any time soon. Feeling Lance take his hand off from around his waist, Keith looked to his husband questionally

"I can feel your excitement. Go jump on Shiro and work off some of this extra energy"

"Are you sure? You're practically sleep walking"

"I'm sure... And I'm sure he's worried"

"Ok. I love you"

"I love you too, you idiot. Now go hug your brother"

Running off across the grass, Shiro caught him with ease as Keith launched himself at him. Wrapping an arm around his stomach, his older brother messed with his hair, the smile on his face wide

"I take it everything went well"

"I got to see them! They're so small! I'm going to be a dad"

"Yes, you are. You're going to be a fantastic father... I don't know about a fantastic husband, you left Lance to come charging at me"

"He told me to... he said I needed to burn off some energy. I... Shiro, they're so perfect... You could see their noses... I want to scream how perfect they are"

Laughing happily, Shiro kissed the top of his head

"You've come so far, Keith. I'm so proud of you. You know, Shiro's a great name for a kid"

"We haven't even started talking names. Plus we don't know the gender... and Lance is due to give birth at the end of January, so we have time"

"Sorry Shiro. He's been like a kid on a sugar high since the ultrasound. You should have seen him crying"

Finally reaching them, Lance let himself be drawn in to a now three way hug

"Shut up. I was excited. Did you see how perfect our babies are?"

"Yeah. Just like their daddy"

Yawning widely, Lance slumped against Shiro's broad chest. Shiro raising an eyebrow at him. Lance's eyes were already sliding shut as Shiro took over his job of holding Lance upright

"He's exhausted"

"Severe exhaustion is a symptom. If you guys want to crash in the palace, Coran has organised rooms for everyone"

"I think that's the best course of action. He's still needs to eat more, but the Doctor has given him I think 6 different sets of pills to help"

"I'm not taking the pills. I just need sleep..."

Shiro nodded, letting Keith go so he could lift Lance up into his hold. His husband groaning his disapproval

"I can walk"

"I think Keith's already got the walking part covered, buddy"

"I wanna walk"

Kissing Lance's temple, his husband wasn't getting out of being carried. His heart couldn't take anything happening because Lance had tripped and fallen

"Nope. I'm your husband, and I want to carry you"

"I don't wanna be carried... I'm not dying"

"No. But you are carrying our babies. Shiro, we got to hear their heartbeats, and they said if we bring in a data chip next time, they'll put the ultrasound videos on it for us"

"That's great guys. I'm glad it was good news for you. Let me show you through to where we're all bedding down. I think we're just going to end up crashing wherever and calling that our room for our stay"

Mumbling sleepily, Lance nosed into Keith's chest. They probably wouldn't be able to do this once Lance's stomach started swelling...

"Can we sleep near you guys? Don't want the others to... if I wake up... yelling"

With Shiro in full "Doting Uncle Mode", the next evolution of "Space Dad Mode" he ruffled Lance's hair as he moved past them to lead the way to the palace

"Of course you can. I think Curtis already picked a room, so I'll give him a call. And I want to see those photos too"

Unable to stop himself, Keith nodded quickly as he gushed

"They look so much bigger than last time... and they're so tiny. I recorded some of it with my comms... Lance has got the smallest bump happening. I totally didn't notice until he pulled me down for cuddles. It's adorable"

Everything he said seemed to have Shiro laughing softly, the mood so good between the three of them

"You're showing me that too. Not the bump but the prints. The end of January... I think we can come up with a gift or two by then. And you'll need a baby shower..."

"You two are as bad as each other. I guess we know which uncle is going to spoil them the most"

"Damn right I am. My baby bro is growing up and having babies of his own..."

"Mmm... I think Keith got the better deal here... I have to give birth, and he got to wreck my booty"

"I'm smart enough not to touch that one. Did they say if... uh, how you'll be giving birth?"

Keith shook his head, Lance was sleepy rambling and likely to say anything

"No. Because his case is... well. They said they'd have a better idea once his body starts adapting to the pregnancy"

"I don't wanna push them out my butt. I like my butt"

"I know you do, babe. It's a very nice butt"

"Yours is better... your butt in those black skinny leg jeans... it's a work of art... could stare at it all day... your butt and your face... my husband is so pretty"

Keith felt his cheeks growing warm under Lance's praise? He wasn't sure if it was praise of sleepy husband flirting

"I thought I was cool, big and grizzled?"

"With a monster dick... such a big dick"

Shiro sucked in his lips, shaking with laughter as Keith blushed harder. Shiro didn't need to know about that, or the way his dick swelled and caught on Lance's soft warm walls. That had to be a Galra thing... only it'd only happened with Lance, not during puberty or the those moments spent with his hand

"Alright you, that's enough scarring Shiro"

"I'm just saying that with a dick like that, there's no wonder I got knocked up"

A squeal escaped Shiro's lips, Keith groaning

"Baaaabe, you're killing me"

"'m sorry... love my husband so much. He's so pretty"

"You're the pretty one"

"Nooo... I'm ugly... my body's all dirty"

The mood sobered immediately. Shiro's smile faltering as he gazed down at Lance. Keith loathed it when Lance spoke of himself that way

"Babe, you're not dirty. You're not"

"Am... feels gross"

"What feels gross?"

"My butt..."

"He had an internal examination with a speculum"

Shiro winced in sympathy at Keith's explanation

"Yeah. Those aren't great"

"Hate being touched by him..."

"I know you did, but you did so well, baby. So proud of you"

"Mmm... think I'm sleepy"

"Then get some sleep. I've got you"

"I wanted to walk... was so embarrassing having to be carried"

"Oh, and here I was thinking I was being nice"

Keith shot Shiro a clear scowl that said "don't encourage him"

"You're nice... I'm sorry I hated you so much... just wanted to be more like you and Keith... you're both better than I am"

Scolding Lance softly, he was sorely tempted to cover Lance's mouth

"Ok, that's enough. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're my husband I love you. So stop being an idiot"

"But I'm your idiot?"

Lance sounded genuinely confused about his status as "Keith's idiot"

"You are. We're two halves of the same idiot"

"Hehe... that's true. You're really pretty"

Keith wasn't falling into this loop again. Not reply, a few long doboshes passed before Lance relaxed completely in his hold

"He's asleep. Sorry, Shiro. He rambles when he gets sleepy"

"It was entertaining while it lasted, though I'm not sure I needed to know about your monster dick"

"I don't think you needed to know either"

"Still, it's nice to see him being open about how he feels about you"

"Yeah. He can be cute like that... He says he wants the twins to look like me, but I hope they look like him"

"Why don't you just hope for one each?"

"Because he's cuter"

"He has you whipped. I better call Curtis, Lance distracted me"

"He's good at that too. He wanted to stay in bed and cuddle before the appointment. I wish I could have let him. Oh! Since when do you know things about pregnancy!?"

"I looked some stuff up after I found out Lance was"

"You're better at this than we are... I haven't looked anything up. I don't even know what to look up"

"Maybe you and Lance could do it together? I think he'd like that"

"Yeah. That's a good idea... seeing the scan today. It made it so real"

"It's only going to get realler from here on out. Don't forget if you two need anything, I'm here"

"I know..."

Curtis met them at the palace entry, the man smiling softly when he saw Lance asleep in Keith's arms

"Someone had a big day. Is it alright to ask how it went at the hospital?"

Lance wanting to bring Curtis into the fold was sweet, but he knew Lance hadn't told the man about the pregnancy only the seizures

"Good. Alright. They've given him some medication that should help with the seizures. He's in rough shape, but between the three of us we should be able to get him back on his feet"

"It seems unfair after all you went through that he has seizures. Is there nothing that Altea can do?"

"No. His quintessence runs higher than a normal person's constantly, so he heals faster than normal, but even with Allura's magic in his system he couldn't heal the brain damage. When his body has multiple things to focus on healing, they all heal slowly... and he heals to scar or mottled skin most of the time. They've given him medication but he hates taking medication in way, shape or form. Now he's supposed take like 4 of these daily, and 6 pills every three days..."

"Ah. Well. I'm sure if you talk him he'll realise it's for the best. I let Coran know you won't be at dinner tonight. He said he'd visit you in the morning, and not to stress"

"Yeah. He and Lance are really close. He's like an uncle to all of us"

"I can see why. It felt to me as if it took a lot of courage for him to talk to me"

Keith nodded at Curtis

"It did. His PTSD is out of control, yet he insisted he explain things to you because he wanted to preserve Shiro's happiness. He felt guilty taking Shiro away from you"

"He'd only have to feel guilty if he was attempting to seduce my boyfriend"

"He carries a lot of guilt over a lot of things. I don't know what it's called, but the area of his brain that got damaged deals with feelings. It affects his flight or fight responses. He also gets depressed because sometimes he'll get confused and he can't follow time anymore"

"Keith, I think that's enough for now. Lance isn't awake to speak for himself"

Shiro's voice was soft but firm, Keith frowning at his brother

"Lance wanted to be open and honest with Curtis about this. He said he really admired the way you and Curtis work through things. That's why he didn't want to put pressure on your relationship, and why he wanted Curtis to understand so he'd never think it was something it wasn't. He's stupidly soft hearted. He'll always go to the point of self implosion to protect the people he cares about"

"That's a good quality to have. Let me show you through to your room. I have a few ration bars you two can split. I found them in the bottom of our suitcase from New Years"

"Dare I ask why you had ration bars stashed?"

"I'm not one for the fancy food. In all honesty, I would have preferred going camping with Shiro to being stuck at home for that New Years party"

Curtis hadn't let those feelings show at all... Keith's New Years had been all over the place, ending with him getting lost and being found by husband, then some rather fun fooling around in the bathroom as Lance missed his grazes better...

"You guys should just come to Cuba and hang out with the family this year... Mami and Jorge would love to have you. We could make a thing of it... Even go camping on Lance's farm..."

Shiro cleared his throat

"I think Lance might have other things on his mind around then, but we'll definitely keep it in mind"

For a few ticks Keith didn't get it, then it him like the Atlas to the face. His husband was going to be very pregnant then. His husband was going to have to face his family while very pregnant. With all the judgemental aunties... Would they even be able to go back to Earth for Christmas!?

"Oh... I forgot about that... Maybe we can go glamping? Is that what they call that fancy camping that really isn't camping?"

"You're really into this idea of camping aren't you?"

Keith nodded, his gaze firmly on his sleeping husband. It would be their last Christmas as just the two of them... Plus his husband deserved to be spoilt

"I just think it'll be fun..."

Saving his mood, Curtis asked

"Don't you constantly have to camp during your job?"

"It's not the same though. Lance is fun to camp with. Everyone else... it gets repetitive. Krystaal isn't too bad. He spends most of his time doing goofy things and trying to make everyone laugh

"Sorry, I don't know the name of your recruits"

"Krystaal is the one who looks a lot like Lotor. Except he has a wicked senses of humour. He's also pretty good with a gun and with a sword... He also actually listens to instructions in the field, which is a huge plus when it comes to them. And he gets on with the rest of my team, which isn't exactly easy to do..."

Focused on Lance, Keith misses the exchange between Curtis and Shiro. His voice filling with excitement and unexpected warmth over his new friend

"It's great that your having a good time with you recruits. It must be a relief for Krolia"

"Yeah. I'm going to have a new baby sibling soon. Mum thinks Krystaal looks like the love child of Acxa and Lotor, though Acxa swears it's not true"

"I don't know how Veronica would take that"

"I'm not stupid enough to say that in front of her. You know she called Lance an idiot like a hundred times today for making her worry about him, and for not telling her he was sick. I feel like she should know how fragile he is about that stuff by now. I don't care if it's their thing. He's too emotionally compromised"

Keith didn't think anything of it again as Curtis showed them through to the room next to his and Shiro's. Laying Lance out on their bed, his husband didn't stir. With Curtis not knowing of the pregnancy, the time wasn't right to show Shiro the scans of the twins, so when Curtis went to fetch the ration bars, Keith promised to show him the following day, his smile plastered across his face over the twins all over again. Leaving them with half a dozen ration bars, Keith said goodnight to the pair and went about stripping Lance down and getting him under the covers before stripping down himself and opting to leave the ensuite light on incase Lance woke up needing to vomit during the night. Making sure the pill bottles were on the bedside table, next to the ration bars, Keith finally climbed into their bed where he looped Lance's arm around his waist and settled down to watch the ultrasound recording on repeat.

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welcometoyournewhell · 6 years

Text

A request from @whatislife1babydonthurtme, done in this format because Tumblr is being beyond stupid.

“Galtean Klance AU part 1! (this is a little long so I had to split it in two) So I like the headcanon that Alteans aren't ticklish, it's just not a part of their species. They have different physical definitions of sensitivity. So, an Alternate Universe where Lance is Altean and Keith is fully Galran, Lance isn't ticklish, but apparently the Galra are. Lance finds out about this on accident. He has no idea what the hell is happening and experiments on his fluffy boyfriend.”

“Galtean Klance AU part 2! So Keith, having been an orphan and not being used to physical contact, is so confused like wtf is happening to his body? Why is he laughing?? But he also weirdly enjoys it because it feels nice and it fills his body with butterflies and giddiness. And Lance is 200% serious like "why is this so funny to you? I don't get it." And Keith just laughs because he doesn't know the answer anyway.“

“Galtean Klance AU (part 3?? I forgot a small detail ; v ;) Afterwards, Keith tries to do it back on Lance, he pokes various spots on Lance's body but nothing happens and Keith is like (O___o) ??????????????”

___

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I honestly wasn’t liking how it was turning out. Also, Tumblr for some odd reason won’t allow copying and pasting without a lot of code when using the computer?? So to transfer the story from Google Docs took a bit of figuring out. I hope you enjoy!

It had been an arranged day like any other. The two princes had been engaged since childhood and had been growing up alongside each other to ensure a positive outcome.

As the wedding day came closer, Alfor demanded Keith spend the night at the castle. Adam was horrified and felt the fear of betrayal on it’s way. The Altean hybrid would be damned if his baby would be living with such a man.

Lance was fine, Coran was fine, Allura was fine, but Alfor? The man who played favorites among his children, the man who acted as if Lance was just property? Not a chance in hell.

As soon as word got out that Adam and Shiro, the young kings of a new Galran planet, had taken in a child…. the Altean king was at their doorstep with both children in arms in hopes of an alliance.

Allura was six, Lance was four, and Keith was five. The queen had been appalled. He was involved. But there was a problem. If Allura chose Lotor, she’s have to rule from Druel to carry old traditions, or disrespect her in-laws and stay on Altea, with out her husband.

If she chose Romelle, she’d stay and rule here. The was a problem that rested on Lance’s shoulders. If his sister left, he’d have to rule. His father would rather him leave the planet all together, but there were no more heirs.

But if Allura left, there would be war. The queen of the new Galran world wouldn’t let his baby be taken from him. Forced to marry young, forced to live somewhere else, not allowed to choose who he married?! The nerve!

But…. that was between the grown ups, and that was Allura’s stress. For now the seventeen-year-olds were having fun just spending time together. “Why do you tie your hair so tightly? Or is this Adam?” Lance was slowly massaging his boyfriend’s scalp after he undid the long braid.

Keith purred softly at the touch, blushing from the comment. “Adam was busy this morning and… it just didn’t feel like I did it right.” The younger prince giggled softly. “Maybe you should cut your hair?” He received a head turn, followed by a glare.

“I’m just saying, you kind of look like a chick!” The Galran prince sighed as he studied the wall before him again.“ All my people wear their hair like this.” He shivered as fingers brushed against the back of his neck. “Ture, but you have a doll face.” Unlike Shiro,

Keith didn’t have a tail. He couldn’t just playfully twack the other as his brother could. “Why is your bed so…. Squishy?” His best tactic was to change the subject. “Hm?”

The Altean examined his own bed. He was a bit confused, it wasn’t his fiancée's first time in his chamber… or on the bed. “You’ve never said anything before. It’s the same mattress I’ve had for years.” Keith nodded slowly. “It’s just… really… squishy.”

He squeezed it in emphasis, it puffed out in his hands as if he were squeezing his own thigh… but looser. “Well yeah… is yours not?” He’d have to fix that if they moved to Keith’s room. Honestly… Lance wanted to leave. He’d miss his home, he’d miss Coran, but he could visit.

But… he cared not for his government, for his father. Coran was his father, that’s all Lance cared about. “No. It’s firm…. Not… pudding.” The younger prince rolled his eyes at the comment.

They continued on in silence. As Lance finished, he draped the braid over the older’s shoulder before leaning forward and kissing the nape of his love’s neck. Keith jumped slightly before trying to look over at the other.

His fiancée refused to move as he boredly brushed his lips around the area. Purple eyes widened as nerves responded to the touch. Heat and laughter attempted to bubble to the surface before the male moved forward, covering his mouth.

“L-Lance!” The younger pulled back, sitting up. “Dude, I was just messing with you.” He didn’t mean to offend his boyfriend. “I.. I know but. It tickled,” he huffed. It what? Pencil thin brows lowered. “It… what?” Did he hear him correctly? “Huh?” Keith sat back up, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What did you say? You know?” He moved back forward to do the motion again against the side of the other’s neck. “Ack! H-Hey,” the attacked squeaked. He pushed his fiancée back some as he leaned back. “That, what was that? You called it something earlier.” Huh? Oh. The Galran processed before rubbing the area and sitting up again.

“I tickled,” Keith repeated. The Altean tilted his head. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d hit a language barrier. “What’s tickled?” The older prince blushed a bit more. “Um… well… it’s.” He took a breath. They both knew Keith was terrible at explaining things.

“Tickled is the past tense for something that tickles. Which is the feeling when someone runs their fingers or something over a sensitive, or ticklish body part? I don’t know. Curtis and Shiro said it was a nerve thing.”

Well… that didn’t help. He moved back against the large headboard before patting his lap. “Come, show me.” Sighing, Keith crawled over before awkwardly sitting by the other. “Um?” He wasn’t sure how to show Lance.

Should he… have Lance tickle him? Slowly, he took the other’s hand and placed it on his side. “I guess…. Just kind of move your hands? Like your fingers?” The other was a bit confused, but nodded. “Like… like this?” He just tapped them stiffly against the area. It wasn’t doing much.

“No… like… maybe a squeezing motion, it scratching… or wiggling?” Blue met purple at the last one. “Wiggling?” The fiancée nodded before putting his hand up. “Like this.” He demonstrated the motion. “Okay?” Lance shook his head a bit before trying it, and pulled back quickly at the response.

Keith squeaked before moving to the side. “What was that?!” His love had spazed out, an unholy noise escaped his lips! “It tickled,” Keith explained. “I’m really ticklish.” The Galran prince started giggling helplessly as both hands found his side.

The Altean was interested in this new discovery. He’d never seen anything like it. Apart from the snorts, wheezes, and unholy noises, the younger noted the action was making his love laugh.

“Sthahaop, L-Lhahance!” Fingers had decided to explore outwards. The soft tummy and back were under attack. Sure, the back earned a few giggles, but the tummy… The younger pulled back quickly to avoid the moving limbs, the scream escaping the other also scared him.

“What was that?!” Keith was giggling softly, arms covering his tummy as he curled up. “It tickled,” came the same reply. “That’s one of my worst spots!” He was talking as if Lance knew this information, as if he was talking to Adam.

The hybrid would tickle the younger as punishment, bonding, comfort, etc. Just typical parental things. He wasn’t expecting for his arms to be pulled away, and be turned onto his back in a quick motion. “L-Lance!” His mind was stuck back with Adam. His family were the only ones who could tickle him.

This was… a little odd? “I wanna do that again!” Child-like excitement filled the prince’s eyes. “What? Wait, no ,no, nahahao!” The Glaran’s head flew back as he squealed. His hands met the Altean’s as his energy weakened.

“Lahahance, stop it!” The other was amazed. He stopped quickly when the other cried out for air. “That’s really cool, and pretty cute. Who’d have thought a few touches were all that was needed to bring down the all-mighty, emo, edgey, Glaran prince?”

Keith huffed in annoyance before flipping the tables and pinning his boyfriend beneath him. “Really? Because in a minute I’m going to have you pleading for mercy!” Fingers dug into the prince’s sides, tummy, ribs, hell Keith even tried his fet. Nothing, not even a flinch. “What? How is it your… you of all people have to be ticklish!

“How is this possible?” The younger shrugged. “I’ve never seen that before honestly.” That’s when it hit Keith. During tickle fights between Shiro and Adam, Adam would always win. Shiro would mutter something about Alteans being immune to it. Though Adam was a hybrid, he could hardly feel the sensations.

“Damn it,” he sighed. The Altean prince looked up rather confused. “What's your issue?” Keith sighed before poking the exposed tummy. “Alteans aren’t ticklish… I just remembered.” Lance frowned before smirking.

“Oh but… I think you make up for it nicely. Come here!” The remainder of the night was filled with giggles and squeals as the prince educated himself more on the subject of tickling. Let’s just say… they didn’t wake up until past noon.

#hell answers #klance #dad squad #shuram #galara keith #altean lance #2019

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voltron-s7-8-rewrite · 5 years

Text

The Last Stand, Part 2

This is part of my Voltron Season 7 & 8 re-write. If you are interested start HERE

(Just as a warning, this is not beta’d)

Sendak’s force invade Earth, attacking all major military bases, including the Garrison. Sanda orders their fighter pilots to engage, but Sam wants to send out the MFEs. However Sanda, in all conscience, can’t send out the Garrison’s only Altean-based fighters with young officers that haven’t been in a real battle before.

The Garrison defense force, led by Adam, engages Sendak’s fighters. They put up a valiant effort, and try to keep the Galra away from Plaht City as it evacuates for as long as they can, but eventually they are all killed.

Sendak sends a message to the world, either they give him the Lions of Voltron, or he will destroy Earth once city at a time. The officers ask Sanda if they should respond, but she says no. If they reveal that they don’t know the whereabouts of Voltron, what’s to stop Sendak from destroying Earth right away? They need to play this right and buy time for the Rebel’s aid.

~+~

As more and more military bases are taken down across the world, Sendak picks up on the Garrison’s Altean defenses. He orders his forces to focus on taking them down.

With no other options available, Sanda gives the go ahead to launch the MFEs. Led by Griffin, the MFE’s are actually able to do some damage to Sendak's ships, and with the aid of the Garrison’s new Fusion cannon, they take one of his cruisers down.

Figuring out that the MFE’s can’t go far, Sendak decides to retreat from the Garrison and focus on attacking the general populations. He wants to break the Garrison’s spirit by forcing them to sit and watch as he conquers everyone around them.

Unable to follow and fight, the Garrison watches in horror as Sendak slowly takes over Earth.

~+~

After Sendak’s first campaign, Sanda and the remain Leadership go over the base’s status with Sam and the others. They realize their supplies are limited, and need both food for their people, and building materials to finish the Atlas. Veronica points to a nearby abandoned supply depot that they can reach through old war train tunnels.

The MFE Pilots are sent to the depot to gather what they can, with Veronica joining them as a guide. They are able to make it there, and find an old train that they get working, loading it with supplies. As they are preparing to leave, Galra sentries find them and a fight breaks out.

Veronica stays behind as the train takes off in order to keep the sentries off their tail. Griffin wants to go back, but an explosion brings the tunnel down, preventing any sort of rescue. The MFE pilots are deeply affected by Veronica’s sacrifice, and vow to continue fighting for her.

~+~

Having figured Voltron is not on Earth, Sendak orders the destruction of Earth’s communication system, hoping that silence from their planet will bring the Paladin’s to him.

Meanwhile, he starts having the human survivors rounded up and put into work camps in order to start building his own defenses on Earth.

~+~

Overtime, the Garrison once again runs low on the building materials for the Atlas. Having seen the world conquered around them, survivors enslaved, and contact with the rest of humanity cut off, morale is low as there’s no sign of the Rebels’ aid.

Just as the Garrison is feeling it’s lowest, an underground human resistance arrives, bringing families and loved ones together, and restoring hope.

Veronica is within the resistance, after having fought off the sentries, she met the other survivors and found the surviving members of her family.

She informs the Garrison what she knows about the imprisoned survivors, and Sanda and the Leadership decide they can’t sit and wait for help any longer; they have to do something.

~+~

In an attempt to bring hope to the world and get a message out to anyone who could help, the Garrison launches a missile into space. Sendak's forces destroy it, which is exactly what the Garrison wanted them to do. With its destruction, millions of micro-transmitters are unleashed, sending their message out to anyone listening.

~+~

As the Garrison prepares for their final stand, Voltron heads to Earth.

.::+::.

Another episode where not a whole lot is changed. Mostly just more fixing Sanda’s attitude/reasoning/decisions. Making her and the other Garrison leaders less idiotic.

I know they did their best to make Sanda look unreasonable with not sending out the MFE’s when Sendak first attacks, but was that really unreasonable? I mean, what if they sent the MFE’s out and the ships failed in battle? Those were the only working Altean-based airships they had. With Sendak attacking, and the Garrison’s focus being on finishing the Atlas, it’s unlikely they could have spared materials to make more.

That said, Sanda’s choice of contacting Sendak and telling him they don’t have, or know where the Lions are was just so unbelievably stupid. Like, seriously!? Sure, just lay all your cards out, let him know you don’t have what he wants. Why don’t you give him the codes for opening the particle barrier while you’re at it!? It’s a really good thing he wanted to use Earth as a hostage, and didn’t decide to just blow it up right then and there.

And I know people might be upset, but I kept Adam’s death in. I know it’s very a controversial element, but when originally watching the season, while it was a surprise to see, it worked to me; as shortly after his death, Veronica had appeared to have been killed. I figured that all the Paladins were going to lose someone.

And though it’s sad, I liked that idea. After all Pidge, Keith, and Allura already lost loved ones and were deeply and personally affected by the war. So, it made sense to me that now Lance, Hunk, and Shiro would also have to deal with that.

...But then Veronica turned out to be fine, and on top of that found her entire family alive and in perfect health, and then Hunk’s parents turn out fine. So, in the end only Adam died. Cool, cool, totally cool.

It’s not cool.

So, I decided if Shiro has to lose a loved one, Everyone has to lose a loved one! While I want Veronica to live, I killed Lance’s brother Marco, and his dad. Hence the line, “Veronica found the surviving members of her family ”.

I’m also offing people in Hunk’s family, but you’ll have to wait to see how that plays out later.

Pidge’s family may not lose any members, but two were enslaved by the Galra and they all lost years of their lives together, so they weren’t untouched by the war. Plus Pidge lost Rayner and many of her Olkari friends, so it’s not like she didn’t not lose people.

#james griffin #ina leifsdottir #nadia rizavi #ryan kincade #voltron #MyVoltronSeasonSummary #mywritings

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loveafterthefact · 4 years

Text

Love After the Fact Chapter 73: Care and After

Keith and Lance have to wait two movements to take a pregnancy test. In the meantime, Keith recuperates and some actual work gets done.

And I finally stop shitting on Krolia quite so much, bc I'm nice like that 😇

First Previous Next

Krolia stops by while Keith is in a deep sleep, offering the excuse that she’s bringing them more food and returning BleepBloop. Once she’s made her excuse plausible, the offerings placed in the cellar beneath the remaining packages she’d given them a movement ago, she admits her true purpose with a question.

“How is he?”

“He’s fine,” Lance murmurs, brushing hair out of Keith's face. He pushes one foot rhythmically against the wall, letting their hanging bed sway gently back and forth. “The night before last, he had some trouble holding his fever. I ended up putting him in a hot bath. Then last night, his fever broke fully.”

“When his fever dropped the first time, was it a false break or just a drop in temperature?”

“No… It was my fault. It got really cold out, and I forgot to feed the fire. He couldn’t keep up. He was still having chills, and was slightly lucid. He suggested I run him a bath. I don’t think he remembers, though.”

“A dip in fever is pretty normal for a first season. Galra are never as strong their first time around. You handled it well.”

“Mhm. I missed him, though.” Lance smiles, gaze soft as it travels over Keith’s face. “He’s my friend. My ‘Person’, y’know? And I’m his ‘Person’... I don’t know. It just- It felt like he wasn’t here anymore. Obviously, I’ll still be here for him every time, however he wants me, but I think I’ll always like it better when he’s being rude and demanding. Or complaining.”

The Altean’s mouth quirks. “I’m sure I’ll get an earful about something or other when he wakes.”

That quirk rises into a grin. He loves it when Keith gives him a hard time. It’s one of his ways of showing his love, and that he’s comfortable with him. It’s one of Lance’s favorite things.

Keith stirs in his sleep, whimpers against Lance’s throat. Long brown fingers slide up to his ear, massaging the base in just the right spot. Practiced. Caring.

When he glances up to the silent woman, she’s watching, expression perfectly neutral. When she speaks, it’s not bitter, only quiet. “Why couldn’t you be what I wanted you to be?”

“Do you know, I think you’re the first person to ask me that to my face? Most people I meet just give underhanded comments about whatever aspect of myself they take issue with.” Keith settles against him once more, sinking deeper into sleep with a sigh. Lance takes a moment to smile at him. “But either way, it doesn’t matter. I am who I am, and what I am, and if there’s one thing I’ll never apologize for, it’s that.”

Lance tips his forehead to rest against Keith’s. “He calls me his ‘good man’. I need to live up to that.”

“You’d fucking better.” The woman sighs. “I need to get back up to the compound. Take good care of him for me.”

“You have my word.”

“So… My arm is dead. And your hair is in my mouth.”

“That sounds like a You Problem,” Keith mumbles, even as he shifts in a weak attempt to restore blood flow to Lance’s arm.

“The burdens of being the big spoon,” Lance murmurs, kissing the back of Keith’s neck while subtly trying to get fur out of his mouth. “Feeling any better? You’ve been sleeping all day.”

“A little. Guess I’ll sleep some more, take a bath, eat something, and then…”

“Find a way to keep busy for two movements?”

“Yeah.” Keith finds Lance’s hand slung over his waist, grips it tight. “I know I shouldn’t make such a fuss about this. It’s all chance, not a big deal if we’re not pregnant, but-”

“It is a big deal. Either way, this is going to dictate how the next few phoebs will go, or the rest of our lives. It’s an especially big deal for you, I know. All those social pressures and everything. But it’s ten quintants. We’ll get through it together, just like we do everything else, okay?”

“Okay.” A restless quiet stretches between them. “I need a bath.”

“You really, really do. Would you like me to run one for you?”

“Rude. But yes, please and thank you.”

“Trust me, I need one too.” Lance gets up, ignoring Keith’s grumbling when he does. “I’ll go first. You go back to sleep, or get a snack, okay?”

The prince kisses his cheek, sets one of Krolia’s leaf-meals next to him on their bed. Keith groans, not at all in the mood to return the affection. He’s so grumpy when he’s tired…

Ancients, Lance loves him.

When Keith finally emerges from the den, he’s freshly bathed, long, thick hair still dripping, hanging loose down his bare back. He’s a bit self-conscious, having noticed almost immediately that he’s lost a noticeable amount of weight.

Lance, while (suspiciously) vocal of his appreciation for Krolia giving them food, is cooking them some fresh fish out front, complete with bread and vegetables. Keith notices that there’s definitely extra food there, no doubt in an effort to stuff him full of nutrients.

“Hey.”

“Hey- Hi. How are you?” Lance searches him earnestly, looking for clues.

“I feel like shit. But you probably figured that. Also, my head hurts from keeping my hair braided for so long.”

“Yes, I figured that. Do you want me to dry your hair for you?”

“Yes, please. But leave it loose.” Keith hands him a towel, sitting beside him on the ground. “I could swear I almost forgot what the sky looked like.”

“Well, right now it looks gloomy.” It does indeed, overcast and thundering. The world is cast in grey light, leeching the bright reds from the earth. Lance gently squeezes water from Keith’s hair, glancing regularly at their dinner to avoid burning anything. “Apparently, the storm ‘system’ that came over when your season started is still passing over.”

“Yeah, it happens this time of year. We’re nearing the monsoon season.”

“I thought you didn’t have seasons.”

“We do, but not temperature-y seasons. We have rainy seasons, dry seasons, harvest seasons, rutting seasons, lots of different seasons, but we definitely don’t have winter.”

“Rutting seasons?”

“The elk. They start bugling and mating and all that stuff. Then they calve, and the wolves have their pups.” Keith lifts his eyes to the heavy clouds. “It’s good you’re cooking now. It’s going to rain again in just a little bit.”

Lance finishes, leaving Keith’s hair ever so slightly damp, but at least no longer dripping. The Galra disappears back into the den, comes out with their cloaks instead of the towel. Lance sighs with relief, grateful for the warmth as a chilled breeze tumbles over them. Keith snuggles close, rests his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Thanks for taking care of me. You did a good job.”

“Aw, thanks, beloved. It was my pleasure.” The rain finally starts, and Lance sighs. “I hope our food’s done.”

“Seriously. I want to eat everything right now.” Keith grabbed the cast iron pan of vegetables while Lance pulled the rolls from the stone oven and grabbed the fish, sliding them off the roasting sticks and into the vegetable pan.

“If not, I’ll make a fire inside and finish it for us. Come on.”

They’re inside just as it starts pouring.

“So… When do we start thinking about names for our kits?” Keith sets their food by the inside fireplace, gets a fire going to keep it warm.

“Uh… I’m not sure.” Lance peels off his wet shirt, dropping it on the floor. “My grandmother dictated my and Allura’s name before my mother was even of legal age. Depending on which characters you use, ‘Lancel’ means ‘paladin’ and ‘providence’, or it can mean ‘bloody ruler’.”

“Well that’s a bit on the nose.” Keith scoops BleepBloop into his arms, scratching his little belly. “Which characters do you use?”

“My grandmother was an extremely unpleasant person. I suspect she wished for ‘bloody ruler’, but she died before I was born. My father chose ‘paladin’ and ‘providence’, most likely to spite her... What does your name mean?” Lance’s head pops out of a fresh shirt.

“No idea. I’d have to go to Earth to find that out, and no one alive knows where it is. Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Do you want our kits to be like you?” Keith pulls a bread roll from the tray, tearing off half and handing it to Lance. He’ll start out slow, so he doesn’t get nauseous, but Keith’s determined to start gaining weight as quickly as he can. ‘Just in case’, as with most everything he does these days. He’s even dialed back on his training, choosing not to resume his sessions with the Blade following the end of his season.

“I’d rather they be like you. I’m untested, and have little in the way of practical skills. You’ve proven your resilience, and your strength. I want them to have that.” Lance throws himself down in his chair by the table.

“I hope they have your mercy,” Keith whispers. He hops up to sit on the table, planting one of his feet between Lance’s legs. “Your balance. Your ability to learn something new. To listen… You teach them how to be charismatic and leader-y, and I’ll teach them how to kill without remorse and make a shelter and fire starting with two sticks.”

“Oh, Ancients! They’ll be unstoppable!” Lance laughs, scales glowing with humor.

“As long as they’re better than Seran and Renli’s kits, I’ll be happy.”

“That is an incredibly low bar, beloved.” Lance laughs, kissing Keith’s knee.

“Yeah… They deserve higher expectations. Not the best, because that’s not fair, or our best, because that’s fucking stupid, but I want them to be their best, and always strive to improve. Like you.”

“Like us.” Lance smiles. “And I absolutely agree. The other side of that is that it’s up to us to figure out how our children can use their various strengths and weaknesses to succeed in the high-ranking positions they’ll eventually hold.”

“You’re Alfor-ing,” Keith mutters. “You mean we’ll take an interest in our children and be invested in their lives because we’re their parents. We’ll encourage them to pursue their passions and apply them in a way that befits their status, because we love them and are involved in their lives.”

“Oh. Right…” Lance’s ears droop just a little. He looks sad. Probably because Lance never had a parent do that for him.

“Hey.” Keith nudges the inside of Lance’s thigh with his toe. When those blue-and-pink eyes meet his face, Keith’s mind draws a blank. What does he say to someone who’s just been painfully reminded of the neglect he’s experienced? “I love you.”

Lance cracks a smile. “I love you, too.”

“You’re important to me.”

“You’re important to me, too.” Lance sighs. “Can I have a hug?”

Keith smiles, sliding off the table into Lance’s lap, straddling him as he drapes his arms over the man’s shoulders. “Absolutely.”

Keith kisses his mate, careful to work a smile into it. He forgets sometimes just how desperate Lance is to break his family’s cycle, just how afraid he must be of following in his father’s footsteps (or lack thereof). To Keith, Lance is the man who can’t wait to be a father, who’s champing at the bit to be a king. He’s the man who wants to fix everything, even if he knows it’s not possible.

Tipping forward, Lance rests his head against Keith’s collarbone, and Keith twines fingers in his hair.

“My good man, don’t be sad.” Keith kisses, lays his cheek against his head. “You’re going to be amazing, I just know it.”

“I know.” The Altean draws in a great breath. “I know. I just-”

“Shh…” Keith rubs circles into Lance’s back, somewhat alarmed by his mate’s sudden distress. “We’ll do great, my love. I know it.”

“But why couldn’t he?” Lance whispers, voice trembling dangerously. Keith’s hands freeze. “I wanted it so badly.”

“I don’t know why. But you so deserved it.” Keith’s comforting skills reach their limit. “It’s one of the many reasons I want to punch him in his stupid face.”

Lance laughs, kisses the side of Keith’s neck. “There’s the Keith I know and love.”

“Sorry. I suck at comforting people.”

“It’s okay. You’re amazing at comforting me.” Lance pulls back, smiles up at the man in his lap, eyes rimmed with just a bit of red. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Keith leans down, kisses him deeply, hands cradling his face, thumbs sliding over his scales. Lance’s hands find their way under his thighs, lifting him up as he stands, setting him back on the table.

“Mm, how much do you love me?”

“Aren’t you sick of me yet?”

“Never. Not ever.”

Keith believes his mate, one hundred percent. Not just because Lance’s hands are still on him, but because he just does.

That doesn’t at all mean that he can’t mess with the man a little.

“We should confront your daddy issues more often.”

“Rude!”

Quintants later, Lance and Keith have found something to keep them busy: their duties. After movements of neglect, Lanval reports that the people miss them, finding Alfor and Coran (mostly Alfor), less approachable. As a result, the pair are wandering through the imperial library, researching methods of population control and agricultural sustainability. Growth and capacity are constantly at war.

Krolia is on her own ‘research’ mission: how the fuck do Alteans actually think?

“Gentlemen.” Krolia nods as she approaches Shiro and Adam’s table on the other end of the library. “How are you?”

“Well enough,” Shiro says. Adam doesn’t respond, busy composing a message to an associate, named Lanval. Apparently this ‘Lanval’ serves as a sort of spy for the princes, keeping tabs on the general concerns and opinions of the commonwealth and court. “You?”

Krolia hums, lounging in a free chair. “I learned something quite interesting today.” Shiro hums. Adam momentarily lifts his gaze. “It would seem that Crown Prince Lancel isn’t quite what I imagined.”

“Mnh. sounds about right.” Adam doesn’t seem to care how useless his comment is. “How exactly did you finally come to that conclusion?”

“He said he missed Keith while he was in season.”

“Ah.” Adam finally tears his attention away from his desktop, smile more of a smirk than anything else. “He would. He’s sentimental like that.”

“I assumed he liked it any way he could get it, but it seems otherwise.”

“It’s an Altean thing, I think,” Shiro says. “They’re a reserved species, but generally respectful toward their spouses, despite their promiscuity. They can also be very playful with their mates, particularly in private. I’ve observed Keith engaging in playful banter with Lance on more than one occasion. I imagine Lance values that.”

“Lance values what?” Keith peeks his head around a bookshelf.

“You’re affectionate degradation of his character,” Adam says, smiling at the young prince. “Apparently he missed you during your season.”

Keith snorts. “What a dork.” The prince snatches up a scroll. “Hey, dork!”

“Yes, beloved?!” Lance calls from a different aisle.

“You’re a dork!”

“And you’re stuck with me, so what does that make you?” Lance rounds a corner. “Come help me with this. Apparently one of our mines on Arus is compromised. We need to write an emergency missive to close it, because apparently neither the colony nor the natives have the authority to halt production.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Keith frowns.

“We can revisit native citizens’ rights after we get them and our colonists out of dangerous mines, okay?”

“So long as we revisit it… Guess we’d better get to work. Also, we should bring back some windchimes for Hunk’s new kit. Kits love them.”

Krolia watches the two head off to wherever their desk is, Lance taking Keith’s hand, the two bickering back and forth about which one of them is more of a dork. Keith’s tail curls around the altean prince’s ankle, ultimately preventing his escape as he drives a hand into the man’s white hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions.

The prince’s shrieks carry throughout the quiet room.

Adam props his head on his fist, eyeing Shiro with amusement. “Any other anthropological observations you’d like to share, captain?”

“You’re not as chilly as you want everyone to think.”

“Excuse me?” Adam glares, bristling.

“Settle down.” Shiro sips his tea. “I was speaking of your entire species, not you. Though it is interesting that you-”

“Stop talking, or I will make you.”

Krolia settles back in her chair, watching the pair banter themselves, though not in nearly as boisterous a fashion. But before long, her eyes and ears slide in the direction of her son and his problematic mate.

It’s long been her belief that the best thing someone could be is someone like Akira. Someone who’s equal parts frustrated and optimistic, and not above putting their foot down and digging their heels in like a stubborn child. Able to learn, able to understand, able to reach out and extend themselves to others, no matter how different.

Creeping up to observe the pair, watching Lance pour over documents and old, outdated policy, Krolia can’t help but realize that the young Altean is in many ways quite similar to her own mate, right down to the way he’s always giving Keith at least a modicum of his attention, even if it’s to annoy him.

She hates to admit it, but her son could do much, much worse.

With that in mind, Krolia approaches the boys' table. "Have you investigated inspection and mining maintenance procedures and regulations? Perhaps there is some underlying cause."

Lance leans back in his chair, eyeing her carefully. Finally he nods. "I haven't." There's so much caution in his eyes. "Perhaps you'd like to assist with this? We'd appreciate it."

Krolia nods, waiting for Lance to transfer the appropriate documents. A quick scan reveals the problem. "This is extremely outdated, given our peoples' current understanding of physics and changes in mining practices. Let me pulls some documents and I can help you boys draft something new."

Keith wraps his hands around Lance's arm, whispers something in his ear. Lance smiles, nods. "If you would, we'd be very grateful. If you can do that, then we can come up with a plan to help implement new procedures, and provide any resources needed to transition to more appropriate protocols."

It's an unspoken thing, the way Lance gestures for her to sit at their table upon her return, the way he makes room for her books beside his own. When Keith makes tea, there are three cups. When they call for a servant to bring them food, Lance requests three meals. A simple choice -her simple, agonizing choice- means that once again, Krolia has an open seat at her son's table.

She doesn't miss how Lance nudges Keith, the silent look they share. She doesn't miss Keith's smile as he turns back to his letter.

Worth it.

#LoveAftertheFact #LAtF #klance #galtean au #altean lance #galra keith #adashi #altean adam #galra shiro #voltron legendary defender #vld

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miraculouslanceylance · 6 years

Text

Frozen in Fear

*yes this contradicts current canon and it’s a throwback to the show from the first couple of seasons but live with it for the sake of langst

Everyone felt a sick sense of deja vu. Despite being in the middle of a war, none of them had to actually go into a healing pod very often. But Lance? This was his second time―and for another near-death injury, no less.

“Pidge! Squad, on your seven!” Hunk yelled, firing a laser at the closest ship. He was busy fighting off a group of Galra on his own, but he’d be damned if he didn’t help her out. Pidge was just as good as the others, but she was still the youngest.

Shiro growled. “There’s just too many of them! We’re surrounded!”

“Great, then we can attack in any direction!” Lance screamed. He flew in a spiral motion, shooting lasers at every Galra ship in the area. He easily took care of the fighters around himself before moving on to help the others.

Keith flew through the asteroids with ease, shooting at every Galra fighter the best he could. He’d never be a better shot than Lance, but he could certainly fly better. Gritting his teeth, he flew around his teammates and took care of anything close to him. “We have to get out of here!”

“Paladins! Zarkon is charging up a weapon that’s designed to wipe out your lions! You have to get out of there immediately! All of those fighter pilots are just to keep you occupied!” Allura yelled. She tucked some hair behind her ear, letting her eyes flicker all around the screen. Their minimal intel had given them important news, but it might’ve come too late.

“If we fly away, they’ll just chase after us!” Pidge yelled in response. She grunted as another laser hit her lion.

“We have to try!” Shiro replied.

The Paladins agreed; they needed to get out of there. First, Pidge and Hunk escaped to the castle. Shiro and Keith were not far behind. But Lance? Lance was being the hero again. He was taking care of ships left and right. He forgot all about the warning.

Inside the castle barrier, all of the lions turned around.

Keith gasped. “Lance! Get out of there!”

“I’m coming!” Lance screamed.

A giant laser went through the Blue Lion. It sparked violently before going dead.

They didn’t think Lance was even alive. Even after they got Blue into the hangar and him inside a healing pod, nobody thought that he had a chance. So now, having him in such a healthy condition is nothing short of a miracle. Pidge shuddered at the memory. Everyone cried for hours after Lance was put into the healing pod.

She couldn’t live through something like that again.

Pidge checked the monitor on the pod’s screen. She didn’t know how to read the Altean language, but she knew that all of the full, green bars meant that Lance was good to go. His vitals were normal and healthy. So, why wasn’t the pod releasing him?

“Allura, could you come look at this for a second? I think the pod is bugging out.”

Allura rubbed her eyes as she walked over. In addition to crying, none of them had gotten much sleep since that battle. She squinted at the bright blue panel. “You’re right. Lance should’ve been released by now.” She tapped a few buttons, resulting in a big red sign flashing onto the screen. She hummed. “It says that the patient isn’t healed yet. How peculiar.”

Hunk walked over next. He looked down at the screen with squinted eyes and a confused frown. “Lance looks healthy. It’s probably glitched.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll just let him out myself, then,” Allura mumbled. She tapped another sequence of buttons, making the door open with a hiss.

As the fog pooled around their feet, Lance slumped against the back of the pod. His eyes slowly pushed themselves open, though he looked grumpy and tired. “Hey, guys.” Lance stood up straight and cracked his neck. He blinked a few times as if he couldn’t believe he was really there. “What’d I miss?”

Those five words made a collective weight fall off of everyone’s shoulders. Lance was okay. With any luck, he’d be back in his lion in a few days. For now, some food and a blanket would be more than enough.

“You must be starving,” Hunk said as they walked to the kitchen. “I created a new recipe with the ingredients I bought from our last trip to the space mall. Side note: those purple discs that looked like pepperoni are nothing like pepperoni.”

Lance laughed. “Sounds great, Hunk.”

While the rest of the team walked along, Keith wandered off on his own. He chewed his bottom lip as he went, a stupid habit that he couldn’t break. It didn’t bother him, but it drove Shiro crazy.

Lance sat at the head of the table, eager to try out Hunk’s latest dish. Pidge sat to his left. The seat across from her was probably going to be for Hunk. Lance began to ask a question but stopped short as someone draped his signature green jacket over his head.

“Thought you might be cold,” Keith said as he took that empty seat.

“Thanks, man,” Lance smiled, because yeah, he was cold. He slipped into the jacket, content with the familiar lightweight on his shoulders. A small reminder of home, and all of what awaited him there. He watched Keith scoot into the table with that smile stuck on his face. “I must’ve really stressed you guys out. Just look at the bags under Keith’s eyes.”

Shiro sighed. “Yeah, we were all very worried about you. But you’re better now, so let’s just try to relax.”

It was like Shiro cast a spell on them. Everyone relaxed and joked around with each other. No one yelled at Lance when he flicked some goop into Allura’s hair. Everyone laughed when Pidge used her spoons to “block out the haters.” They practically lost it when everyone began speaking through memes, leaving Allura and Coran in the dust. For a brief, shining moment, they were all kids again. The fate of the universe didn’t rest on their shoulders. They weren’t in the middle of a space war. Countless alien races weren’t praying for them to succeed. They were just five, stupid kids that wanted to have fun.

...

Just days later, and they were at it again. Zarkon’s generals were trying to invade a planet, and it had to be defended. If he got control of it, then he would gain access to a whole portion of the galaxy. Voltron would be right back where they started.

It came down to the bridge. All of the paladins were fighting as hard as they could, but it just didn’t seem like it was enough. Lance grunted as he ducked to avoid a punch. He should’ve just stayed with his lion; he felt practically useless in hand-to-hand combat. He had a gun, how was he supposed to be helpful?

It didn’t help that the Galra soldier stood a whole foot taller than he did. Lance always thought he was tall at six feet, but he felt tiny compared to his opponent. His head was about as thick as the Galra’s arm. He ducked again, losing his balance for a moment.

“Die, blue paladin!” The monster roared.

Lance shot his giant arm. He tried to run backward and tripped over his own two feet.

The Galra soldier towered over him, laughing. His arm didn’t even appear to bother him. He pointed his gun at Lance’s head. “Die, blue paladin!”

Lance didn’t even have time to cry. By reflex, he extended a hand and prayed for a smooth death.

But the blow never came.

Lance looked up. His hand felt freezing cold like he had stuck it in ice water. The Galra soldier was frozen in ice himself. Even surrounded by ice, being on the wrong end of a gun scared Lance. A chill ran down his spine, realizing he came face to face with the barrel.

“Lance!” Keith screamed. He ran over and dropped to his knees. “Are you okay? I knew I should’ve helped you sooner-” Keith scooped him into his arms, mumbling apologies and complaints.

He hated to admit it, but Lance was grateful for Keith’s help. He tried to give him a hug back, but Keith dropped him to the floor. “Ow! What the heck, Keith-”

The rest of the team came running over. “Keith? What happened to your armor?” Shiro asked, pointing at Keith’s back. A big block of ice had formed.

Keith shrugged. “I-I don’t know. I was helping Lance up. He put his hand on my back, and suddenly it just felt cold. Really cold.”

Everyone looked at Lance in horror. He stared back at them with the same look. What could this mean? Since when did he have the ability to create ice? It just didn’t make any sense. And it broke Lance’s heart to see everyone look at him as if he were the new monster. As if he had tried to hurt Keith.

“Let’s get back to the castle. Coran or Allura may know what to do,” Pidge suggested.

Hunk reached out a hand to help Lance up, but Shiro pulled it away. He looked at Lance with unease. “We don’t know what would happen. It’s best not to take any chances.”

“Right, yeah,” Lance mumbled. He pushed himself to his feet and followed the others. They walked in silence back to their lions. He had no idea when the rest of the battle had been taken care of, but he was thankful for everyone’s help all the same.

The aliens of that planet looked at him with fear, too. Lance nodded as he walked by, refusing to let them see how much it hurt. He learned that lesson a long time ago.

Back at the castle, Coran and Allura were at a loss. They made Lance stand up on a platform so they could look him up and down. Pidge and Hunk took notes, while Keith and Shiro watched from afar. They were all studying him like he was some lab rat. Lance felt much worse than a common rodent. He was a mutant, a freak. He bit his cheek to keep from breaking down in front of them.

“He looks fine to me. Nothing out of the ordinary,” Hunk mumbled. He scratched his cheek in thought.

Pidge dropped her notebook and gasped in horror. “What if this happened when he got electrocuted? His lion has ice powers. Those powers must’ve been transferred to Lance.”

“But how?” Keith asked. His arms were crossed as usual, and he had the same grumpy look on his face.

Lance couldn’t help his next comment. He had to keep up appearances, after all. “Aw, are you jealous that you didn’t get your lion’s powers first? Don’t go electrocuting yourself to keep up in our rivalry, okay?”

Keith growled in annoyance. “I’m not jealous, you idiot! We’re trying to figure out what happened to you so we can fix it!”

“Careful, Keith. I’ve got ice powers, but I might not be as willing as Elsa to let things go.”

Shiro stepped in front of Keith, for the sake of everyone in the room. “Alright, enough with the petty arguing. We’ve got to figure him out.” He sent another look at Lance. It wasn’t as bad as before, but Lance got the message. He was dangerous now.

Allura hummed. “I’m sure that’s why the healing pod wouldn’t let him out. He wasn’t the same as before, but there probably wasn’t a way to fix it.”

“Does that mean I’m stuck like this?” Lance whined. His hands felt colder. He wiped them on his pants, hoping that’d help. They seemed to colder the more he worried. He did it again, if for nothing other than to create friction. He sighed.

Everyone saw his breath as if it were freezing cold in the room, not a comfortable room temperature.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Coran whispered. He fiddled with the end of his mustache to keep his hands distracted.

Lance shook his head. “I’m going to warm up.” He walked away from everyone, leaving them to stand around in shock.

The tension in the air constantly grew stronger, until everyone was suffocating in it. No one said a word. What was there to say?

Lance didn’t leave his room for the next three days. He refused. Everyone knocked at his door, hoping that it’d make some sort of difference. Keith threatened to kick it open. Hunk tried bribing him with delicious food. Allura practically begged. None of it worked. Lance stayed in bed, huddled under as many blankets as he could grab during the night.

It did nothing, though. The blankets. Lance knew that Coran turned up the temperature in his room, but he still shook with the chills. He saw fog with every breath. His teeth chattered beyond control. It wasn’t like that all the time...just when he really thought about the situation. He grew colder and colder as he grew more and more panicked.

Pidge knocked at the door. She sighed. “Lance? Would you please come out? I know you’re not going to hurt any of us. We all know that.”

“You don’t know that I won’t hurt you by accident,” Lance replied. He wiped at some tears. He already hurt all of his loved ones on Earth by disappearing without a trace. He had hurt so many people before that. No more.

“I’m working on some gloves that’ll protect you. Your Elsa comment made me think of it. It’s going to take a while, but I’m working on it.”

Lance shook his head. It was useless. “Thanks, Pidge, but don’t bother. Let Allura pilot Blue or something; I can’t do it.”

Pidge kicked the door. She kicked it again and punched it. “Stop just throwing us away! We’re trying to help you! We need you, Lance!” She kicked the door one last time. How could Lance just abandon all hope? How could he just throw away his responsibilities and give up on Blue? He loved Blue.

Truth is, he still did. Lance wiped at more tears. He felt them starting to freeze against his skin. “Pidge, please just go away.”

“No! Not until you open this door.” Pidge crossed her arms. That stubborn asshole could barricade himself in there for as long as he wanted,, but he was going to come out one way or another. “I mean it. I’m not leaving.”

“Well, go ahead, then!” Lance yelled. He curled in on himself, hoping that it’d preserve some heat. Fast heart. Shallow breaths. Shaking uncontrollably, from the cold and the fear. Great. Here we go again.

Lance crawled out of bed. He sobbed, nearly dropping to his feet, but he had to stay standing. The pressure was building up inside of him. He wiped at his tears again before aiming his hands at the wall. One last sigh. Suddenly, the wall was covered in ice. Lance cried and cried, waving his hands in every pattern possible. He covered the ceiling, the floor, and all four of the walls. He locked himself in by icing the door. It wouldn’t stop―not while he was having a panic attack. He couldn’t even hug himself at this point. The ice flowed out of his hands, and there was no going back now.

Pidge stood in front of the door, tapping her foot at a rapid pace. As the ice began to form on the door, her heart dropped. “Shiro! Allura! Coran!!” Pidge ran away screaming, hoping to find anyone who’d be able to help.

Lance was finally starting to calm down. He let out another sob as he looked at his mess. “I’m a monster,” he whispered to himself. “I’m no better than the Galra.” Lance fell to the floor, sobbing into his knees. The tears wouldn’t stop coming. He felt so heavy like his body was made of lead. He didn’t even flinch when someone started pounding on the door.

“Lance! Let me in!” Keith screamed. He kicked and punched it, just like Pidge did. “I’m not playing games with you anymore! You need help!”

“I can’t! I can’t let you in!” Lance cried. “I iced the door shut! And I could hurt you! You should see the mess I’ve made, Keith,” he sobbed. He looked around the room and wiped at his eyes. His hands were still cold to the bone. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

Keith growled. “I don’t care about getting hurt! Let me help you! Let me in!” He kicked the door again, but it didn’t even crack the ice. He growled and kicked it again.

The rest of the team came running over. Shiro grabbed Keith by the forearm and pulled him back a few steps. “What are you doing? He’s having a panic attack, Keith. Screaming at him will only make it worse.”

Allura put her hand on the door. She frowned at the ice. “Pidge? Do you have a weird gadget that could melt this for us? Coran could hack into the system and unlock the door for us from there.”

“On it,” Pidge saluted. Hunk followed her down the hall.

Coran stepped toward the door for a moment. “Lance? I know you’re scared. We’ll get this ice cleaned up, and we’ll figure out how to help you control your new powers. They’re not something to be afraid of, or to shy away from. Just hold on.” He waited for a response, but none came. He walked away without another word.

Shiro sighed. “We need him out here. We can’t form Voltron without him.”

“He needs us,” Allura said. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the door. Her eyes scanned it up and down in panic. She had asked for help from everyone in the coalition, but no one knew anything. She sighed.

Nothing about this situation made any sense.

Lance had agreed to come out of his room, but he wouldn’t get close to anyone. He trained at a different time. He ate at the table, with two empty seats between him and the person next to him. Keith was no longer the loner who stood at the edge of the group; Lance took that title away.

Now, they were on a mission to meet with the Olkari again. They had spotted a weird monster prowling around their forests and asked Voltron for some help. While the team spoke with their leader, Lance waited behind with the lions. He sat on Blue’s paw with crossed legs and arms.

“I hate this, Blue,” he mumbled to her. “I don’t want these powers. I scare the others. I can’t control it.” He bit his lip, trying to keep his heart from beating too fast. The last thing he needed was a panic attack in the middle of the forest. If the Olkari saw that, then they’d probably attack him on the spot.

A twig snapped near Red. Lance’s head snapped in that direction. There, standing beside his giant metal paw, stood something resembling a deer. It hesitantly walked over towards Blue, which is the last thing that Lance wanted. He felt his heart sink. “No, go away,” he whispered.

The deer took that as a sign to walk closer. He sniffed the air and kept walking over.

“You’re gonna get hurt,” Lance said. He slid off of Blue’s paw and crouched. He picked up a few rocks, just to be safe. If he touched the deer, it would freeze over like that Galra soldier. He’d be a monster.

The deer didn’t stop walking over, though. It’d pause now and then, but it seemed determined to get closer and closer to Lance. It terrified him. Lance threw a rock at the deer’s feet. “Run away,” he hissed. “Run away before I can’t control it anymore.” He threw some more rocks. “Get away from me!”

Tears started to roll down his face again. They felt hot against his skin, but that was probably because he grew colder. Lance took in a deep breath and sighed. He couldn’t hurt this animal. He refused to become a monster. He picked up some more rocks and threw them towards the deer. “Get out of here! Go!”

Lance broke into another silent sob. He threw one last rock in a feeble attempt to scare away the deer, but it didn’t seem to care. It was useless. He crawled back up onto Blue’s paw, praying that it’d be a safe enough distance. “Please, just get away before you get hurt,” he whimpered.

“Damn it, Lance!” Keith yelled.

Lance’s head snapped to attention. Keith stood at the edge of the clearing, covered in flames. He was on fire, but it didn’t bother him. After another chill ran down his spine, Lance realized that Keith was ignited on purpose.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Lance asked.

“I did it for you, Lance,” Keith said. He ran over to Blue’s paw, scaring away the deer in the process. “I electrocuted myself inside of Red, just like you were.”

Lance wiped his eyes and slid down to the ground. He could feel Keith’s warmth from several feet away. His desperation to feel more was almost shameful. Lance pursed his lips. “Why, Keith? Why would you do that to yourself?”

“There’s no way to get rid of your powers,” Keith began. He took a hesitant step forward. “I didn’t want you to be alone. I didn’t want you to be going through all of this by yourself.”

Lance took another step forward. “You could’ve gotten really hurt, idiot.”

“I told you a while ago that I don’t care about getting hurt.”

“But I do.”

“I don’t know why.”

“Honestly, I don’t know either, sometimes.”

The tips of their shoes connected, and then their eyes. Was it possible for a heart to beat this fast? Lance’s heart threatened to drum right out of his chest. He laughed, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

Keith dropped his gaze to watch their limp hands. “Maybe now that I have powers, too...” Hesitantly, he held Lance’s hand. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle, a very complicated puzzle that sent butterflies to both of their stomachs. Neither of them pulled away.

“Well, we both have gloves on. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not,” Lance mumbled. He laced their fingers together.

They looked up at the same time.

“Well, I have an idea. Don’t turn me into an ice cube, okay?” Keith asked with a smirk.

“Don’t burn me alive,” Lance whispered back. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

And suddenly, Keith’s hands were cupping Lance’s cheeks. And their lips were pressed together with such gentle care that it didn’t feel real.

Lance carefully snaked his hands around Keith’s waist and pulled him closer. When he finally pulled away, he couldn’t stop smiling. He laughed and rested his head on Keith’s shoulder. “I can’t believe we didn’t kill each other.”

“I can’t believe I just kissed you,” Keith said quietly, staring off into the distance. He’d never had the courage to do something that brave before. Fighting the Galra felt like a happy Saturday afternoon compared to this. He laughed, too. He just kissed Lance McClain.

“What happens now?” Lance mumbled into the crook of Keith’s neck.

“I guess we go tell the others?” He replied.

Lance smirked and pulled away. “Tell them what, exactly?”

Keith blushed, averting his gaze to the ground. Having no previous relationship experience doesn’t exactly make him an expert. Shouldn’t Lance be the one answering these questions?

He was not expecting the gentle tug on his hand. He looked up at Lance, who stared back at him with a small smile on his face. He laughed.

“Come on, you goof. I want to brag about my new boyfriend and his fire powers.”

And off they ran.

Obviously, it contradicts current canon. But ya know my children need to stop playing musical lions. I know it’s important for character development, but I still miss this :(

I’m so glad to have gotten the pleasure to write this wip! I feel terrible because I discovered this post about ice powers langst by @mcclqins literally over a year ago... Procrastination at it’s finest, I guess? Mcclqins, I’m so grateful for your follow, and I’m SO SO SO SORRY that it took me this long to make it. I hope it lives up to your expectations!!!

#ice powers #langst #lance mcclain #voltron #vld lance #frozen in fear #keith kogane #vld keith #klance #laith #vld laith #keance #koclain #LaKe #why does klance have so many different ship names my lord

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