#the only thing that could have made this better was ponytail shiro

[loisroo]

Kei x Yaku Ep.8 Thoughts:

-WHO THE FUCK BRUSHES THEIR TEETH LIKE THAT?? Like first of all, stretch after you brush your teeth because what if you fell during that lunge and it like stabbed your throat? Second, go in the bathroom wtf? And third, Shiro is literally brushing his teeth daintily with like two fingers…. So weird babes, so weird.

-ahhhh I loveeee this song! At least it’s playing over the teeth brush part this time and not the parts where they are like shooting or almost dying. Lol

- BROOOOO ‘the prime minister wants to see me tonight.’ MY ANXIETYYYYYYYY —he better leave my little yakuza babe alone.

-Loooooooort, that gun scared the crap out of me. My stupid self-sacrificing yakuza, I swear I will hurt him if he pulls this shit again.

-oh apparently so will his sister and ichiro. Lol

-ahhhhhh we got heartwarming, backstory family timeeeeee.

-Please don’t let the vacation and travel talk and all the love be foreshadowing to rion dying or something awful like that.

-BABY GAY PANIC 😂😂😂

-yesssss big sister coming in HOT!!!!! (And I mean hot in every sense of the word)

-NO NO NO NO NO FUCK YOU. FUCK THIS SHOW NOOOOOOOOO.

-okay it’s fine, it’s cool. Everything’s fine.

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

Shigaraki x Todoroki! Reader; The Mask

Enjoy the series! Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7

As Tomura moved his hands from your ass to the front of your thighs, he began to press you against himself, allowing you to feel his hard cock against you. Looking into the reflection of the microwave to make sure nobody was paying attention to you guys, you began to move your hips against his, grinding into him as he pushed you harder and harder. It felt so good, you couldn’t stop. Moving his mouth to your neck, he began sucking before whispering “God, I want to take you on this counter right now.” He whispered, sending chills down your spine.

You gripped one of his hands that laid on your thigh, and moved it down to your underwear, revealing that you had no shorts under Shigaraki’s shirt. “I wait anymore.” You whispered, scooting him off of you as you turned the stove onto low and walked to the living room. Shigaraki felt his emotions go from sad to confused. “The food is ready. I need to go to the street and get something, I’ll be right back.” 

You smiled innocently before walking into the hall, making eye contact with Tomura, and walked into Shigaraki’s room, not drawing any attention to yourself. Quickly, Shigaraki understood, suddenly getting excited as he tried not to run to his room, but walk. The moment he shut the door behind him, he grabbed you and pinned you against the wall, kissing you passionately. 

Were you moving too fast? Maybe. Did that have to be a bad thing? No, definitely no. Shigaraki made you feel things you had never felt before, and he made you feel complete. Plus, one of the greatest downsides to villainy wasn’t the danger. It was the fact that there was no promise of tomorrow. In a second, the heroes could storm in, shoot Tomura on sight, and take you back to your father. That’s why you had to do this. 

He pressed you against the wall, feeling every inch of your amazing body. Good for modeling? Yes. Good for Tomura… Obviously. He picked you up and threw you on the bed playfully, loving you smile as he climbed on top of you. He kissed down your neck as you unbuckled his belt, and then your own. Sliding his hand up your shirt, he slowly took it off of you to reveal bare skin. 

He couldn’t help but see you as a goddess, just as breath-taking as the magazines showed you as. Except, unlike the rest of the world, he got to see it in person. He got to touch you, run his hands through your hair, and make love to you. You were everything he dreamed of. He slid off his own shirt before kissing you again, running his hands all over you. You were practically too good to be true. 

Just as he was about to remove his own pants, he heard knocking at the door. “Tomuraaaa? Dabi and I need you to settle a bet!!” Toga yelled from the other side of the door, lightly kicking at it. “N-not now!” Shigaraki yelled angrily as you began giggling. “Shiggy!! If you don’t come out, I’m going to tell Shiro how you used to steal all of my magazines with her on the cover!! And I’ll tell her about that one time you-” Shigaraki stood up and covered you with a blanket as he ran to the door. 

“Alright! What is it?!” He asked, throwing the door open to reveal a confused Toga. “Dabi wanted to bet that Shiro had really gone into your room and not to the street. Looks like he was wrong.” She smiled, looking back into Tomura’s room. “Anyways, what did she need to go out for? She already went to get food for the week.” Toga questioned as you could only hope Tomura was good at lying. 

“She… went to make us a reservation at a hotel. We’re going to go out to eat and spend the entire night without y’all distracting us. Now please leave me, I have to get ready.” He closed the door and swiped the blanket off to see you smiling. “Now… where were we?” He began to crawl over you before you spoke. “You know… that’s not a bad idea actually.” You told him as he smirked, wondering what you were thinking. 

“Money is the least of our worries, and I think you deserve to get out of here for a night.” You explained as he smiled back. “God, I love you.” He bent down to kiss your neck slowly as you began to plan. After he helped you put your shirt back, he gave you his phone and let you book the two of you a room. Under a random name you had fun picking out, and the nicest suite in the building, you made the room that you were sure would give you the best night of your lives. 

You walked out of Tomura’s room and handed him his phone back, before sliding on your jacket and shoes. “We’re going out. See you tomorrow.” You yelled out to the group, causing all of them to turn their heads towards you two. “Oh, and where would that be?” Dabi asked knowingly, smirking at you and then him. “None of your business. Don’t make too much noise. Don’t burn the place down. And Dabi, do not go through my stuff again. Kurogiri, please monitor the news at all times. Any mention of UA, All Might, Shiro’s disappearance or the Todoroki family and I need you to call me. Toga… no going outside.” Shigaraki lazily waved at the group, swung his arm around you, and walked out.

With a baseball cap on your head, and a beanie on his with a scarf around his neck, you looked unrecognizable to the average person. In fact, you looked like an average person. Just around a few alleyways and down the street, the large and grand hotel that you had stayed at only a few times sat in front of you. You walked in first, letting Shigaraki follow closely from behind but not saying anything. The way you carried yourself and spoke, you blended into the scenery of the fancy hotel so nicely. Everyone was charmed by you, while Shigaraki looked more like your security guard then anyone you would ever date. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

You got the room keys and made your way to the room, excitingly awaiting the perfect stay. Even the elevator ride to the hallway you were staying in was filled with adrenaline and sexual tension. The moment you two walked into the room, everything went down. Before the door could even close, Tomura lifted you up by your legs onto his torso and kissed you. He fell into the bed, feeling you giggle against his lips.You two kissed, as if he was the air you were finally getting after holding in your breath for so long. You two kissed as if you were the water he was getting and he had never had a drop of it before. You two wanted each other. No. You two needed each other more than anything in the world. He was the one you needed to show you that someone could love you for your dark secrets, and you were the one to show him that there was a reason to live that wasn’t destroying the world. You were each other’s peace in the world of evil vs another evil. 

He raised you up from the bed, only to drop you and begin to remove your shirt. Seeing your bare skin made him feel things that he didn’t know were possible, and it was very different from seeing you on the front cover of a magazine. In person, and knowing that you were a villain, made you way hotter. You were so real, no plastic in sight. Your skin was soft, and your hair was shiny and pretty. You were an angel sent from heaven, and you were his. His to hold, his to touch, his to make feel good, his to love.

“God, you’re beautiful.” Shigaraki whispered, his eyes refusing to leave your gorgeous body. He removed your shorts, and then undid the ponytail in your hair. Running his lips up and down your skin, licking and sucking every inch of your flawless self. “I love you… God I love you so much.” He praised your body like the goddess you were. “Tomura…” You tugged on his shirt as you looked at his eyes. “Take off your shirt.” You begged, feeling needy between your legs, rubbing them together. Shigaraki stopped for a second, thinking about it. Did you really want to see his body? His body? Compared to yours? He didn’t think you’d even want to be near him, and now to be skin-to-skin with him?

“A-Are you sure?” He asked, watching you sit up to look him in the face. “Dead serious Tomura. I want you to make love to me.” You kissed him softly as you unbuttoned his shirt and ran your hand along his smooth chest. Shigaraki was about to push you back on the bed, before you did that to him. You got on top of him and kissed him slowly, using your own hands to unbutton his belt and slide down his jeans to his ankles. “I’m going to make you realize how much I love you.” You smiled, leaning down to kiss his chest. You continued to go down his body with your soft lips, finally ended right at his waist. You looked at him and watched him hesitantly nod before you put your lips around his cock and began sucking. Like a worm, he began squirming with the sudden pleasure that went through his body. You kept going, liking to watch all the feelings he was going through at once as you began to suck harder and harder. Finally though, you stopped yourself before he could climax. You got on top of him, removed your underwear, and began riding him. As soon as you lowered yourself onto his shaft, you both got overwhelmed with pleasure. Every twitch inside of you made your insides feel amazing, and every time you rode him, it just made you more addicted. 

You both finished, and you got off of him, feeling your heart rate go higher than ever before. It felt better then kissing. It felt better than killing. Making love to Shigaraki, and only Shigaraki, made you feel unstoppable. It reminded you that live was worth living if you had him. You rolled over and smiled at him, cuddling against him. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He picked you up, knowing your legs were like jello, and brought you to the bathroom. Running a warm, wet washcloth down your legs, and then down himself, he was able to bring you both back to the warm bed, and put you under the sheets. He kissed your face, cuddled up next to you, and allowed you both to go into a deep slumber.

You were awaken by Shigaraki’s phone ringing in the middle of the night, and quickly ran to get it, hoping it wouldn’t awake him. As soon as you brought it to your ear, you heard Dabi’s voice. “Boss, they made an announcement on the news. Natsuo Todoroki is on the roof of Endeavor’s Hero Agency Building, and threatening to jump off. He says he wants to be with his sister again, or else life isn’t worth it.” Dabi explained into the phone, leaving you speechless. “What? No. Touya, we have to save him.” Your voice was dry, and weak, and now you were on the verge of tears. “What? Shiro? No, you stay right there! Where’s Shigaraki? Which hotel are you guys staying at? Which-” You hung up before Dabi could say anymore, and stuffed the phone under a pillow to keep it quiet. You then kissed Shigaraki on the head. “I’ll see you soon my love.” You whispered, leaving a note and running out. Without your cap and jacket, nobody seemed to notice you as you ran throughout the empty streets at night towards the agency. Yet as you approached it, you saw the many cameras, police, firefighters, and news reporters all looking up at the roof. Then when you looked up, all your worst nightmares came true. “Natsuo!” You screamed, causing everyone to stare at you. There you were, in the broad starlight in no costume or display? Where had you come from? How long had you been standing there for? 

From your feet, you began making ice and lifting you higher and higher. You ran to the edge of the building, seeing your older brother looking down at all the people. “Natsuo!” You screamed, yet your voice was drowned out by the sirens, yelling, and the helicopter that circled above. “Natsuo!” You yelled, running to him and hugging him from behind. As he turned, his eyes opened wide. “W-Why are you here? How are you here?” He asked, tears streaming from his eyes. “I… I saw the news. They said you were going to kill yourself over me.” You explained as he shook his head. “Dad said they found your body in a dumpster with burns all over it. I thought he killed you. I… I blame myself everyday for not stepping up when he abused you, and now you’re dead because of him. And he’ll get away with it like he always does.”

“But Natsuo. I didn’t die, I ran away. I’m not dead.” You told him as he looked at the reporters, and then at the helicopter. “I know that now… And you need to get out of here.” He told you suddenly as you looked at him in confusion before realizing. This was a trap. The burnt body was a trap to get Natsuo up here, and Natsuo was a trap to get you to come to them. Immediately you began running, jumping across buildings from rooftop to rooftop, desperately trying to get away. But unfortunately, the helicopter kept following you, shining it’s spotlight onto your back.

You couldn’t run to the base, and you most definitely couldn’t run back to the hotel where Shigaraki was staying. In fact, there was nowhere to go. You had to face this once and for all. You turned around and stood, looking around with a daring, devilish look in your eyes. You dared anyone to mess with you when you were in this violent, angry state of rage and determination. “Shiro! You’re alive!” You looked behind you to see Aizawa, smiling at you, yet in his hero uniform. “Of course I am! What did you think would happen?” You asked as he shrugged. “I… I don’t know. The last time I saw you, you were bleeding from your leg just terribly.” You laughed at his ignorance, but of course, how would he know that the pain was inflicted by your own dad, the great Endeavor that he had been helping for so long.

“My dad stabbed me with the pocket knife I like to keep on myself. He stabbed his own daughter. Eraserhead, I didn’t get kidnapped. I ran away. I came here to keep my own brother from committing suicide.” You confessed, watching him go from confused, to angry, to sad, to regretful, and then back to confused. “I… You shouldn’t be out on your own. You were meant to do great things. Come back to your siblings. Your friends. You don’t have to talk to him. You can escape him.” He tried to persuade you, but you just shook your head. 

“If he’s still around, I will never escape him. We’ve all tried. Every last one of us. My mother, my brothers, my sister. Me.” You sadly looked at him, hoping that he would find reason in your words. “What do you want me to do about that Shiro? What proof do I have?” He asked, and you smiled sadly. “Listen to my brothers. Listen to my sister. They will tell you the same story about how he beat us until we obeyed his every word. Until then.” You walked to the edge of the building, and looked out onto the city lights. 

“I have found love. I have found friends. I have found a family. And I have found freedom to be what I want to be.” You smiled as Aizawa thought intensely about his next actions. “How will I know if you’re okay… if I were to let you go?” The pro hero asked as you smiled at him. “Oh don’t you worry. You will know. I will make it my dying wish to let you know that I’m still alive and doing well. Now, until then Eraserhead.” You jumped off the building, smiling as a portal opened up beneath you and swallowed you into it’s pit.

Taglist Time!!  @debbiehehe @pnkcts @league-of-bnha @lilcura1209  @x-a-delama-x @bish-ima-clown @axerrri @fearsome-perfect-beauty-eren@kneecapstealingalien @abonshit

[calligraphist-artemisia]

1 | Celebration

Written for Kidgetober 2020. Day 1 - Free Day

Summary: AU - Canon divergence. Years after they free the universe from the tyrannical reign of Zarkon and Haggar, the Paladins find their own way to celebrate the times of peace.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune. Titled as “The Scent of Autumn”.

- - - - - 

1 | Celebration

They held it every year without fail.

A grand celebration on the anniversary of the ending of the 10,000-year War with victory in the hands of the Voltron Coalition and all of their allies. As one of the (previous) Paladins of Voltron, Keith forced himself to attend every year, sticking around only as long as he had to before wandering off to be on his own and celebrate in his own way.

After the first year, he was joined by Pidge. And then Hunk. And then Lance. And finally Allura, Coran, and Shiro joined them and they formed their own little anniversary party on the Castle of Lions, where they would be left alone and could escape from the prying eyes of the public.

It was on their first “official” anniversary party that Allura broke out a bottle of Juniberry wine for them to enjoy and Keith found himself increasingly grateful for the privacy of the castle as the night went on. He cut himself off after just a few sips of his wine left him feeling lightheaded, but he was the only one.

Which meant he had the privilege of learning first-hand the type of drunks each of his friends were.

Lance was, unsurprisingly, a lightweight and his awful pick-up lines took a turn for the even-more-absurd with every sip he took. They were mostly directed at Allura, who became extremely giggly after draining her first glass in one go. (And Keith didn't know much about drinking, but he was pretty sure that wasn't the right way to drink wine.) He kept a close watch on them because the last thing he needed was for an inebriated Allura to fall for Lance's so-called charms and cause an incident when they were both sober again.

Hunk and Coran, at least, seemed to be able to hold their alcohol well, and though they got a bit louder and more enthusiastic the more they drank, Keith figured he didn't need to worry unless they tried to run off and test any of their ideas. Luckily, they seemed pretty content to stay right where they were.

Keith probably should have worried a bit more about Shiro, who was hit so hard by the alcohol that he could barely stand after the first glass. Keith helped him to a couch and left him there with a tablet that Pidge had, at some point, re-purposed for watching old Altean videos – most of which were a line of “how-to tutorials” created by a much younger Coran.

And then there was Pidge.

He had expected...

Well, Keith didn't actually know what he expected a drunk Pidge to be like but the reality of it was far beyond anything he would have considered for her, even in his most depraved dreams. (Because, okay, he was a young man and she was pretty and smart and one of the few women he got along with, so sue him for having the occasional dirty thought.)

She flitted around for a bit, first talking to Hunk and Coran and then taking a moment to tease Lance over some awful joke he made, throwing a pun of her own into the mix. She then spent a half varga watching the tutorials with Shiro, giggling as she continued to drink.

It was in the moment that Keith took his eyes off of her to watch whatever it was that was happening between Lance and Allura that Pidge struck.

“Keith,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

Keith blinked and looked to his right, where Pidge stood staring up at him. There was a rosy flush to her cheeks and her hair was bound up into a messy side-ponytail, which was an unexpectedly cute look for her.

She latched onto his arm and gently tugged him towards the center of the room. “Dance with me?”

Keith saw no harm in letter her pull him around. “I didn't think you enjoyed dancing. You always find an excuse to get out of it whenever there's some fancy party you have to attend.”

“Yeah because if I dance with one person then everyone expects me to dance with them. I have better things to do with my time,” Pidge grumbled. “Here it's only you and me.”

“I can't argue with that logic,” Keith said, fully understanding her discomfort and also a little flattered that, of all people she could have chosen, she wanted to dance with him. He smiled down at her as she twirled around to face him and would have fallen over if not for him reaching out to steady her. Pidge giggled and stepped closer, pressing her face into his chest.

“Uh, Pidge?” he asked, feeling heat rush to his cheeks.

Pidge mumbled something unintelligible in response and wrapped her arms around him.

Keith helplessly glanced around the room, but there was no one paying attention to what was happening between him and Pidge. He cleared his throat as he looked back down at her. “Um, so, I'm not sure how well we can dance like this.”

Pidge turned her face to the side so her voice was no longer muffled by his shirt. “What do you mean? We're already swaying together.”

He was starting to think that Pidge was more inebriated than he originally thought. Still, there was no harm in gently holding onto her until she got tired of “dancing” to no music and wanted to do something else.

A few minutes passed before Keith realized her breathing was starting to even out and that he was the one supporting all of her weight. “Pidge?” he asked softly.

She made a sleepy sound and held onto him a little more tightly.

Okay.

Keith could handle that.

Sleepy Pidge was much more manageable than the unknown of Drunk Pidge and was also something he was much more familiar with after all the times he'd found her napping in various places around the Castle and had to carry her back to her room.

“Lets get you to bed,” he said as he effortlessly lifted her into his arms, choosing to carry her bridal style.

Pidge giggled, her head lolling to a stop against her chest. She blinked up at him as he began to walk. For a few long minutes she didn't say anything, instead choosing to stare at his face until Keith was sure his cheeks were tinged pink from how awkward the situation felt.

“You have really pretty eyes.”

She's drunk, Keith reminded himself. She doesn't know what she's saying.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks?”

“All of you is, like, unfairly pretty,” she continued. “Did you-” (She cut herself off with a giggle.) “-hey, Keith, did you know that I used to go watch you train just so I could stare at your butt?”

Keith did not know that, nor did he need to. It felt like such an invasion of privacy to let Pidge continue talking in her state, but was there anything he could do to stop her? Was there a part of him who, perhaps, was curious about what else she'd say if he let her keep going?

Blissfully unaware of Keith's inner turmoil, Pidge continued to talk. “I mean, that's not the only reason I'd go to training. It was at first, but after those first few fights I knew I really did need to train, but sometimes it was nice to sit back and watch you fight the training bots or go through those – what are they called again? Those basic stances, I guess. You always make it look so easy...”

“...Lance is completely wrong about your hair, by the way. Long hair is sexy...”

“...watching you throw Hunk around like he weighs nothing is just so... so...” Pidge made a sound to convey her feelings and it made Keith blush to his ears.

“We're here!” he interrupted before she could go further than that. He managed to nudge the control panel with his elbow and the door to Pidge's room slid open, the light flickering on as he stepped inside. He navigated the slight mess on her floor – much better than the early days of their time in the castle, when it was like stepping into a trash heap – and eased her down onto the bed, prying her fingers from her shirt.

“Stay with me?” Pidge requested.

“I need to go make sure Shiro and the others get to bed too,” he responded, avoiding the question. He carefully unlaced and removed her shoes, setting them aside where she could easily find them again, and then tucked her into her woolly green blankets. “Sleep, Pidge. I'll see you in the morning.”

“Promise?” she asked, amber eyes shimmering with trust.

“Yeah, Pidge. I promise.”

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A budding relationship - Shallura Week Day 2

So thanks to @breezycheezyart I found out that Shallura week had been pushed back, which means I have a chance to maybe make some stuff for this. SO yeah, it was really hard to come up with an idea for this. Hopefully my other stories will be better. Enjoy. @shalluraweek

Wings/Bloom

“Allura could you come pick up these buckets to wash?”

While bleaching and cleaning buckets was never her favourite thing, it was better than going back and forth with the world’s pickiest bride over centre pieces. Tightening her ponytail, she walked over to where her boss stood, empty buckets at his feet.

Mr. Shirogane was in his 70s but was still able to run his flower shop like a tight ship. People came back to him because they knew how good he was at his job. Allura felt lucky enough to be hired by him. She’d been looking for a part time job to fit in between her classes at college and found the ‘help wanted’ sign in the shop window. Her father taught her so much about flowers growing up so when she shared her passion for them with Mr. Shirogane, he brightened and talked to her about them for a full hour before telling her she was hired. While working in a flower shop was nothing like she thought it would be, she loved it. Some tasks more than others but she enjoyed working surrounded by such simple things that could bring people so much joy.

“When you’re done with those, you can head home. We’ll be closing early.”

“Really? How come?”

“My grandson is coming. He’s an airline pilot and he’s plane is coming here. He’ll be off for a few days and I’ll get to see him after so long. I plan on making his favourites for dinner.”

He’d mentioned his grandson a lot. From what she knew, his parents died and he moved in with his grandfather. He tried doing everything himself so he wouldn’t be a bother, even if his grandfather didn’t care. His grandfather eventually brought him to help out at the shop and the hard work seemed to calm him and make him open up to his grandfather. He continued growing, becoming an amazing student and graduated until he reached his dream goal, becoming a pilot. She hoped she’d get to meet him.

As she juggled the backets into the back, she heard the door open then heard, “Takashi!”

“oji-san!”

Allura didn’t speak Japanese but she could hazard a guess as to what was said. She dumped the buckets into the sink and peeked out to the front.

With black and white hair and muscled arms on show under the uniformed jacket of Voltron Airlines, Takashi Shirogane, was really hot. He was tall, much taller than his grandfather, but he kept himself low and the smile on his face told the story of how he’d do this as a kid and he didn’t mind being back in that position again.

“Always had a habit of being early. I haven’t even started dinner yet.”

“Well that works out. I was just flying in from Japan and I brough your favourite yakisoba seasoning mix. I hope that was on the menu.”

“It is now. Ah, Allura, come here.” The old man called, beckoning her over. “Takashi, this is Allura. She’s been helping out since the beginning of this year. Allura, meet the grandson I can never stop talking about, Takashi.”

“Nice to meet you.” Allura said, shaking his hand. She noticed that it was metal. A prosthetic.

“Nice to meet you too. thank you for looking after him. He swears he’s only 40.”

“Well, the times he falls asleep at the register say different.” Allura teased, already dodging Mr. Shirogane’s swipes.

“That’s enough out of you two. Allura you can go home; he can clean the buckets.”

“But I just got here.”

“Shh! I’m your grandfather, I can do what I want.”

Takashi rolled his eyes good naturedly before giving Allura a smile. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

                                                      ___________

She learned that Takashi preferred to be called Shiro and even though he could be doing anything else, he enjoyed working at the flower shop.

“It’s my relaxing spot.” He explained when Allura asked why.

In spending time with him at the shop, she got to know him better. Liked cats but worked from home so often he didn’t feel like it made the most sense to own one. He hated radishes and his grandfather would threaten to make for dinner if he didn’t listen to him. He was really bad at flower arranging but the art of ikebana he was almost as good as his grandfather.

“They’re different.” Was his excuse.

“No, they’re not.”

It led into a long debate that Allura felt she won, but he refused to budge from his stance.

“So why not stay and work here at the flower shop?” she asked one day as Shiro took his turn sweeping up the usual dirt from the past hour.

“My grandfather wanted to go around the world and see all the different flowers but his health wasn’t that great, so I said I’d do it for him.”

He was also a god send for her math homework. It’d been a slow day and she was glaring at the homework she was trying to figure out. He’d been a much better teacher than her actual one.

When it came time for him to head back, he gave her his number.

“For any tutoring help. Or anything else I guess.”

Mr. Shirogane didn’t take long to tell her something once his grandson’s taxi was off and taking him to the airport.

“He asked about you quite a bit. I’m sure he’d enjoying talking to you when you have the chance.”

Why did she get the feeling Mr. Shirogane wanted their relationship to blossom more than they did? Oh well, she tended to listen to him a lot, why stop now?

[mythriteshah]

Dinner with Violet & Steel

Within the mythril-blue halls of the Higuri Regalia’s Main Branch Headquarters was a vast dinner table made of that same blue metal.  Precious fabrics of tulle were placed evenly along the length of the table, as plates of exquisite food from all corners of Hydaelyn were being placed.

The Angels – Lord Thiji’s personal retinue of assassin-maidservants – were gathered around the table.  At the head was the Mythrite Sultan himself, being poured a glass of his Winter Lassi by his Main Branch Advisor, Veeveena Veena.  He and his Angels were regaling one another over their recent success in the Bloodsands…

Lilina: So how’d it go?! I wanted to witness the spectacle myself, but I have been so busy with my Summoner training…

Veeveena: Oh, it went quite well, Miss Lilina!  In fact, we would be honored if Miss Susuna could recall the story for us in full detail!

Susuna: Hey, can I at least get in a glass or two of wine first?!

The Angels chuckled as Susuna gulped down her caelumtree wine.  All the Angels were garbed in the uniform of their respective branches, save for a few who were wearing items from the PiB Catalogue: Veeveena in her Impurity’s Sampot as per usual; Isja in her Life-Warden’s Veil, and Himmeya in the Griffin-Mistress’ Choil.

After a good half-bell into their feast, Veeveena popped the question to her fellow Angel once more, who took another long sip of her wine before jumping up to the table in a dramatic fashion, startling her sisters.

Susuna: So there we were, surrounded by the typical Ul’dahn crowd of nobles looking for bloodshed! Even Ishgard’s own nobility came to spectate!  The Mythril Cup was nigh, and it was here that our latest operation would unfold: Violet Steel!

Luluma: But wait, I thought Miss Himmeya didn’t use weapons?

Susuna: I’m getting there! So anyway, the contestants were lined up in the Bloodsands: a big, burly Sea Wolf Gladiator; a not-as-big but just-as burly female Sea Wolf Marauder; a Midlander soldier of the Immortal Flames; a female Duskwight Lancer; a Sun Seeker male from the Black Shroud – a Redbelly Wasp; a pair of male twin Dunesfolk Thaumaturges, and a Highlander Thief!

Isja: Hm… I counted nine, including Himmeya.  Who was the tenth?

Susuna: She was a Far Easterner, by the look of her armor.  She had a pink scabbard which obviously housed a Doman Steel katana.  At the time, she was masked, so her face was obscured from view.  So as they welcomed the combatants, I placed a hundred thousand gil on Himmeya winning. The odds at the time were 100 to 1.

Lelena: What?!  Then that must mean –

Susuna: That’s right! Ten million gil was going to belong to the Regalia once Himmeya won!  Of course, the real victory was getting word out on the PiB Catalogue, which my sisters and Miss Shiro were manning just outside the coliseum at the time.

Umimi: Oh, when does the fun part come?  Let’s hear about the fighting!

Sesena: Oh, don’t be so impatient, Miss Umimi!  Suna’s gotta set the mood first!

Susuna: Whaddya mean? The mood is already set!  The fight started and everyone was goin’ at it! The Gladiator and Marauder ganged up on the swordmaiden while the Lancer and the Redbelly Archer did their thing.

Umimi, taking a sip of water: Now that’s more like it!

Susuna: The Flames soldier made good use of his shield, deflecting the elemental onslaught from the Thaumaturge twins!  Then here comes the Highlander Thief from out of the shadows, looking to draw first blood by taking out Himmeya!

The Angels gasped as Himmeya simply shook her head, biting into another piece of baklava.  The Enforcer was amazed by the taste that she had to stop and appreciate the flavor for a moment…

Himmeya, thinking: Damn.  Now I see why this is Lord Thiji’s favorite dessert.

Susuna: Unfortunately for him, Miss Himmeya was in her exclusive Fists of Ice stance!  When the Thief jumped onto her shoulders for an Assassination attack, she caught him off balance using Arm of the Destroyer, then quickly grabbed him by the leg, hung him upside-down for a mean Touch of Death to the gut, and chucked his tattooed ass across the arena, taking a shield bash and Scathe combo as he was sent flying into the wall!

Umimi & Veeveena: Nice!

The other Angels applauded Himmeya’s performance.  The Fist of Rhalgr disciple found it difficult to respond to such an ovation, so she simply waved sheepishly.

Isja: Who knew the Treasurer had such a talent for storytelling?

Sosona: Susuna may be the youngest between the three of us, but her expertise at information gathering and gossip is second-to-none.

Susuna: With the first combatant knocked out, Himmeya took up a new stance: the Fists of Water!  The Lancer incapacitated the Miqo’te bandit with a straight kick and went straight for the Flames soldier!  Meanwhile, the Thaumaturges enhanced their defenses with Manawards as they prepared a mean spell to throw at Himmeya!

Lelena: How would she be able to close the distance in time?!

Susuna: She didn’t have to. Much like the Fists of Ice slowing down opponents she struck, this stance had a unique effect as well!  The Fists of Water increased her effective striking range by at least ten yalms!  So she was able to instantly break their barriers with another antiquated technique: the One-Ilm Punch!

Meriri: Goodness, lass! Ye be puttin’ Pugilists to shame with yer skills!

Koyuki: It was at this point that the crowd had its eyes fixed on Miss Himmeya, and some had even inquired as to where she obtained her clothes!  You can only imagine what we told them in response!

Shishira: Lord Thiji dearest was spectating from the other end, cloaked in black and violet, signaling the next phase: bringing in the masses!  But for now, Miss Susuna should continue.

Susuna: Thank you, ma’am! So, with the Thaumaturges’ defenses shattered by a single hit, the Archer managed to recover and shot an arrow at the older brother, which really pissed off his younger sibling!  He gathered his might and dropped an orbital laser on his head – the Skyshard!

Isja: Heavens…!

Umimi: He died, right?

Susuna: He should have!  It’s a Limit Break, for Thal’s sake!  But capitalizing on this, the Marauder chick took out the exhausted younger with a mean Overpower, wrapping up the triangle knockout!

Meriri: So how was the swordmaiden doin’ in the midst of all this?

Susuna: She held her own no problem!  In fact, I was going to get to her in a minute!  So, the roster was down to half at this point, with only Himmeya, the Far Easterner, the Roegadyns, and the Flames Soldier remaining!

Yuanji: But you missed the Duskwight – what happened to her?

Susuna, taking another sip of her wine: Oh, right – her.  She got slashed right below the tits by the Flames soldier.

The Angels broke out into laughter yet again from the Treasurer’s remark.  Umimi nearly spat out her water as a result.  Thiji only shook his head, the only thing escaping his lips being a soft chuckle.

Susuna: Which is even funnier considering how she was talking so much good shite to Miss Himmeya before the fight began! 

Himmeya: Said I was better fit for ballroom dancing.

Lilina: Ballrooms can be arenas, too!

Susuna: Well-stated, Miss Lilina!  Very true! So anyway, he was up next. Himmeya readied her third trump card: The Fists of Lightning!

Lilina: Ooh! Ooh!  That stance had to have paralyzed her foes, right?!

Himmeya: Correct. Though my attacks kept hitting his shield, he would eventually find it harder to hold it up as the electric current danced around the metal and eventually shocked him.

Susuna: And that was when she gave him a double Tiger Claw Strike!

Himmeya: “Couerl Paw”, Miss Susuna.

Susuna: Eh, semantics! The point is, he was knocked on his ass and was eliminated!  All eyes were on Himmeya now, and the nobles were starting to see the meaning of “Power in Beauty” through our star performer!  So we directed them outside to the booth we had set up.  Those who stayed, however, were in for a treat! That Marauder chick was furious now, and charged at Himmeya full speed!  But she was able to stop her dead in her tracks with the Steel Peak technique, stunning her long enough to charge her power move… Uh, what did you call it again?

Himmeya & Sosona: Chesed (pronounced “heh-sed”).

Susuna: Thanks to Sona’s fine-tuning, Miss Himmeya overclocked her Fists of the Fiend and brought the full power of life and growth onto the face of the Marauder, sending her bouncing into the wall where she made a nice Roegadyn-sized hole in it before landing on her neck!

The Angels winced in pain.

Susuna: That left only Himmeya, the Gladiator, and the swordmaiden.  At this point, the Roegadyn was getting frustrated as her opponent was getting the upper hand, so he tried to draw her away with a Bloodstain – or Circle of Scorn, if you prefer!  But then she did this thing where it looked like she foresaw the incoming attack and instantly evaded it, sliding backwards a full 360-degrees before advancing and retaliating with a slash which disarmed him!

Luluma: So some sort of… Foresight Slash?

Susuna: Yeah, that’s what it sounds like!  Anyway, she sent the man into the air with a Tsubame-Gaeshi, then bisected the fool with an Ougi – some Far Eastern word meaning “Hidden Technique”.

???: The Hana-no-Fukei – the Scenery of Blossoms.

Everyone looked around to find the source of the voice.  Then from the entrance to the dining hall was a petite Midlander Hyur wearing the uniform of the Othard Branch, with a pink scabbard identical to the one Susuna described in her retelling.  She had auburn hair tied in a ponytail and golden eyes, flawless skin, and an air of poise.  She greeted everyone with a bow and immediately took a seat beside Himmeya.

Susuna: Introducing our newest Angel: Kaori Hanabira, the Petaldancer!

Kaori: Truly, it is an honor to be part of such a wonderful company.  It is grand to see my old friend Himmeya again.

Meriri: Wait, you’re the same lass who cut down the Gladiator?  Then how’d the rest of the match end?

Kaori: After I struck down that ruffian, I revealed myself to Himmeya.  We had befriended each other during the Rhalgr’s Beacon operation when she was still in the Resistance.

Himmeya: She stowed away on an East Aldenard vessel all the way to Limsa Lominsa, where she sought to return the favor of the brave westerners who helped liberate Doma.

Thiji: We are honored to have you among us, Miss Kaori.  You will serve us well as the Othard Branch’s Enforcer.

Kaori: I shall not disappoint.

Umimi: With all due respect, my lord… who won the Mythril Cup?

Thiji: That honor belongs to Miss Himmeya, of course.  They had shared a dialogue before sparring.  Both gave their all, but in the ensuing clash, Miss Kaori’s blade would shatter upon Himmeya’s enhanced fists.  Without a weapon with which to fend herself, and her own martial arts proving inadequate, the only logical choice was to concede.

Kaori: But it was an honorable duel, and I only entered to find Miss Himmeya in the first place. She enjoys fighting – as do I.  So I thought a coliseum battle would be the ideal event to find her.  The kami smiled upon me that day to find her there, though I was unaware of a greater scheme in the works.

Yuanji: Ahh – of course! Miss Sesena’s team was swamped after the match, were you not?

Sesena: We would have been were it not for the fact that Miss Shiro is a master assassin!  She gave everyone a copy with lightning speed!

Sosona: And now we have an easy 10 million gil in the bank; more exposure for the Regalia, and a new Angel. An awesome profit was won that day.

Susuna: The bookmaker was appalled by the outcome, but that’s the thing about gambling: sometimes –

Sesena and Sosona join in: You lose!

Umimi: But not for the Regalia!  This gamble was a victory for us all!  A toast to our success, and to our newest Angel – Miss Kaori!

Thiji: To Miss Kaori.

Yuanji & Koyuki: Kampai!

(Picture commissioned by Dizzyfuture)

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Miracles and Magic Do Exist!

Lotor may have split the Law of Cycles in two, but Allura still has memories telling her the world is not supposed to be this way.

So, this is an old fic that was originally meant for Day Seven: Magic/Miracles of @allurashipweek all the way back in 2017. I stumbled upon it in my Google Docs, and I decided to finish it. Ships are one-sided Lotura as well as pre-romantic Shallurat. Contains very mild body horror.

AO3

FFN

“We have a new transfer student,” Mr. Iverson said. He turned his head towards the door. “You can come in.”

As he turned to the board to write down the student's name, a girl with pale hair tied up in a bun with a blue ribbon walked in. Her blue eyes scanned the room.

Blue? Why blue?

“Hi,” the girl said. “My name is Allura Brooks, and I transferred here from Arus. I lived there for ten years, but my father’s job transferred us back to Altea.”

You've never been to Arus; you've lived here your whole life.

Allura blinked. Ever since arriving back in Altea, she'd been getting feelings that something about the city was wrong. However, the feelings of wrongness hadn't been so strong outside the classroom. “I, um, I hope you will accept me as your classmate!” She shuffled to her seat, face burning.

At the end of the first class, a boy with long white hair kept in a ponytail by a pink ribbon approached her. He wore a triangle-shaped earring on his right ear. “Allura, right? I'm Lotor. You didn't look that great earlier. Do you want me to take you to the nurse?”

You already know the -

Lotor softly snapped his fingers at his side.

“Yes, please,” Allura said. She got up out of her seat and followed him.

With every step she took, the feelings of wrongness increased.

Why is he leading you?

Why are you a transfer student?

Why you?

Why?

“I don't belong here,” Allura said, gazing out the large windows of Altea Middle School. As Lotor turned to look at her, her long hair escaped its blue ribbon.

“I should be somewhere else,” she said as her eyes turned pink. Starlight spiralled out of her and into the surrounding area. “But where?”

Lotor ran to her, pulling the ribbon out of his hair. “Allura, what do you think is more important? Your own happiness or that of everyone else?”

Allura blinked; her eyes returned to blue as the hallway returned to normal. “If we're talking about everyone everyone, then everyone else, of course.”

Lotor handed her the ribbon. “If you really think that, then we will always be enemies.” He turned and began to walk away. “Keep the ribbon. It suits you better.”

”There's been a lot of transfer students lately,” a boy from the class next door said to Shiro, who sat a few seats away from Allura. She was pretty sure his name was Matt.

He doesn't go to school.

Allura shook her head slightly as she ate another bite of the food her stepdad had prepared for her. She loved Coran, but she wouldn't be surprised if his cooking was messing with her head.

“A guy transferred to my sister's class the other day,” Matt continued.

His entire family is dead.

Allura stood up, grabbed her lunch, and walked outside of the classroom. Maybe fresh air would help clear her head.

“Quiznak, do you think she heard me?” Matt asked. Shiro pinched his brow with his right hand.

He lost it years ago in an accident.

That was crazy. Impossible. Allura’s hands tightened into fists. What the quiznak was going on?

“Um, Allura?” Matt called out before school the next day. She turned to look at him. “I’m sorry for gossiping about you.”

He never would have apologized before. Shiro is a good influence on him.

“Would you be apologizing if I hadn't overheard your conversation? That being said, we’re even because I was eavesdropping on you,” she replied.

Matt looked surprised for a second, but then smiled. “Glad you think that way. I'm Matt. You want to sit with Shiro and I?”

It had been a week since Allura had transferred - returned? - to Altea. Since then, she had developed fast friendships with Shiro and Matt. She wondered if she had met either of them prior to moving to Arus, because her relationship with the two of them felt like she was picking up the pieces right where she had left them, or at least had met them in a dream.

Lotor felt very similar, but a sense of foreboding came with him. She twisted the pink ribbon in her fingers. Across the street from the trio, a group of odd-looking goth girls threw tomatoes at a tortured-looking cat. Others beat it with baseball bats, chanting in German.

Allura got up from the bench, fists clenched.

“Whoa, what’s wrong?” Matt asked. Allura turned to her friends.

“What's wrong? Can't you see what those girls are doing to that poor thing?” Her hands accidentally brushed along theirs.

“What girls,” Shiro started, but then his eyes widened. “Matt, Princess, we need to run.”

“Princess?” Matt and Allura said in unison. As Lotor started walking towards them, feathers floating around him and an odd looking sword in his hand, Shiro transformed. His bangs turned from black to white, a scar formed across his nose, and he wore black, purple, and white armor with a cape fastened by a glowing gem pendant. His right arm disappeared into light, only for a shining silver-and-black floating prosthetic to form in its place.

“Kurobos! Come forth!” Shiro said, pointing at the dog surrounding the river. A giant black lion dressed like a Roman gladiator flew out on a pair of wings that looked suspiciously like human hands.

Witch.

You must destroy it with your own two -

You don't have that -

Shiro's here but his witch is too.

How?

You need to stop -

You sent it to protect -

Witches only destroy.

Allura barely struggled when Shiro dragged her away from Lotor and the witch, too drowned out by the cacophony of thoughts.

“Shiro, I’d ask you if you're crazy, but either all of this is real or Allura has LSD or something on her,” Matt said, still slightly out of breath after their mad dash from Lotor and Shiro’s hurried explanation of how the world as they knew it was the creation of a demon.

“Excuse me?” Allura glared at the shorter boy.

“It wasn't until you started waving your hands around that we could see those goth girls. Not to mention that there's no way any of this could be real! A goddess torn in two and fallen to Earth, and to top it off me wanting people to believe that, believe that Dad…” Matt shook his head. “No, it can’t be true.”

“Well, it’s not like I…” Allura trailed off.

It’s true.

“I don’t understand what’s going on any more than you do,” Allura said instead. “But I feel like there’s something wrong with Altea. I… I’m pretty sure I’m not a goddess, though, despite what Shiro says.”

Shiro gave them both a sad smile. “I mean, not anymore, and you weren’t originally. Lotor made sure of that.”

“But seriously? Shiro, you know my dad, you know he wouldn’t do that!” Matt shouted. The revelation that his father had killed everyone in the Holt family but Matt was too horrifying to think of.

Shiro stopped smiling, pressing his lips together. “Look, the old world wasn’t a happy one, but this world is wrong. Lotor’s going to come after us, and at best we can hope he’ll just erase our memories.”

“And at worst?” Matt asked.

“Probably nothing good,” Shiro replied, rubbing at where his natural arm ended.

“If I take back the power that Lotor supposedly took from me,” Allura mused, “could I remake the world again, but this time make it both happy and not mess with the laws of reality?”

Shiro shrugged, and Matt smiled at her. It was rather assuring for Allura.

“Okay, so how do we fight Lotor?” Matt said, turning his gaze from Allura to Shiro.

“Well, first we should probably find Kyubey,” Shiro said, “and hope he hasn’t made any contracts.”

“Wait, any wish?” Pidge asked. “Like, you could make me taller? Or make our classmates stop being mean to me? Or -”

“Or you could bring my dad back?” Keith interjected.

Kyubey swished his tail. “Of course! All you’ll have to do is make a contract with me and become magical paladins!”

[toocool2btrue]

Distance 2/2

Lance currently lay in his bed his brows furrowed as thousand thoughts swarmed in his mind, the Garrison was going to announce the result of the pilot exam on Monday and the mere thought of it gave him the goose bumps, he shook his head, trying to push those thoughts at the back of his mind and instead eyed the clock wondering when will Katie will come back. Although it was Saturday, she had been called in for an emergency at work and she had yet to come back home. To keep his anxious mind busy, Lance had spent the whole day doing small chores but now there was nothing left to do. He hoped that Katie would come home soon and hopefully they could play video games together.

If she actually gets the time that is, he wouldn’t be surprised if Eric had already something planned beforehand. Lance grumpily sighed, he felt guilty for getting jealous of her boyfriend like that after all she had every right to prioritize Eric over him but still…

The memory of Katie holding onto his hand was still fresh in his mind, just thinking about it made a chill run down his spine and he knew for sure that Katie had felt something too but at the same time she had made it clear in her own way that she didn’t want to or wasn’t ready to have this conversation.

His trail of thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang on his door, ”Hey Lance, Can I come in?” Katie called out from the other side. Lance gave himself a moment to recover his breath, Katie made her entrances like a serial killer. 

“Yeah!” he called back and true to his earlier statement the door was kicked open almost out of hinges by a frantic looking Katie but instead of holding a knife or a chainsaw she had held up two dresses in each hand.

“I just got back from work and I need to attend a formal party soon. So help me decide. Black or Green?” she questioned holding them up better for Lance to see. His eyes flitted from the black one to the emerald green one. He always considered green to be more of her color so he immediately replied, “The Green one”

Katie inspected the two dresses again and then nodded in agreement, “Yeah I don’t think I am in a mood for a backless dress. It’s gonna be freezing there. I’ll wear the green one and tie my hair in a high ponytail and call it a day” she grumbled exhaustively.

Lance frowned at her idea and spoke up “Katie, I think a side bun will suit the dress more than a high ponytail” he suggested helpfully.

Katie groaned rubbing her temple, “I know you are right but I am too tired to even attempt something like that right now. I spent the whole day trying to fix the stupid malfunction in the prototype. My hands are numb” she sighed dramatically, displaying her hands to him. 

Lance mentally awed, they still looked so small as compared to his. “Well if you want. I can help you with that. You’d be surprised to see how skilled I have become” he declared proudly and Katie raised a brow in amusement, it had been a longtime since she had a glimpse of his old cocky personality.

“I hope you’re a better hairstylist than you were a tailor”

Sometime later

“Lance, please tell me that you know what you are doing” Katie asked as Lance took hold of her hair, “Will you just relax? It’s going to look amazing!” he assured.

“Although you could have at least brushed it before. It’s all tangled up” he reprimanded, picking up a brush. Katie scoffed in an offended manner, “When I gave you the responsibility of my hair, this was included in it. You can’t back off now buddy”

Lance chuckled as he gently brushed her auburn locks, “Don’t worry I am not backing off. This is my Everest and I will succeed!” he declared. Lance watched in the mirror as Katie rolled her eyes, “Stop being so over dramatic,“ she scoffed again but there was telltale hint of a smile on her face.

“I like to give you a warning. My hair has a mind of its own, so we are gonna need a lot of bobby pins” she informed opening the top drawer of her dresser. Lance blinked in disbelief at the mountain of bobby pins in the drawer, “How do you still have so many of them. Don’t they disappear?” he wondered, after all that’s what years of living with his mother and sisters taught him.

“I buy them twice a month just in case. There was a time Matt used to steal mine to try all these crazy hairstyles. Thankfully he has got a normal haircut now” she replied. 

“I see what you mean” he mumbled as a small curl popped out from the half done bun and Katie laughed handing him a handful of bobby pins.

“Anyway what have you got planned for the night?” she asked. “Uh.. nothing, Veronica has to attend a friend’s bridal shower and you have that party so I’ll be at home and probably order pizza” he replied trying to sound upbeat.

“I see..” she mumbled falling silent as Lance continued to work on her hair. After the bun was complete. Lance frowned unsatisfied, it looked perfect from the back but as he glanced at her reflection in the mirror, something was still missing.

So he walked over to the front and gently pulled out a stray curl that framed her face. Katie beamed at him in response as she inspected her reflection. “Thank you, Lance. It looks beautiful”

Lance wanted to correct her and tell that it was she who actually looked beautiful. More beautiful than anyone he had ever seen before but instead he softly smiled in response and accepted the compliment.

He glanced at his watch, there was still half an hour but Katie probably would want to get there earlier. “Well its almost time for you to go. Have fun” he smiled getting up to leave her room.

“Wait!’ she called out suddenly. “I am pretty sure that I am allowed to bring one person so why don’t you come with me?” she offered. Lance blinked in surprise before shaking his head. “Thanks but-”

“Oh come on, It would be better than you staying here. Shiro got back from his intergalactic trip yesterday so you will even get to meet him. Also the food is going to be amazing” She informed gleefully and Lance laughed.

“As much tempting that all sounds. It’s a formal event and I don’t even have a suit” He reminded. “You and Matt are about the same size. So you can wear one of his and dad has this blue tie that would really suit you” she supplied instantly.

Lance grinned, “You really thought this through?” to which Katie nodded proudly.

"There is a reason I am considered a genius. So will you please come” she asked tugging at his arm and Lance finally nodded after it was the same girl he had robbed a water fountain for. He didn’t have much resistance against her. 

______________________

“I feel dizzy seeing you like this ” Lance exclaimed holding his head and Shiro chuckled, “I think your being a tad bit melodramatic. I just dyed my hair black”

“It’s been a longtime since I saw them like that. What made you dye them black again?” Lance wondered.

“It started when I coincidentally met Matt during my intergalactic trip. We were just hanging out when he dared me to dye my hair black again. I was kinda hesitant and then he suggested that we could use temporary dye. Unfortunately none of us had any experience in hair dyeing and by the time we were done, we had blackened half the bathroom” Shiro chuckled and Lance joined in.

“Next morning when I woke up and looked in the mirror, I felt so young again and then I realized that I was only in my thirties I didn’t need to have a head full of white hair like some grandpa” he laughed in a thoughtful manner.

 Shiro glanced down at his drink before taking a sip, “I realized something important that morning. No matter how glorious or terrible your past is. Dwelling on it too long will destroy your hope for the future. That’s why I erased that part of me”

“What if there is something you can’t erase?” Lance questioned, touching his cheek. Lance knew Shiro would understand, after all he was the first one to get scarred by the war.

“Don’t let it” Shiro firmly replied, “Anything that is stopping you from being happy. Don’t give it that power. Lance, you need to understand something. After what we have gone through, we all deserve to be happy. I know it seems difficult at times but search and go after whatever makes you happy” Shiro stated.

Lance nodded taking in his words, by no coincidence his eyes fell to the figure standing at the opposite side of the room.Katie stood with Eric,chatting excitedly to a group of scientists.

Shiro knowingly smiled to himself witnessing the whole scenario, it was probably the fifth time he had seen Lance look back at Katie ever since she had gone to talk to the other group. 

He couldn’t believe that perhaps his years long suspicion might actually be coming true. “So things look better between you and Katie again” he mentioned casually, Shiro’s curiosity turned into glee when Lance’s face slightly flushed.

 “Oh yeah, she is the one who actually dragged me here” Lance mumbled shyly.

“I knew you two would eventually figure things out again. True friends always eventually come back to one another”

“You think we could be as good friends as before?” he questioned hopefully. Shiro shrugged in response, “Who knows maybe you two might actually be closer than before. It just depends on how much effort you put in your relationship”

Lance smiled to himself, “Thanks Shiro”

Shiro nodded slyly taking another sip of his drink, Keith and Hunk were in for some news.

“Takashi can you come here. We need to introduce you to the Emperor of Besaiv!!” someone called out from the crowd.       

Shiro rolled his eyes in an annoyed manner “To think they might spare me for one night. I’ll be right back ” he said patting Lance’s shoulder and then disappearing in a sea of people.

Lance nodded refilling his drink, he leaned against the wall next to the food table. In order to keep himself amused he looked around the large room despite it being more of a private event the place was still packed with Garrison employees and various alien delegates. There were even paparazzi spying from the windows avoiding security and trying to get a good shot of the event.

Lance considered joining Katie but he didn’t think her ‘boyfriend’ would be very pleased. After all his face looked like he had swallowed a bug when he saw Lance tonight but still managed to amiably greet him for Katie’s sake.

Speaking of the devil, Lance’s eyes widened in surprise when he noticed that Eric was no longer in his previous place. Instead he was seen again moving through the crowd and heading right towards him. Well to be fair, Lance was standing next to the less occupied food’s table so that was more likely why he was coming here.

Eric finally reached the table and filled his plate with few appetizers. “Hey there Lance. Having a good time?” he asked good naturally to which Lance nodded.

Instead of going back with his plate, Eric decided to join him next to the wall. They stood there quietly as Eric ate the appetizers which frankly wouldn’t take much time since they were a bite size only, the silence wasn’t a comfortable one and Lance really hoped that Eric would finish his tiny food quickly and leave.

“So Katie told me that your exam went well” Eric mentioned offhandedly. Finally something they could talk about, Lance sighed in relief. “Yeah I was really worried but thanks to-”

“That’s good to hear” Eric remarked cutting him off, by this time the plate was empty and before Lance could suggest the stuffed cheese chicken in a vain attempt to keep the conversation going, Eric spoke again.

“Lance” Eric cleared his throat, his eyes raced through the crowd before turning back to Lance. “There is something I need to ask” he said opting for a stern tone. Lance nodded uncertainly placing his glass back on the table, "Ok..”

“I need your honest answer to this. Is there something going on between you and Katie? Do you two have any history that I should know about?” he asked, much to Lance’s horror.

“What?! No!” Lance blurted out, his face turning bright red. “We are just close friends. Nothing else!” he replied hurriedly.

Eric frowned in disbelief, “Look, I am not an idiot who is just jumping to conclusions. It’s not like I haven’t met the other paladins, Katie is close with them as well but with you-”

“I already told you that there is nothing going on. How can you not trust her?!” Lance hissed as fury danced in his cool blue eyes.

“Of course I trust her!” Eric replied getting agitated “It’s you that I don’t. After all, it’s pretty obvious that you have feelings for her” Eric pointed out.

Lance stood there tongue-tied as Eric continued, “Oh come on, it’s not like I haven’t noticed that the entire time you have been here you haven’t been able to take your eyes off her nor did I miss the forlorn look in your eyes when I came to pick her up a few days back. So.. can you deny it now?” he questioned harshly.

Lance’s eyes fell to the floor, his face burning with embarrassment and anger but Eric still wasn’t done, “I am surprised to be very honest. Everyone knows how hopelessly devoted you are to the late princess. You even carry her marks on your cheeks so what happened now? Finally got tired of playing the sad lover?”

Lance looked up and glared daggers at him, “That is none of your concern!”

Eric simply gestured towards the auburn haired girl and then eyed Lance dangerously. “You have made it my concern”

Katie laughed forcefully, as Dr Frank cracked what felt like the thousandth joke of the evening. Despite the cool atmosphere, the nervousness was starting to make her hands sweat. Although from afar, it looked like two men just having a serious discussion but she doubted they shared any common interest to have this long of a conversation.

She glanced around her group, it didn’t look like Dr Franks story was going to end anytime soon but she really needed to come up with to escape soon or else tonight’s party would be remembered for very different reasons.

“ I am feeling a bit thirsty. Let me just get a drink” she informed trying to get out of the conversation. Just then a waiter arrived carrying a tray full of drinks, Dr Frank picked up a glass and handed it to Katie.

“Oh would you look at that. Lucky you” He commented joyfully and Katie had to refrain from rolling her eyes, lucky her indeed. Dr Frank’s eyes lit up and Katie prayed that he hadn’t remembered another one of his dreadfully long and supposedly funny stories yet to her dismay.

“You know this reminds me of the time..” he started and Katie internally screamed. She glanced back at the two men. Their postures looked more stiff than before and it looked like the discussion had now turned into a full blown argument.

She wanted to slip away from the group but Dr Zenia had a good grip on her forearm. Just as she was planning her next move, Shiro came to her rescue.

“Uh..sorry to interrupt but there is this urgent matter that needs Katie’s attention” He stated politely, tugging her away from the group of disappointed scientists.

“Thanks Shiro” she mumbled as the two friends swiftly navigated through the crowd. Shiro nervously glanced at the two arguing figures, luckily they hadn’t grabbed a lot of attention, aside from a few waiters who decided to stay clear of them and handful of Besavis who simply blinked their multiple eyes in confusion at the scene.

“Maybe thank me after this gets solved” He replied worriedly. Katie didn’t reply for her eyes were trained right where Shiro’s were a moment ago. Her mind buzzed with various solutions at the same time her heart twisted with worry.

What could have possibly lead to this? She anxiously thought. She hadn’t even brought up the idea of break up by now but then Eric despite his cool nature did have an irrational streak to him and it made her worry about what exactly was he assuming and excusing Lance off.

“Fine, so what do you expect me to do? What is the point of this conversation?” Lance questioned irritability.

“I think the point is clear enough. I want you to stay away from Katie! ” Eric snapped.

Lance sneered in response to Eric’s annoyance,  “Katie and I have known each other even before the discovery of Voltron. Since then, we have faced things together that you can’t even imagine in your worst nightmares. She is one of the most important people in my life so if you think that you can actually try and scare me away. You need to get your head checked for loose screws”

Thankfully before the fight could have further escalate,Katie arrived. She cleared her throat grabbing attention of the two men and at the sight of her both of them paled. 

“Katie..” Eric was the first one to speak up much to his misfortune, Katie acknowledged him for a brief moment before turning back to Lance and Shiro. 

“Excuse us” she stated politely before turning back to her boyfriend. “Eric follow me, we need to talk” she stated firmly and he complied silently.

Lance watched as the two of them disappeared yet again in the crowd. He and Shiro stood silently for the remainder of the time till Katie finally arrived again. Eric was nowhere near to be found and Katie’s earlier strict demeanor looked crumbled as well, it was obvious what had happened.

Shiro and Lance shared a worried look and Shiro stepped forward to comfort her but Katie wasn’t currently in the mood for sweet words and decided to call it a night, “Good night, Shiro. I’ll see you on Monday” she simply mumbled to the older man who nodded understandably.

She then turned to Lance and he gulped wondering if she had some choice words prepared for him as well but she only sighed softly and said, “Lets go home”

______________________________

Katie slammed the door of her car shut with bang, Lance expectantly glanced at her to say something. He didn’t even care if she would start shouting at him, it would be less scary than this silent Katie.

Katie started slowly making her way towards the house as Lance followed but instead of going inside. She slumped down on the front steps of the house, “Ugh!” she groaned in frustration , covering her face with her hands.

Lance took a hesitant seat beside her, “I am sorry” he mumbled causing Katie to look at him and to his surprise,her eyebrows were cocked up in an amused manner.

“What are you apologizing for?” she asked. Lance looked at her in disbelief, he had thought that Katie would be somewhat furious with him as well. “Because of me. You and Eric got into a fight and you guys broke up” he tried to reason, still feeling confused.

Katie let out a short giggle to his horror, “It was going to happen soon anyway you just catalyzed the whole thing. So don’t feel guilty” she tried to assure.

“Why?” he asked confused, last time he checked Eric looked like he was ready to challenge him to a duel for Katie.This question brought back the earlier gloominess, Katie hugged herself before explaining “It wasn’t gonna work out. I know that eventually he wanted something serious for us but I am not in the same place. I tried to bring myself to that place but I can’t” she cried out helplessly.

“And do you know why?” she added softly, the vulnerable look in her eyes was back, the pale moonlight added a silvery glow to her amber eyes. Lance’s throat felt dry so he only nodded to hear her answer.

“It’s because I am an Idiot!” she declared, “You were right. I can’t do these easy going relationships, it will always be the case of all or nothing for me but I was still stupid enough to do it” she stated miserably. 

“You are not stupid. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of what you are” he comforted jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately Katie didn’t seem much amused, “I am stupid at this whole relationship stuff and because of my indecisiveness he is the one who actually got hurt and he deserved better” she whispered.

“Pidge..” Lance called out, wrapping his arm around her, Katie welcomed the comforting embrace and she moved closer to him. She softly sighed, as she placed her head on his shoulder. The two friends remained quiet for a moment, enjoying the tranquility of the night had to offer.

“I shouldn’t be allowed to talk to people” Katie mumbled, her voice slightly muffled by Lance’s jacket. Lance chuckled, “The world would then be a very boring place”

Katie playfully scoffed at his cheesy praise tragically the light atmosphere didn’t last long after all Lance had his own burdens of the heart.

“Since it’s the night of failed relationships. I have a confession too” he declared. Katie lifted her head from his shoulder and eyed her friend with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

“What are you talking about?” she questioned, pulling away from him.

“Allura and I. Our relationship” he started nervously with his eyes trained to the ground.

“It was a mistake”

“A mistake?” Katie repeated. Lance winced, it felt more painful hearing it out in words. “Yes it was mistake. Don’t get me wrong. Allura was a great person and I still love her but now that I think about it, I only ever loved her as a friend and I am pretty sure she never thought more of me either”

Katie looked at him as if he had grown a second head, “Are you sure?” she questioned and to be fair she did have the right to be suspicious, after all he had spent some good years tending those juniberries and avoiding his friends.

“Yes I am sure” he stated. “To be honest there was always something off about our relationship. Sure we were there to comfort and be there for one another but none of us were actually ..happy" 

"I used to think that maybe I had exaggerated the idea of love in my head thanks to those stupid writers and poets and this is what it actually felt like” Lance mumbled, glancing at Katie. 

He had always found her fascinating, even long before he had known she was a girl. There was this pull and connection he had felt that compelled him to know her better and he feels disappointed that only now he knows what that truly meant.

“But now I know better. Love was never exaggerated by those poets or writers. In fact, it’s such a strong feeling that I don’t think anyone can ever properly describe it” he breathed in amazement, he could feel the warm glow on his cheeks.

“Lance. Your marks are glowing” Katie whispered, reaching out to touch them. Lance laughed heartily, “They are?” his heart wildly danced in his chest as he felt her soft hand against his cheek.

A moment later, the glowing stopped. Katie retracted her hand and beckoned Lance to continue. He cleared his throat, trying to remember his words,“Truth is that we never felt this way about each other and probably if she had lived on. We might have broken up but then she sacrificed herself and gave me the Altean marks and at that time, I was really confused about the whole thing but when I got the Altean marks. I somehow convinced myself that maybe we had been truly in love and now it was my destiny to keep her memory alive”

“And then you know it got out of hand” he mumbled, feeling embarrassed. “I felt confused, lost and trapped. The only goal that made sense to me at that time was keeping her memories alive and then when you guys tried to help me move on. I couldn’t do it. It felt like too much pressure” He confessed as Katie rubbed his back in comfort.

“But hey look at yourself now. You have come so far, you actually are moving on and you know the best part is that you decided to do it on your own. That means you are ready for a new life” she pointed out to which Lance smiled.

“I am” he agreed, “and now when I think about it. I realize that Allura would never want me to keep my life on hold like that. I am pretty sure if she had the opportunity she would have kicked me back to the Garrison” he stated lightheartedly and Katie silently agreed.

"i realized something important today. Team Voltron sucks at romance” Katie declared glumly. Lance chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“What about Hunk though?” Lance asked suddenly remembering one of them was actually in a stable relationship.

“You’re forgetting that he chickened out three times before he finally asked Shay out for a proper date” Katie reminded.

“I don’t think you could add Keith to our group” Lance pointed out, “Mullet managed to seduce three princesses and almost caused war in a planet”

“Whoa! Who knew that Keith was the true lover boy but what can be said girls do love the broody artist type” she grinned. 

“The ponytail must have surely helped” Lance added and the two of them broke into fits of laughter.

After the laughter died down.They sat in amiable silence,enjoying the peace and security the other’s company provided.

“I missed this” he confessed breaking the silence, Katie smiled softly and nodded in response. Somehow that soft smile provided him the courage to say the words, he had kept off his lips the whole time. Although he had thought about this for a very long time, always wondering and worrying for the right time to say them and it seemed like the moment had finally arrived. 

“Katie, I am sorry” he whispered, taking hold of her hand. “I should never have pushed you away like that, it was the stupidest thing I have ever done and you should know that I really regret it. I regret driving you away to the point of ruining our friendship because Katie you mean so much to me” he confessed, tightening the grip on her hand.

“I felt miserable during the period we stopped talking and it made realize how important you are to me. I never ever want to lose you again” he declared.

Katie was grateful for the lack of light for she was sure her face was redder than a firetruck still her lips curved into a smile, “Never?” she questioned cheekily.

Lance grinned in response, “Even when we die. My ghost will find yours and since Keith is gonna live longer than us because of his galra genes. We will go haunt him”

“Lance..” she tried rolling her eyes at the ridiculous statement but truth was she couldn’t be happier so she finally decided to be honest. Honest with him but most importantly to herself.

“I am glad you are back. I missed you so much” she finally confessed. Lance’s heart practically jumped out of his chest when she pressed a kiss on his cheek and then pulled him into longing hug. He responded, holding onto her with equal desperation. 

“I am sorry too” she whispered in his ear. “I should have been more understanding and patient with you”.

“It’s alright. It doesn’t matter anymore. I am just glad to have you back” he replied, closing his eyes as two stray tears slid down his cheeks. As the tears made contact with the marks, they glowed for the last time before finally disappearing forever.

Epilogue 

Leon, come back here!!“ Lance called out running after his three year old son. Leon shrieked in excitement as his father finally caught him and then lifted him into the air.

"Leon is flying in space!” Lance declared, spinning his son in the air. “Papa higher!” Leon demanded, failing his arms.

 Katie smiled to herself as she watched the little scene. In a minute she had to go and remind Lance to stop messing around and put Leon to bed but for now her she let herself relax and be grateful. 

She was reminded of an interesting discussion they had at work, there existed multiple realities in the vast universe and each reality had a different conclusion to their story, in some they might have never even met and led their lives contently without the knowledge of other.

Probably in another, they fell in love at first sight and never parted or maybe they did meet but their feelings never surpassed the platonic line. She slightly frowned at the idea that perhaps in a few they did fall in love but the time hadn’t been right and they didn’t end up together. 

“Mama!” Leon called out, Lance had finally put their dizzy toddler down and now he was running with full speed towards her. Katie slightly toppled as Leon crashed into her legs and urged her to pick him up. 

She dutifully did so and then showered his face with kisses. Leon giggled with delight but the excitement didn’t last long for his eyes had now started to grow heavy and the familiar scent of his mother was lulling him to sleep, Leon wrapped his arms around his mother’s neck and a few moments later he was fast asleep.

Lance immediately came over to her side offering to take Leon from her. She softly smiled and shook her head assuring him that despite her exhaustion she could carry her boy. 

After tucking Leon into bed, the couple quietly walked out of the room. Lance reached out and engulfed his wife in a needy hug,“ I missed you so much. One month is too long ” he pouted referring to his recent mission from which he had just returned.

“I gotta say I am surprised that you didn’t immediately come over to my lab after landing maybe becoming the Head pilot changes people” she teased and Lance further pouted still holding her firmly in his arms.

“I was just coming over to your lab when Iverson stopped me and asked me to give report of the mission. I swear that man is plain evil, he purposely stopped me from seeing you!” Lance declared and Katie shook her head.

“You’re forgetting, it’s only because of Iverson we met in the first place. Who the heck is Pidge Gunderson?” she reminded and Lance softly smiled, kissing the top of her head.

His eyes fell on their wedding rings and he sighed in contentment for out of all the billions of possible realities that existed. They managed to exist in the one where despite the internal conflicts, mistakes and uncertainties they had to go through they had finally found true happiness.

“My wife” he proudly replied.

Thank you for everyone who read this! I hope you enjoyed it and please reblog if you did and tell me your favorite moment. Thank you @artemisarya for letting me borrow Leon for the ending.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAPR prt 42 update

Coming down from his orgasmic high, Lance panted softly as Keith continued chasing his. They weren’t supposed to be having sex, not while they were staying on world for the night, but Keith was a total horn dog for his body. They’d fallen asleep with Keith still buried inside of him, waking in the middle of the night they let going at it without inhibition, napping and... stuff, despite knowing that they needed to be awake early in the coming morning to participate in a festival in their honour. Shiro had warned them there was a two varga trek to the temple where the festival was to be held, their stay extended especially for said festival... that Lance wanted nothing to do with after he heard about the walking part. Krolia hadn’t come with them, she was too close to her due date for Keith to be able to handle it, he’d growled at Kolivan on instinct the previous movement, when Kolivan had growled back, Keith’s anger had flared and they’d nearly made a scene over who loved her more. Instead of actively participating she’d be pickings them up after the festival, annoyed that the two most important males in her life were fighting over her, while simultaneously finding it tearjerkingly sweet. Coming with a grunted moan and stuttering hips, Keith buried himself as deep as possible as he did, his teeth gently clamped onto Lance’s shoulder as he rubbed his belly and pumped his hips despite being stuck. It turned out that when he thought he was fat before, he most definitely wasn’t. Keith could pretty much disappear completely between his legs now, under his stomach when giving him head. He’d felt he was too big for his number of weeks, but now he was big enough that he felt completely uncoordinated from time to time. Keith had made a fuss over it when he’d nearly tripped getting out their bed. Lance banned from bending and doing his own shoes, because his last ultrasound had shown his bleed had gotten slightly bigger, and his husband was nothing if not a worrier. They were supposed to be easing off the whole sex thing too, but the hormones flooding his body were almost like a drug, he was addicted to the way Keith made him feel with the intensity of his orgasms. Releasing his bite, his husband nuzzled at his nape “Do you feel that?” “Mhmm...” Both their sons were currently kicking the shit out of him from the inside, either that or spinning flips... whatever it was, they were moving and it was uncomfortably interrupting his high. Keith had felt his first kick through the skin only two or three quintants ago. Laying curled around his stomach as he nuzzled and kissed his bump, Lance had nearly been asleep when Keith had let out a gasp and shook him awake. Whichever twin it’d been played hard to get. Keith making it his mission to stay awake until he felt another kick. Every kick since always stilled his lover. The happiness on the half-Galra’s face was amazing. His sparkling deep purple eyes wide with wonder, soft and sweet lips parted with a smile that made Lance’s stupid heart flutter. He’d been dragged to Shiro and Curtis so the god parents of their boys could feel them kicking, then to Krolia so Keith could show him off again. They’d kept the number of people who knew about the small bleed. Shiro, Curtis, Krolia and Acxa. This wasn’t because Lance didn’t trust Ezor and Zethrid, nor because of his issues with a certain recruit and he was still trying to work things through over how he felt about Hunk, but simply because they were the ones who’d supported him the most. Acxa was informed in case something happened. He didn’t want Veronica panicking over something they couldn’t fix without a surgical approach he wasn’t comfortable with. His obstetrician had mentioned that they did have the tech to go in and isolate the bleed, if he wanted, when she called to let remind him about his upcoming appointment and to confirm she’d received and reviewed his file. He didn’t. Not when he was paranoid over the consequences and afraid of hurting their boys. Acxa was mature enough to recognise that this was something deeply private to him, though not happy about not telling her girlfriend, she respected his wishes. “It’s amazing” Lance let out a sleepy grunt. It was supposed to be a laugh, but he was as drained as the semen splattered across their sheets from his spent dick “Don’t be like that” “You’re not the one who’s bladder is being used as trampoline” “I’m sure it’ll get better” Bless Keith and his innocent unpregnant heart. Lance already knew it wasn’t going to get better, he’d damn near wet himself more than once on this tour because everything seemed to go right through. Placing his hand on his husband’s, he suppressed a moan as Keith’s dick jostled, rubbing up against his sweet spot that had been thoroughly abused “Mmm. We should sleep. I don’t want to offend everyone here when I can’t walk up to this festival” “I haven’t cleaned you up. I can’t pull out either” “I’m too sleepy to care right now” Keith was more comforting than the lush bed they were curled up on. The room was too rich for his liking, trimmed in teals, hot pinks, deep purples and brushed golds. Behind them, a large window filled the whole wall, it’s drapes translucent, annoyingly allowing the morning light to spill in. Far too much morning light for his liking. This planet felt off to him, and had since their arrival. They claimed to be locked in some kind of long term conflict with the other major power there, but there wasn’t any sign of it. Nor was there any sign their economy had been affected. For this, Lance was glad Krolia was only going to be picking them up. He hadn’t shared his suspicions with anyone, not sure if his paranoia was being a douche about everything or not, seeing this wasn’t his natural habitat. He wasn’t used to being in such luxurious surrounds. The palace was enough to make him feel like a leech, yet this opulence of their hosts made him feel like a piece of cow shit stuck to their boots. They’d been nice. They’d showered praise on the heroes of Voltron, yet seemed to be iffy when it came to same sex relationships. Keith couldn’t care less as he kissed him publicly and held his hand. He’d made him scream so loudly that the whole city had to know they were definitely screwing while planet side. Not that is his fault he’d screamed. Keith had buried his face between his legs, using his tongue and fingers to melt his mind. He’d been feeling slightly touch starved after his ultrasound on Erathus as Keith was angsting internally the following day when everything got a bit much for his husband. He was scared he’d would some how caused the bleed to grow with all his lustful ways. It’d been a lonely week with his hand... a lonely day with his hand, really. He couldn’t come without Keith touching him. Trying to masturbate had hurt from not being able to come, resulting in some serious crying, then a minor break down over being unattractive. He didn’t always want to give into his body’s physical need for comfort, he felt dirty for wanting Keith so badly when he was attempting to be respectful, he felt ashamed until it turned into a fight between them... and then into some very appreciative touching. It was also hard because he knew Keith needed that physical touch too. He knew if his husband got too far into his head, he’d second guess every touch between them, out of fear of hurting him. It’d been awkward between them until Keith caught him staring at him at dinner on the last planet they’d been on. The way his husband’s hair fell loosely from his ponytail as he laughed at something silly Shiro had said, had sucker punched him right in the heart. He’d spent the whole night watching. The way his husband expressed so much through his eyes, his lips against the rim of the glass, the way his hand would grab Lance’s thigh when was got excited and wanted to include him more in the conversation. The way Keith leaned back into his touch when he’d feeling more comfortable in his surrounds. He spent the whole evening falling back in love with Keith. He had no idea Keith was watching the same small things adding up, only that he blushed when Keith caught him staring. When they made it back to their room, the mood had felt right and they’d fallen back between the sheets as naturally as ever. Keith had been a little panicked the following morning when all Lance had wanted to do was sleep. Like right now. All he wanted to do right now was pass out and sleep up until the last tick. Nosing at his neck, Keith let out a content sigh “I love you, babe” “I love you, too” Shiro had been nominated by their group to wake them. Shaken awake by his brother-in-law shaking Keith, Shiro had nearly copped a blast in the face from the blaster Lance had under his pillow. Keith had been smart enough to cover them with a blanket sometime after he’d fallen asleep. Powering the weapon down, Shiro kept his hands raised in a non-threatening manner. Lance blushing when he realised his breasts were hanging out in front of the man. Covering his eyes with his robotic hand as Lance covered his chest, Shiro waved his other hand towards them “Sorry. Sorry. It’s time to go” “You couldn’t have called my comms?” Keith sounded cranky, Shiro backing away without looking. His brother-in-law was lucky he couldn’t see what was happening under the blankets. Lance nearly felt sorry for whoever had to clean up the mess “I tried. Right. Get up and take a shower. I’m going to go be not here... I told you both to sleep... it’s a two varga trek. There’s stairs. There’s stairs and you two couldn’t keep it in your pants for a night. Why am I not surprised...? One night...” Shiro continued to mutter as he backed out their room. They probably should have behaved... “Don’t worry, babe. If you’re not up to going...” Stairs. Quiznakking stairs. His eyes freakin burned from the lack of sleep, his arse throbbed like a bass drum. He was sweaty and gross, and now he had to deal with stairs “You’re kidding me right. I can barely move my hips... and there’d going to be stairs” “It can’t be too bad, I did you from behind” Smacking Keith with the side of his blaster, Lance was forced to remind himself that murdering his husband would be a bad thing “One day, I’m going to stick something up your butt, wiggle it around, thrust it in and out, expand it like twice its size and see how you feel about it the following morning” “Sounds fun. I think it’d be kind of hot to ride you while you’re pregnant with my twins...” Keith’s hand was starting to travel places they didn’t have time for it to travel “Nope. No. Don’t even think about it. I will break your hand if we’re not there in time” “You’re already hard” “And you’re really pushing me into “red” right now” Starting to climb off their bed, Lance was grabbed by the shoulders before he could escape. Panicked by the backwards motion, he ended up in a spot that was uncomfortably wet beneath him, fighting his husband’s hold “Keith! No! I said no!” “Lance. Stop. There’s blood” Lance froze instantly, his mind taking a long moment as tried to assess “was he in pain?”, followed by “was he in pain that wasn’t the usual discomfort from Keith’s monster dick wrecking his arse?”. Their twins were moving... wasn’t that a good thing? Or were they trying to send out a tiny S.O.S? “Blood” Running his tongue up Lance’s shoulder blade, he realised his husband was licking whatever blood was on his skin from the night before. Anger and annoyance flooded through him “Get off of me!” “Babe...” “Let me go!” “Hey, whoa. What’s going on?” “I thought I was bleeding! You made... I thought you meant down there. Let me go” Keith realised what he meant, Lance forced to breathe through his nose when his husband wouldn’t let him go. He’d told his husband “no”, and to “let him go”. Keith knew that he was supposed to do this. Not octopus himself onto him with his full weight against his back “Quiznak, no baby. I didn’t see any blood. Only a little from my nails and teeth...” Lance shook his head, he needed to shower. He needed to check himself. He had to be sure he wasn’t bleeding “Red” “Babe?” “Bathroom. Alone. Red” A very confused Keith let him go, Lance slow and careful as he made his way into the world’s most impractical bathroom, “throwing” himself down to sit on the toilet with as much anger as he could muster. Then he grew angry all over again as he realised what he was going to have to go through once he was done on the toilet. You had to sit in a bath, to have a damn shower. It worked on weight sensors, and the water squirted like a damn fountain you while being completely impractical to someone who was pregnant, or a half normal person who wanted to wash their hair. Keeping everyone waiting Lance was careful as he checked himself over, delaying Keith getting in to use the bathroom, and hence making them both late. His heart rate was still elevated. His fingers had tingled the taps when he’d brushed his teeth. He wasn’t bleeding down there. He wasn’t too tender outside of the twins movements, his bladder still a damn trampoline. He’d checked the blood thing three times before settling for he wasn’t bleeding down there and mentally decided Keith needed a fucking muzzle, because he way too many hickeys with not all of them feeling that great. He’d have to have a serious word with his husband. He didn’t want to look like some chew toy. He couldn’t wear his bra comfortably from where Keith had bitten his shoulder where the strap sat. The fabric rubbed against the mark making it bleed and hurt, because he needed his damn bra with all the quiznakking stairs, he couldn’t forgo it, leaving him more annoyed with his husband with each passing tick. Keith had only taken a shower and put his Blade armour on after Lance had promised he wasn’t bleeding. With how absolutely sick to death this extended tour was, because it was supposed to be a phoeb and now they were in the middle of the fifth movement, and he wanted to go home but couldn’t until the Coalition stopped being power hungry dicks, he was putting himself in a “Red Time Out”. His was moody and he knew it. He also knew that keeping his mouth closed was the only way he was going to make it through the day. When they finally joined up with the rest of the group, Lance found all eyes on him. Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor all seemed on edge by his presence, Keith’s recruits also seemed off. Yeah, he probably stank of his... whatever the word to describe what he was feeling was. Anger wasn’t it, but it was, so was so many other things that he started tearing up at the way everyone was looking at him. With Keith having scared the quiznak out of him, poor Curtis found himself singled out as Lance forced him into a hug. Over his shoulder, Curtis shot Shiro a very confused look, Shiro had still been mumbling when he’d returned to boyfriend. Shiro could only shrug as he thought things were fine. Keith looked ready to have a stroke on the spot. Gently returning the hug, Curtis rubbed his back “Why don’t you guys go ahead and meet the others with the villagers, and we’ll catch you up?” “Are you sure?” “I’ve got him. Lance, we’re going to have to a little talk. Is that ok?” Nodding and sniffling, his head hurt too much to really object to anything. He felt bad for Keith... but he knew he’d feel worse if he was a moody bitch to his husband. Staying where they were, the others left to give them some peace. Curtis hushing him until he’d started to calm down. Having been scared, he didn’t fight against Curtis. He wasn’t sure why he’d sought him out “They’re gone now. Do you want to tell me what happened?” Nodding, he sniffled even louder, a little hiccuppy with his words “It’s really p-petty. Keith s-scared me this morning, and I’m f-f-feeling kind of shaken up” “Scared you how?” “S-said there was blood. I panicked b-because I though he m-meant the twins” “Where did he mean?” “S-shoulder” “Can I see? If it’s bleeding you might need someone to stitch it” “Y-yeah...” Nearly having a tantrum when he couldn’t get his jacket undone, Curtis stepped in. Lance felt like a toddler as he stood there and let the older man take his jacket off. Tugging on the neck of the shirt he was wearing, he exposed his sore and raw bite mark “Jesus, Lance. Does that hurt?” Sadly he nodded. He knew Keith got self conscious over his Galra side. And it wasn’t every time that he carried away with the biting. His theory was because they weren’t back in Keith’s quarters that he was having trouble with his need to mark him as his “I think that’s going to need to be cleaned properly, then checked for infection” “It has to wait then. The tour’s more important” “You’re obviously exhausted and not feeling well. I promise not to tell anyone, but you need to tell me now, are you safe with Keith? These bites look painful, and happened during sex. He isn’t forcing or pressing you into doing things you don’t want to do, is he?” Shaking his head, Lance wiped his eyes “No. No. It’s not like that. You know he’s part-Galra, and sometimes he has trouble with that side. He goes crazy wanting to protect me from everything, and it gets too much for him. It’s not done on purpose. Both our instincts have gone crazy over this pregnancy... but he’s not biting to cause me pain or to intentionally hurt me” “That’s good, but I’m still worried about this. I know you wanted to be at the festival, but I think today it’s better if you rest” “I can’t...” “They don’t need to know why you’re not there” “The cleaning staff will...” “Even if they do, it’s not their business. We’re fulfilling our obligation by being here. You need your rest” “What about you? You shouldn’t have to miss out because I’m an idiot” “I don’t particularly feel like spending two vargas walking up the side of a great big hill” “So you’re playing hooky?” “Not if you ask Shiro. I’ll call someone to come pick us up and we’ll head up to the Atlas” “Can’t we go to the outpost? Daehra can...” He didn’t want Daehra seeing this. Altea was alright, provided he didn’t see his old obstetrician... Erathus could work. Th’al would patch him up and let him crash at the club as long as he needed “I’m sorry. Even if you suggested heading back to Daibazaal, I think Taka may have a hard time explaining why you weren’t taken to the Atlas for treatment as a first option” “Is there a way we can keep this... from too many people knowing?” “Your medical files are private” “Not always. Veronica wouldn’t understand what it’s like for Keith. She’d think he was abusing me. I know it looks bad, but it’s not... only on my bra line” Curtis sighed at him, Lance felt a compromise coming on “I’ll take you back to me and Taka’s quarters, if you promise to let me dress that wound and if you promise to sleep” “Do you have a spare room I can use instead?” “I know you can’t get into the air vent system like this, but I also imagine Keith and Ta-Shiro would feel better with you in a safe environment” “They worry too much” “If you really wanted, I’m sure Hunk and Shay...” “Nope. No. That’s ok. Yep. Your quarters it is” They tried to do “the talk”, but Lance would get “the anxious”, so Keith had to be there to be the buffer between him Hunk. It was as awkward as Lotor had been good looking. Cruelly and unfairly so. He didn’t want to stress Hunk out, or make him hate him by saying something wrong. Hunk had come to their rescue, or rather, Keith’s rescue, by organising an amazingly romantic dinner for two. Lance had decided to start small. A few minutes here and there. Never asking him questions or for help, and never making a fuss or a scene when Hunk accident hurt his feelings. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling about it all, but this wasn’t something he wanted to have a “Hunk Talk” about “Good. I’ll message Shiro and let him know. I keep finding it harder and harder not to call him Taka when we’re all hanging out” “You have before, and “Tani”, and “Hashi”. We all call him Shiro because he was a higher rank than all of us. If Shiro minded, he would have said. He probably finds it a refresh-ing change” Rubbing his stomach, Lance pulled a face mid sentence as he moved the wrong way causing his lower back to protest “Maybe I should take you for that scan? If you’re in pain, it’s not something we can afford to ignore” The blush in his cheeks didn’t deter Curtis. Curtis was gay. How was he not getting the vibes Lance was putting out? “I think I’m going to have to overrule you on this one. I won’t reveal your sores, if you get a scan to make sure that bleed hasn’t grown” “It’s not... my hips hurt...” Curtis blushed as his lips formed a silent “Oh”, before he recovered “Are you sure?” Was he sure his hips hurt? Yeah. He was quiznakking sure about that “All I need is some sleep and help with that bite” “I... fine. I’m not going to... I mean...” Flustered Curtis was much like flustered Shiro. It was reassuring that they were both on the same wavelength “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable” “You didn’t. I’m... I don’t have a lot of experience with friendship outside of work...” “You’re a good friend. I’m not exactly the friendliest of people anymore. So sometimes I say stuff I probably shouldn’t, or spend too much time trying to hint at something... I say the wrong things a lot” “No. You should be able to express what you’re feeling and know I’m not going to judge you for it” “Dude. I judge me all the time” “You shouldn’t. You’re a strong person. A good person. Let’s head up to the Atlas and then we’ll go from there” * Fucking stairs. Keith had had enough of stairs to last him the rest of his lifetime. There was no way last could have been able to keep up with them, let alone kept his balance on the winding staircase up the mountain. There was no way Keith would have let him come either if he’d seen the mammoth trek before them ahead of time. He wasn’t sure if they arguing or not, but it’d hurt to see Lance seek Curtis out for comfort after spending the night reconfirming their love for each other. Having messaged his mother over the ridiculous amount of stairs, and Lance, Keith wore a fierce scowl as they stood looking over the city they’d spent the last few quintants getting to know, and the forest surround it. Lance would have loved the view. He would have loved the orange blue sky that sat far on the horizon. He also would have loved the position for sniping as any enemy would have given up before making it third of the way up the stairs. Pulling up the camera on his comms, he shot a photo for his husband... who he great wished was there with him. During the torturous hike up, he’d turned to crack a joke more than once, only to find that Lance wasn’t by his side. He hated it. He wanted to know what he was up to. He wanted to know that Lance was resting, and that Curtis was being the perfect gentleman over it all. Last night might not have been the best night to stay up indulging in his lover’s body, but his instincts wouldn’t fucking settle. It wasn’t there room. It didn’t smell right. It didn’t feel right. Home was anywhere that Lance was, but home was also not stuck on a planet playing Coalition puppets when the ruling powers seemed to have an issue with him displaying any form of love for his husband publicly. Braving his bad mood, Shiro wandered over to him, leaning on the railing with a whistle “That’s some view” “Lance would have loved it” “I had a feeling you were thinking about him” “He’s my husband. It’s natural I’m thinking about him” “Curtis has him sleeping. He’s worried about him” Like Keith wasn’t? Lance was incredibly fatigued on the best of days, not to mention the days where they couldn’t seem to keep it in their pants the night before “If you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re doing an awful job” “He helped dress Lance’s shoulder. Lance insists that you didn’t intentionally hurt him, but I’m concerned by the photo that Curtis sent me” Keith’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, his heart giving a sick thump at Shiro’s words “What do you mean? And what photo? Does Lance know?” “Hold on...” Pulling up a photo, Keith knew instantly knew it was Lance’s back. He knew ever millimetre of his husband’s perfect body. The photo was of his husband’s right shoulder “... you bit him hard enough that it’s become a sore from his bra rubbing. You do realise there’s at least a dozen sores across the tops of shoulders and shoulder blades. This one needed cleaning. He thought it might even need stitching. What’s going on with you? Why are you biting him like this?” Keith flushed red. His sex life was being discussed between Curtis, Shiro and Lance... If Lance was unhappy, why couldn’t he talk to him? “It’s sex, Shiro” “It’s sex with your recovering husband” Like he didn’t know Lance’s past. Since Lance fell pregnant they’d had more sex than ever before. He thought Lance liked being marked... “You’re really going to have a go at me, aren’t you? Lance likes it when I bite him. He likes it when I mark him. It makes him feel more confident...” “Then you need to be the one to tell him no more. That’s on his bra line. I can’t imagine that’s too comfortable” Shiro knew far too much about his husband’s bra. Lance didn’t like to show that kind of thing off, even if Keith did find it hot “He didn’t say anything... How am I supposed to understand when he doesn’t tell me?” He was scared as quiznak of hurting his husband. Sex was supposed to be them reconnecting and showing Lance there was nothing shameful about his body, not him upsetting Lance and leaving him not being able to tell him “Maybe he didn’t know how when he knew you haven’t been coping” Keith thought he was coping quite well with all things considered. Lance had a bleed that might cost them the lives of their twins, as well as his own life. He’d been stuck on this prolonged tour. The Coalition had said a phoeb, which has passed. He’d fulfilled his end of the bargain and was thinking it was past time they went home again. He was also playing mediator between Hunk and Lance, as his husband would over think every interaction between them. Then there these repetitively annoying festivals and celebrations held in their honour. He didn’t see why every planet insisted on it when they weren’t Paladins anymore. They’d all gone their own way, only coming together due to the Coalition’s incompetence when it came to their duty to keep Lance safe. “I’m fine, Shiro” Raising an eyebrow, Shiro didn’t believe him. The words didn’t sound all that believable as they reached his ears. He was tired. His eyes hurt. “Fine. I’m tired and I miss Lance. We have to go to this stupid party when all I want to do is go home. And now I’m mad he didn’t tell me I’d hurt him” “I meant in general. I’m not surprised if you haven’t noticed, but you’ve been drinking a lot on this tour” “Hardly anything more than you have. Everywhere we go, they keep giving us their version of alcohol. I don’t want to offend them, not when I don’t even want to be here” “Keith, I’ve smelt it on you. You don’t say no when they’re pouring you another. You don’t even sip your drinks. Is your anger making you drink more? I want to know that you’re alright. That you’re not getting drunk because everything is too much for you” Keith has a good mind to throw his brother over the lookouts railing. He wasn’t drinking that much. Maybe he was tipsy once or twice on the tour, but if it’d been too much, Lance would have told him. Despite their fights, Lance was always there for him. Was him drinking rubbing Lance’s face in the past he wanted to forget? His husband worked his bar with no problem, or at least none Keith had seen. He’d cutting his drinking out since finding he was pregnant. Lance only indulging in the very occasional drink and always in his presence. The half-Galra was trying his hardest to be everything everyone needed him to be, so why was in trouble for making the effort? He was stressed. They were all fucking stressed. Kolivan was perhaps the closest to understanding how he was feeling about everything, seeing he was the father of his soon to be sibling. “Hey... hey, come here” Since when was he crying? And why was he letting himself be hugged by his brother in front of everyone? Held close, Shiro rubbed his back “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m worried for you. You know you can tell me anything, judgement free” He didn’t think he felt miserable... if there was no judgment why had Shiro brought it up in the first place “There always judgement” “Maybe a little. But at the end of the day, you’re my brother. I want you to be able to rely on me. If you’re scared and you want to talk, I’m here for you” “We can’t right now, we’re supposed to be at a festival” “The festival can wait. The camera team is talking with the royal family at the moment about the event. No one else was game to come close” “I’m not that scary” “You looked ready to jump the rail and pick a fight with the first thing that crossed your path” If Lance was there, he’d know what to do. He’d know how to calm him, he’d cuddle and kiss him, assure him everything was alright and Keith would melt into his touch, because Lance’s touch was his everything. Instead, his husband wasn’t even on the planet thanks to him and his hormones, instincts, whatever it was. He didn’t have a word for how unsettled he felt when Lance wasn’t right beside him “I miss him” “He’s only been gone a couple of vargas” “I know. I know. I shouldn’t be this pathetic about it all, but I...” “You’re not coping” “Maybe not? I’m sick of the tour. I’m sick of the days I have to leave Lance behind with Kosmo because he’s physically not up to coming. I’m sick of smiling at people I won’t remember and don’t even like. I didn’t know I was hurting him, I don’t even know why I was hurting him. He’s already got enough to worry about. He’s being so brave about the bleed. He’s being so brave about everything. Sometimes it’s like he can forget. He lets himself the enjoy the moment... and he’s so fucking beautiful when he does. Then there’s other times I can smell his panic and I want to tear everyone in the room apart for upsetting him. I don’t understand this. I can’t be a father like this. If I can’t keep my head before the twins are born, how am I supposed to help Lance raise them? How am I supposed to be a good father, husband, brother and son, all at once. I know something has to give. How do I retire from the Coalition after all this publicity? Lance and I are being paraded as this hugely famous couple, and it all feels like one big trap to keep us under their thumbs. I promise myself over and over I won’t let him down again, then I do, then I’m mad and he always forgives me. I don’t know if he should be forgiving me. I don’t know if he’s forgiving me because I deserve it or because he doesn’t want me upset. It feels like I’m running out of time. At his next scan I want to ask when’s the safest date for him the caesarean because I’m scared he’s going to have a bleed and fucking die... we haven’t even... we decided it’d have to be a caesarean and that’s as far as we got. He can’t go to Altea. He’s still fucking scared of Galra touching him when he’s naked, so Daibazaal’s out. Someone fucking attacked him and could go after our twins, and we have no idea who it was. I want to be good for him. I want to support him, but I don’t know if I can be father. I love them, but I love him more. What if I can’t love them like they deserve? What if Lance and I can’t make it work? We wanted to save our marriage before we found he was pregnant. I mean, I thought things were ok between us. I didn’t realise how fast time had passed and how long I’d left him suffering” His fatigued state was channeling his husband’s “sleepy rambling mode”. He didn’t even know he felt that way about most things until it came out in a huge pile of word vomit on Shiro’s shoulder. If Lance had been there, he would have been able to remain strong. “Have you talked to anyone about how you’re feeling? Anyone other than Lance?” “You?” Shiro shook his head “Other than Lance, Krolia and I. You were talking to a therapist on Altea, I seem to remember” “I haven’t had time. When I’m alone with Lance, I want to make the most of that time. He insists on working for our bed. I think he’s talked to Coran a couple of times. I think I’ve talked with him once after the scan... I was going to campaign for his old obstetrician to be fired, but Lance told me I was too aggressive and that it had to be handled carefully... but that’s another thing, he keeps forgetting things. I don’t know what he remembers. I think he gets self conscious about it, so I let him play it off, but it worries me. I know he has a bleed, but what if he’s bleeding on the brain again? What if his meds are making that worse? Like they’re masking the symptoms of something more going on?” “He’s got baby brain, plus the added stress of the tour. Curtis is keeping an eye on him, and I know you don’t think it’s as good as you being there, but he’s not alone. He’s on the Atlas, the best place he can be right now if something was to happen. I’m more concerned about you” “I’ll be fine, Shiro. Once this tour finally comes to an end... once Lance and I are finally free of it, things will be better” “We have a therapist on the Atlas. If you need someone else to talk to, I can take you to see them. This drinking isn’t healthy. I’ll try to talk to Coalition about ending your commitments with the tour. You’ve put in more than enough time. You and Lance need to rest and really figure this out before your sons are born” “He won’t want to walk away from this. Not if the tour isn’t coming to an official close” “If he won’t then I’ll talk to him. I think you both need to take the break. You’ve been conducting humanitarian work, but nothing like this since shortly after the liberation of Earth. For both your sakes, I want to take you out the rotation” “Are you saying I wasn’t good enough?” “No. I’m saying you need to take a step back. Take a break. If our positions were replaced, you’d be saying the same thing to me” “How can I? Mum’s going to be giving birth soon. I need to step up” “You need to let your friends support you. Patience yields focus. You’re so stressed out, you’re failing to see the big picture” “Which is?” The hug ended, Shiro staring at him with such sincerity that he felt uncomfortable “Lance is not in the same circumstance as he was before. He’s no longer as isolated as he was. You’re not in the same circumstance as before, you’re no longer responsible for your recruits. We’re all responsible for them now. Krolia has Kolivan. She had Kolivan who’s going to be there for her and your sibling. We only get through things when we work together and rely on each other. I love you, Keith. You’re my brother. You are not being selfish by taking time off work again. You two have been working hard for phoebs” “We haven’t though. We went to Allura Day, then into the accident... then he was attacked... I haven’t taken any of my recruits through any training exercises since the accident. The only training I get is working out if I wake up too early, or Lance has a panic attack and attacks me... but it wasn’t like we were doing a great deal at the Palace” “In other words, you were taking care of your husband because this pregnancy has been hard for him. Your priorities have been ensuring that your husband is safe, and well” “I shouldn’t have to ensure it though. Lance should be safe in my quarters. I should be able to go to work and know he’s not going to be attacked” That was another reason felt he needed to step up. His mother had enough worries, as did his team, seeing most of his time was eaten up by Lance. He’d practically been benched, letting down Acxa, Zethrid and Ezor. He hadn’t spoken to the recruits much either on the tour. Publicity stuff here and there, and Krystaal had checked in with him to make sure that Lance’s ring had been returned. They’d been lucky that ring hadn’t been sold to a private collector, or creepy Paladin enthusiast. From what he understood, Kolivan had given the second hand dealer the scare of his life over not reporting that it’d turned up there. How it had was also a mystery. An alien not of Galra origins had sold it to him. But with the use of shape shifting technology, anyone could have been responsible, more than likely it was the actual perpetrator that had sold the ring seeing no traces of them had been found since. “If you need a break, or some time to think, Curtis and I would be happy to stay with Lance. That way you could call your counsellor. Maybe take a walk? Clear your head?” Keith growled. If Shiro understood their colour system, he’d be so far into “red” that he was pushing “black”, anger flared in his tone “He’s not a burden! I don’t need someone taking him away from me” “I’m not saying that he is. I’m saying that if you’re scared of him being alone, we can make sure he isn’t” “First I’m an alcoholic who’s abusing his husband, now I’m not fit to look after him?!” “Keith, stop putting words in my mouth” “Its what you’re saying though” “No. I’m trying to reach out to you” “I know how to look after my husband” “I’m not saying you don’t. You’ve done a wonderful job with him” “He’s not a job” “No, but he needed someone to reach out and take his hand. You helped him get back on his feet. You’ve been there for it all. I’m not saying Lance was hard work, but it wasn’t easy helping him through his recovery either. You’ve both had to work hard to come this far. You don’t have to...” “I’m sorry, Shiro. I can’t have his conversation with you. Lance is my world. You have no idea when it comes to the shit we’ve had to go through to get him off the drugs and alcohol. You haven’t been with him through seizures so severe he loses total control of his body. You haven’t had to wrestle him away from pills or from knives because he wants to die. You haven’t held him as he screams and begs you to kill him. You weren’t there when he was so afraid of touch that he’d vomit. He’s so messed up, but he’s so strong. But if he lost our twins he’d lose his mind. The twins are what have saved him. Have stopped him relapsing on the drugs. Have stopped him trying to hurt himself when he’s conscious. So I need to be there by his side to make sure nothing happens. I need to make sure that I don’t lose my husband” “And you think we don’t care? That Curtis or I wouldn’t drop everything to help him?” “Like how you prioritised placing me in the pod, and nearly cost Lance his life” Keith knew the instant the words left his mouth that he’d crossed the line. The colour drained from Shiro’s face as his expression filled with guilt “Shiro, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that” “It’s fine. It’s true. That’s when I promised myself that I wouldn’t let him get hurt again. I care about both of you. Don’t forget that” His brother turned, starting to walk away “Shiro” “It’s fine, Keith. We have a party to attend” Fuck. He’d quiznakked that right up. Out of all the dumb things he could have said, he had to go there... Fuck. He was a quiznakking idiot. * Finding any joy in the festival was a task and a half. Keith was skirting the edge of the crowd, provided that hiding on one of the numerous temple’s balconies above the festivities was skirting the edge of the crowd. From his vantage point, he could see the whole party laid out before him. Shiro and Hunk we’re discussing something near the banquet table. Acxa was happily holding Veronica’s side as they chatted with Zethrid, Ezor, Nerlo and Melda. Regetta, Legre and Samelia were with the Coalition members as their protection, which hardly seemed needed with how happy everyone on the lower level seemed to be. To Keith it all seemed like one big act. His own mood may have been clouding his judgement, especially after his argument with Shiro. That and his headache. Having got himself a drink before heading off to find somewhere to quietly sulk, he’d proven Shiro right. There were plenty of resume refreshments on offer, yet the glass he’d grabbed was something alcoholic. He hadn’t thought anything of it when he picked the glass up... How was he supposed to know until he tasted it if it was alcoholic or not? Then what was he supposed to do with the sipped drinking he couldn’t drink it? His brother had made him stupidly paranoid, with the contents of the glass winding up poured into the first potted plant he found. “Finally. You took forever to find. Do you know how many rooms and balconies this place has?” And there was Krystaal, no wonder he hadn’t spotted him in the crowd below. Turning to face his friend, Keith leaned back against the balcony railing. Since Lance had declared he had a crush on his friend, Keith had taken the appropriate action of avoiding him as much as possible so his husband wouldn’t be upset. Sure, Lance had apologised for blowing up over it, and Keith knew he wasn’t the kind of man who’d hold a grudge him for talking to his friend, yet it’d been a long process for him to come to the realisation that he’d felt the same way over Lucteal being near his husband. Lucteal has harboured something pretty serious over Lance, though Lance didn’t reciprocate his feelings and that’s where the two comparisons split completely. He likes hanging out with Krystaal, it’d always been fun. It’d always been easy. Whether it was training or shooting stuff together, it’d been a good time. He liked him as a person, maybe even admired him a little... and shown off in front of his friend simply so he’d like him more. Not that he’d tell Lance that. He wasn’t good with friendships so making a new friend was a thing for him. He didn’t want the mood between them to be bad. He cared about Krystaal’s thoughts and opinions. They had the same kind of humour and both wanted what was best for the Galra empire now that peace had finally been ushered in. He couldn’t very well tell Krystaal to leave, he’d gone to the effort of finding him in the massive temple. He’d sought him out. No one else had. “You know how I feel about crowds” “Yeah. Here, I brought you a drink. You’ve been off since this morning” Walking over to the stone bench in the middle of the balcony, Krystaal sat holding out a glass of something towards him. Pushing off the railing with a light sigh, Keith moved over to take the drink from him friend before sinking down next to him with a groan. Nudging him with his elbow, Krystaal eyed him over the rim of his glass “You look like quiznak” Snorting, Keith then took a sip of his drink. It was the same stuff he’d tipped out not that long ago, but it didn’t seem polite to decline it “Thanks. Just what everyone wants to hear” “Just calling it how it is. Where’s Lance? I saw him leaving with Curtis. Did something happen?” “No. Not really. He wasn’t feeling well so he’s sleeping it off on the Atlas” “And that’s why you’re in such a bad mood?” “Part of it. I thought parties were you kind of scene?” “It’s not much fun when you’re not down there glaring at everyone” This right here was why they got on so well. All his recruits had taken jabs at him over his lack of people skills. Krystaal was simply blunter then them. He didn’t worship the ground he walked on “Ha ha. You’re not funny” “I’m pretty funny. Still, I’m glad you’re not upset because you and Lance are fighting again” “We don’t fight that much” “Sometimes. Most of the time you bicker like you can’t stand each other” Keith frowned. Bickering was there thing. On of the planets they’d visited they’d spent a good half varga bickering if a cloud looked more like Slav or a Weblum. Their bickering, no matter how “enthusiastic” it became, never meant they couldn’t stand each other “No we don’t” “You do. You’ve changed since he came to stay with us. You’ve lost some of your rough edges” “He’s good for me” “Tell that to belly you’re getting from your lack of training. I bet I could lay you out, old man” “Don’t come crying to me when I flatten that face you’re so proud of” “Oooooh. I’m terrified. Better call Shiro and tell him you’re bullying me” Keith’s lips had been twinging at the approach of something like a smile, now his frown was back as he stared down into his drink. Noticing, Krystaal nudged him again “Hey, what’s wrong?” “Nothing” “You had a fight with him earlier, didn’t you?” “You saw that?” “We all saw that. What’d he say?” “He’s just being a concerned brother. Said I’m drinking too much and he’s worried about Lance” “The old man doesn’t know how to party. And wouldn’t he know if something was up with Lance? They’re super tight, right? He’s always off talking to him, or picking him, or taking him to and from hospital” “Well, he is the Godfather of our twins. Him and his boyfriend, Curtis. This pregnancy has been hard on Lance” “It’s been hard on you too. You never come hang out with us anymore” Because he was busy avoiding Krystaal... and busy with Lance. His husband needed so much of his time “At least this is the last planet of the tour” “You’ve gone senile with all your domestic affairs. They want us on another planet next movement” Keith gave a slight shake of his head “Shiro’s going to arrange for Lance and I to sit out any more of it. The stress isn’t good for him or the twins. I’m thinking of taking a break from Daibazaal until mum gives birth” Raising his glass again, Keith drained it. One drink wasn’t going to hurt him “No way. Seriously? It wouldn’t be the same without you” “Right. I’m pretty sure Acxa has the glaring thing down to a fine art” “Nah. It’s you. That’s who everyone comes to see. You’re everyone’s hero. The half-Galra who brought Zarkon, Lotor and Honerva to an end. Mister Big Brave Black Paladin” Keith snorted “That’s not me. As Lance. I’m a total idiot” “Why would you say that?” “Because I’m forever letting him down” “That’s one person. What about us? You haven’t let us down” “You all nearly died on a training mission I was supervising. That’s a pretty big fail” “That wasn’t your fault” “I’ve neglected my duties in training you” “You’ve been busy with other things” “I let Lance be hurt. No one could ever mean as much to me as he does” “He forgave you, didn’t he?” “He shouldn’t have to be. They don’t warn you that falling in love with someone is so hard. He’s been through so much...” “You have too” “Nothing compared to him” “Don’t compare your pain to his. Everyone feels pain differently” Looking to his friend, Keith sighed. He really did look far too much like Lotor for nice words to be falling out that mouth of his. Smiling as he tilted his head, Krystaal poked his tongue out, Keith laughing at the gesture “Fuck. Did I ever tell you much you look like Lotor?” “Once or twice. I bet he didn’t go around poking his tongue out though” “No. That’s more Lance. He has the cutest wrinkles when he does... Not that he’s been that happy with me lately. It’s my fault really. He puts up with so much because of me” There was a moments pause, then Keith found Krystaal’s lips pressing against his. His mind shorting out resulting in it taking a tick or two to shove Krystaal back “What the fuck was that!?” “I. I don’t know! I’m sorry! You looked so sad! I’m sorry” “So you kissed me!?” “I didn’t mean to!” Rubbing at his lips, he could feel the trace warmth of Krystaal’s kiss upon them. His heart was racing with confusion. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss Krystaal or if he wanted to burst into tears, his eyes were on the other man’s lips... “I’m married” “I said I’m sorry. You looked sad and I don’t know... you didn’t sound happy” “I am happy. Lance makes me happy. I can’t believe this. He said you liked me. He said it and I laughed at him. He even thought... he... How am I...” Holy fuck... holy fuck he’d cheated on Lance. His pregnant husband was sleeping off fooling around with him all night and here he was kissing someone else. How was he going to tell him!? Krystaal kissed him. Actually kissed him. Pushed his lips against his in something that was not a friendly or family kind of peck on the lips... “I won’t tell anyone. I won’t. Just say something” “This can never happen again. You can’t go around kissing me! I’m married. I’m married to Lance. We were going to work out a due date for the birth of our boys. This is going to break him. How could you do this to me!?” “Me?! You were the one who was looking at me like that... You’re still looking at me like that!” “Like what?!” “Like you wanted that kiss too! You’ve always given me that look when we’re hanging out... I thought we were close then...” Keith growled. Before Krystaal could react, he’d shoved him off the bench. Staring up at him from the stone floor, the glass he’d been holding was broken, Krystaal’s hand bleeding as he bit his bottom lip. Fuck. Even his expressions were like so Lance like. He’d often felt that Krystaal and Lance were similar, and that they’d be good friends if Lance’s anxiety wasn’t so horrible to him... was he... was he attracted to Krystaal? Or the Lance in Krystaal? He hadn’t felt the burning heat he felt with Lance... but he’d felt the warmth of the kiss on his lips and though shocked, he’d made wanted too... No. It was a simple biological reaction... he wasn’t hard... or anything approaching much more than a small twitch... fuck... Fuck. This couldn’t be happening... “I love my husband. I didn’t... I don’t want to kiss you. I consider you a good friend. One of the best friends I’ve made since living on Daibazaal. But right now, you need to get out of my face before I lose it at you. You have no idea how hard Lance and I have been working on our marriage. I’m sorry, but I don’t return any feelings that you have for me” There were times when Keith lost himself, afraid of what he’d see in the mirror he’d avoiding them. The look on Krystaal’s face was like nothing he’d thought possible. It was the closest to how he felt he looked when he momentarily lost himself. Pure rage? had distorted his features, his eyes bold yellow as he growled. For something that was supposed to be a misunderstanding, Krystaal didn’t make sense to him. His words didn’t make sense to him. He thought he wanted to kiss him? This was their first time hanging out properly in ages. They’d barely talked over Lance’s ring being returned. He’d told them how grateful he was. Krystaal had been wearing it around his neck... Lance’s wedding ring... Suddenly Lance’s suspicions didn’t seem so ridiculous. This person was supposed to be his friend. Who did this to a friend? He felt unsettled and calm at the same time, he’d cheated on Lance. He’d done the one thing he’d yelled at his husband for more than once, only Lance hadn’t cheated on him. Moving to open up his comms, Krystaal flinched at his movement’s “You have until Shiro arrives to disappear from my sight. He loves Lance. If he hears what happened, he will make it his personal mission to ruin your life. Regardless or not if you meant it” Krystaal gathered himself up, clutching at his bleeding hand. With an angry growl, he started staggering towards the walkway that looped the whole second floor of the temple, finding his feet, he was walk-jogging by the time he disappeared from Keith’s sight. Shiro was going to be so fucking disappointed in him. Hitting video call, he was afraid. Afraid of what came next, and that his brother would brush him off. With Krystaal out of his sight, his knees gave out, landing hard against the stone floor as Shiro picked up “Keith?” “I... I fucked up...” Lance. How was he going to tell Lance?

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Break Through

Break Through - Kidge Month Day 8 Prompt Fill Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: Third part that goes along with these: [One, Two]. With leads and intel running out, Keith and Pidge take a break from their Garrison investigations to grab a bite and maybe raise their spirits. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more.

She dragged one hand through her hair and let out a loud, infuriated growl. "How are they doing this?" Her voice came out more as a screech than a shout, which caused her partner to wince a bit. A part of her said she should feel guilty, but the much larger part of her was just pissed. “There’s no way that they’ve upped their security this much in less than two months! I shouldn’t be running into this much trouble trying to track down files!”

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out. We’ve already had smaller breaks in this whole thing," He said, a bit of frustration starting to tinge the edge of his words. He pushed another pin into the cork board they used with more force than necessary, clearly trying to keep a handle on his own irritation.

She glared at him over her shoulder, reaching up to push her hair out of her face. "We've been at this for five weeks and we've gotten almost nowhere!"

He glared back at her before indicating her laptop with one hand. "We know there's a missing audio file; that's a huge step in the right direction!" He glanced back at the cork board to verify where they pin had been placed. It was covered in a maps and photos, with pieces of colored yarn attaching each map to its corresponding photo. She could see the familiar spark of determination in his dark eyes as he observed all they’d discovered so far. "It's only a matter of time before we find it."

She scoffed, feeling no where near as certain as he did. "Unless they completely wiped the hard drive. They wouldn't want potentially damning evidence like that just sitting pretty for someone with a little bit of hacking skill to find. It's a huge liability that they can't afford," She grumbled, closing her laptop and shoving it aside. For as much as she wanted to keep going, a part of her felt so tired. She’d been working tirelessly since two and a half weeks ago, when she’d first found the clue in some confidential emails that there was a final audio log picked up from the Kerberos mission. “The Garrison is run by a bunch of assholes, but they’re clever assholes, Keith.”

Keith stared at her before sighing, setting his hands on his hips and looking down at his boots. "Maybe we need a break to help clear our heads. We can get some food or something,"He suggested, lifting his gaze again to look at her. She didn’t look over at him, though, and instead decided to focus on the tiny hole starting to appear in the old socks she was wearing. "Wanna go to the new Denny's they opened up?"

"Whatever," She sighed, stretching her legs out and getting up.

She toed her sneakers on while she pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail, wanting to just get it over with. Her stomach roiled quietly, clearly thrilled at the idea of food, but she didn’t want to yet. She wanted to stay and work more, try to find an answer. If it was there, surely she could find it with a little more time! But no, just because she was feeling a little frustrated, Keith decided they needed to stop any progress! Did he just not care about the fact that the Garrison was spitting outright lies about what had happened to Shiro, Matt and her Dad? She’d noticed he seemed more interested in whatever strange energy reading he’d been tracing through the desert.

She was silent the whole ride to Denny’s staring at the window, stewing in her resentment at Keith for dragging her out.

Despite it being well after midnight, there was a modest crowd at the restaurant. Not enough people that it looked like they’d need to worry about waiting long for service, but certainly more than she’d been anticipating. Normally when they felt the need for post-dinner-pre-breakfast pancakes, they were the only diners in the place. They had to wait a moment while the server dropped some drinks off at one table before being greeted properly.

He offered them a small smile. He seemed a bit tired, but the smile was still genuine. "Good evening. Just two for you?" He asked as he reached to grab two menus.

"Yes, please. Thanks," Keith said gently. They were led to the dining room and were given a corner booth, with an empty booth between them and another pair of dinners. Pidge immediately scooted in as far over she could, glaring out the window again. While she did that, Keith ordered their drinks and opened his own menu. "You know, sitting there and pouting won't accomplish anything, Katie."

She looked over and glared harder, miffed to find he hadn’t even lifted his eyes from the page to address her. "Maybe if I was at my computer I'd be able to do something,"

"Patience yields focus, you know," He commented casually, tilting his head a bit as he looked over an item. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his words and how completely cliche they were. Where had he heard that from, she wondered. The server returned with their drinks and then headed off again at Keith saying they needed more time. She pulled her own drink over and took a sip, unsurprised at the taste of Dr. Pepper. He knew her so well. "Hmm. If I order some mozzarella sticks, would you have some?"

"Where did you hear the hoakey nonsense?" She asked as she stirred her ice with the straw.

He looked confused, finally tearing his gaze from the menu to look at her. "Well, I'm not hungry enough to eat a full meal and a whole order of mozzarella sticks on my own. Plus, I know you like them, too, so it just made sense to ask,"

"What? No, not about the mozzarella sticks," She said, taking another sip before opening her own menu. She may as well figure out what she wanted for herself, too. "That thing you said just now, about patience and what not?"

"Patience yields focus?" He repeated, clearly confused.

"Yeah, that. Where did you hear that from?"

"Oh, Shiro used to say it all the time, when I'd get pissy about stuff with the Garrison. It... It's helped me a lot through this whole situation, remembering what he said back then," He admitted, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. He tore his gaze down, swiped up his water, and started chugging it, as if trying to wash the taste out of his mouth.

"Oh," She trailed off, looking away for a moment before looking back over at him. And, this time, she really looked at him. She had enough time of knowing him to be able to read his subtle gestures. One hand was gripping his water like he was trying to shatter it, the other drumming along the table. His eyes had returned to fix on the menu, but they weren’t registering the words on the page, cloudy with pain. Her own heart lurched, knowing that look and that pain all too well. She looked back down at her drink as shame swallowed her whole. "I'm sorry."

He perked up in surprise and looked at her, blinking rapidly to recompose himself. "For what?"

"You're going through all of this junk, too, and sometimes I forget that. I need to be more aware that I'm not going through this all alone, that you’re trying just as hard as I am,” She admitted, peeking up at him as she spoke.

"It's okay; it's not like I don't occasionally forget myself," He said, offering her a small half-smile in return. Some of the shame wiped away and she squared her shoulders a little bit more as he returned his attention to the menu, turning the page and looking at the dinner options. "When we get back to the house, we should watch a movie or something. Oh, or we could listen to music and just veg out."

“You mean like we used to do on the Garrison roof?” She laughed.

“Yeah, only way better, because we can play the music as loud as we want,” He said with a sly smirk.

“Yeah, but can you even get your stereo up there? Since, you know, you don’t just use streaming sites like the rest of modern society,” She teased, peering over the different breakfast options. She wanted the mozzarella sticks, but pancakes also sounded really good.

He laughed back and took another, smaller sip from his water. “Oh, please! Your streaming sites are only good when you have internet connection. Having a physical copy of the album to use is a great approach; especially with bands or albums that are particularly great,” He retorted.

She opened her mouth to respond before a thought occurred to her, causing her to gasp. “Keith, you genius!” She squealed, reaching across the table to grab his face and pull him closer.

He looked stunned and stared back at her, blinking slowly, before chuckling. “Ah, made you see the light of day?”

“No, what you just said! That it’s good to have a physical copy of something, in case you can’t access it otherwise! That would also be a great approach when dealing with sensitive materials, such as classified files from a computer? Burning a physical copy to keep tucked away somewhere safe, so that you still have a record of it, to maybe assure that people snooping around on your computer can’t find it?” She pressed further, lowering her voice as she spoke her last few words, not wanting to risk being overheard. They hadn’t encountered anyone from the Garrison in their time off base, but she was still a fan of being safe rather than sorry.

He sucked in a quiet breath, eyes widening. “It’s a huge liability they can’t afford, but they also can’t risk not having it, in case of the higher ups wanting it,” He breathed out.

“Exactly,” She hummed, letting go of his face and slumping back in her seat. Her lips turned up in a grin. “Celebratory mozzarella sticks?”

“Fuck it, let’s go all out. Celebratory mozzarella sticks and celebratory milkshakes,” He said with a smirk of his own.

[avidbeader]

Season 8 Fix-it (Twitter Fic)

This is the story I’ve been posting on Twitter in more-or-less real time as I finished scenes. It takes the S8 epilogue and tosses it out on its ear where it belongs. I decided to make a fresh post because the reblogged one was getting messier and messier as I added stuff.

I also don’t think I’ll do a Twitter fic like that again unless it’s under 1000 words. It was a royal pain dividing paragraphs & dialogue into 280-character chunks and I didn’t like my method of keeping things organized. But I have handed the whole thing over to @latart so she can work her beta magic and then this will get posted to AO3.

**********************

It’s not until he’s hurtling toward the jagged portal, the pod’s right turbine still refusing to come back online after passing through a wave of unknown radiation, that Keith thinks this might have been a bad idea.

The wolf is pressed tight against him, whining softly, but Keith can’t spare a hand to soothe him. It’s taking everything he has to try and pull the craft up and away from the viridian-rimmed tear in space while also not letting them be pulled into the atom-smashing currents of the quantum abyss.

Then the left turbine fails as well and they’re spinning. At this point there’s no choice - Keith goes for the devil he doesn’t know and yanks the steering column with all his strength to direct them away from the abyss’ gravitational wells...and into the portal.

He spares one last thought for his friends. For Shiro, praying that he truly enjoys the happily-ever-after he bought into.

**********************

Going through the portal produces an intense wave of energy that runs through Keith like electricity, jolting and painful. He shakes his head, trying to clear it, and realizes that the engines are still offline.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if they hadn’t materialized inside a planet’s atmosphere, rushing toward the ground at terminal velocity.

The wolf growls, shoving his head under Keith’s arm, and he gets it as clearly as if the wolf had said, “Come on!” He gets out of the chair, grabs the emergency pack and his one bag out of the storage bin, and brings up his mask before throwing his arms around the wolf.

They wink out of existence and reappear several hundred meters away as the pod crashes into the planet’s surface.

Keith is kneeling next to the wolf, holding still as he lets his Blade armor feed him the necessary information. The atmosphere is compatible for both of them and he lets his mask drop to look around. It’s a meadow, grassy and green and pretty, with a forest not far off to his right and some hills in the distance to his left. It’s empty and quiet other than the ticking sounds of cooling metal. Smoke drifts up from the twisted wreck into the slightly orange sky. He doesn’t need to get any closer to see that scavenging for the extra rations and supplies is a lost cause.

Keith shoulders the bag carrying his personal effects and takes the emergency kit by the handle. Assuming that, like the deserts of his childhood, trees mean water, he leads the wolf toward the forest.

They’re about halfway to the treeline when the wolf stops and looks up. A moment later Keith can hear it as well: the whine of an engine. There’s no cover to speak of other than the tall grass and Keith drops to a crouch as the noise gets louder. The wolf huddles next to him as a flyer passes over them and lands near the wreckage. A pair of tallish thin figures get out and start poking around. Keith lifts his head just enough to get a better look at them and gasps in recognition.

Olkari.

Keith stands and waves. “Hey, over here! We’re okay!”

The Olkari look at one another and approach him slowly. Keith moves forward, smiling, and they stop and stare. Finally one starts speaking.

“Survivor? Part of ship? More that are part of ship?”

Keith frowns, wondering what’s happened to the translation circuit in his uniform. “Yes, I was on the ship. No one else was aboard. We got flung through a portal of some sort that took us here to New Olkarion. Sorry about the crash.”

The two look at one another, and the second one repeats, “New Olkarion?”

“Yes, isn’t this where you resettled after the Galra destroyed your homeworld?”

They shake their heads and the first one speaks in that strange garbled language. “In X-9-Y Sector as refugees. Now only choosing planet of relocation.”

Keith frowns. That’s not right. The Olkari quickly found a new planet to occupy, thanks to the scouting efforts of the Blade and the rebels. And what is wrong with his translator?

“Identity? You?” The second Olkari points to him.

“I’m Keith. Red Paladin of Voltron? Piloted the Black Lion?”

That sets them to babbling so fast in a communicator that he can’t keep up.

**********************

They take him and the wolf in the flyer, back to a large camp near the first signs of a permanent settlement being built. It’s mostly Olkari, doing their genius engineering thing, but there’s a smattering of other races as well. The pilot explains that they are establishing the first base of what will eventually be the new home for the Olkari, but Keith is only half listening, grateful that whatever was wrong with his translator seems to be working itself out. The pilot’s syntax is getting clearer with every sentence.

The wolf leaps out first and Keith follows him, only to hear his name being shouted. He turns to see someone sprinting across the tarmac to him, honey-colored ponytail flapping behind him.

He lets out a grunt as the other barrels into him, wrapping him in a tight hug. “I can’t believe it! Keith! Oh, my god, man!”

He pulls back and yes, this is Matt. But something’s wrong. It takes him a second to realize...it’s the hair. Matt had cut his hair back to military length once he rejoined the Garrison.

“Hey, Matt. Did I go through a time jump or something? Have I been missing? I’m sorry I worried everyone, but it was either get smashed to bits in the quantum abyss or go through that rip in space.”

Matt frowns, then his eyes widen. “Oh? OH. I think I know what happened, but come on. You need to hear it from Pidge.”

“Pidge is here? Why? She was at the Garrison, working on some kind of fleet to replace the lions after they left…” Keith trails off as they round a corner of one of the taller buildings and stops to stare.

Green is there, lying in a sphinx pose. A low growl of greeting rumbles through the ground and in his chest. And there’s a tiny touch to his mind, as if from a great distance, that he hasn’t felt in years...

Matt tugs gently at his elbow. “Come on. Pidge will try to explain.”

**********************

Explanations are delayed momentarily, because the instant Pidge sees Keith, she plows into him and hangs on like he’s a lifeline. She’s crying into his chest while Matt pats her back, her sobs too strong to let words out.

As she finally starts to breathe more and gasp less, Keith tries to apologize. “Hey, I’m sorry I made you all worry so much. How long was the time skip this time?”

Pidge snaps her head up to glare at him. “Keith, you died. The minute whatever Allura and Honerva did started taking effect, it caused a quintessence backlash. You were screaming in agony as it ripped you apart. We all saw it.” She pauses, making the effort to moderate her tone, and leans in to hug him again. “Allura explained it after she got back.”

“Wait…” Keith tries to work through what Pidge just said. “What do you mean, I died? Allura’s the one that died! She never came back from joining with Honerva to save the last reality.”

Matt takes up the thread, rubbing Pidge’s shoulder. “We think the minute that one reality was preserved, nature took over and different actions began causing different outcomes again. Something as small as intending to step right but stepping left instead...two outcomes and two realities. In your reality Allura died, but in ours… you did.”

The wolf rubs against them and Pidge automatically reaches to pet him. Keith tries again. “So we’re in a different reality? Can I get back to mine?”

Pidge’s grip on him tightens, and Keith mentally kicks himself. The instinct to try and return home is the automatic first reaction. But then he realizes he can see Allura again and the sudden longing to speak to her, to know that there’s an Allura that’s still with them, surges through him and he starts trembling.

Matt comes around Pidge and holds him up. “We got you, buddy. Come on. Let’s get inside, get you checked over, contact the others. Allura or Shiro can arrange wormholes for everyone.”

“Shiro?” Now Keith’s grateful for the shakes, because his suddenly hammering heart goes unnoticed. He hopes.

Pidge nods. “Yeah, that crystal in his arm is enough for him to operate teludavs. Hell, the minute he hears he’ll probably just bring the whole Atlas in. Dad and Iverson will fuss, but it’s just for show. They’ll be glad to see you again, too.”

“Shiro’s still captain of the Atlas?”

Matt and Pidge both pause at that, looking at one another and considering the implications. Matt replies as Pidge darts forward to start opening doors.

“Of course he is. He’s connected to it, just like you all are connected to the lions. After...what happened, Shiro tried to wake Black up but it just wasn’t happening. That caused a lot of worry, even though everything’s been peaceful other than a few spread-out pockets of Galra holdouts and some squabbles breaking out, but we’ve managed so far.”

Keith loses the thread of conversation, suddenly overwhelmed by two thoughts.

If Shiro’s still in command of the Atlas, does that mean he isn’t married?

Could I fly Black again?

That distant spark flares in his head once more.

**********************

Pidge insists on running him through a pod, just to make sure there are no surprises left from going through an inter-reality gateway. When Keith emerges, Matt is there to catch him and shoo him into a side room to change back into his Blade uniform. He leads Keith to sit on an infirmary bed. throwing a blanket around his shoulders, and the wolf winks into existence behind him. Pidge comes forward, looking over a datapad in her hand.

“Good news! While the pod shows that your base cellular structures are definitely just the slightest bit different from the rest of us, everything is stable and you shouldn’t be adversely affected by being here.”

“Um, yeah, that’s good.”

“And more good news! We were able to get messages through fast and everyone is on their way! Allura’s going to get your mom, Lance and Hunk are flying their lions in, and Shiro should be here any minute! He was calling for a wormhole jump before we ended the call!”

Again, Keith can’t control the start that Shiro’s name causes. His mind won’t absorb the fact that this Shiro is apparently eager to see him.

One of the Olkari gets Pidge’s attention and she turns away to answer his question. Matt leans in and murmurs into his ear, “Okay, what is it about Shiro?”

Keith pulls the blanket tighter around himself, exaggerating the shivers from the cryo-pod. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Keith. What happened to Shiro in your reality? Did he get killed? Did his disease advance enough to ground him?”

“No, no, nothing like that. He just...decided to retire and get married.”

Matt gives him a flat stare. “Shiro. Retired.”

Keith nods.

“And got married.”

Keith nods again.

“But not to you.”

Keith can feel his expression crumpling, on the verge of tears. Matt’s arms are already around him, pulling him close, when they hear a commotion in the hallway outside.

The doors slide open and Shiro bursts through, the neck of his uniform jacket flapping open. He stops and stares at Keith, almost panting from running. Pidge is beaming as she gently encourages the Olkari to leave.

Shiro approaches, his eyes full of reverence. He gets close enough and reaches out to lay his flesh hand on Keith’s shoulder. Matt moves to the side, giving Shiro a pat on the shoulder port for his Altean arm.

“Keith,” Shiro breathes his name like a prayer. His hand slides up to Keith’s neck, his thumb tracing Keith’s scar. Every touch is tentative, delicate, as if Shiro is expecting Keith to dissolve like a mirage. His expression is almost stunned, and Keith remembers what it was like, when Allura was able to pull Shiro’s soul out of the Black Lion and restore him to a body. That disbelief, that fear that it would all be a dream and he would wake with Shiro still gone.

He reaches up and lays a hand on Shiro’s cheek, trying to reassure. He feels the tremors as Shiro holds himself back, the wetness on his fingertips as Shiro’s own tears spill over.

Keith can’t take it any more and pulls him in. And for the first time in far too long, he’s enfolded in Shiro’s arms, his ears drinking in the sound of Shiro whispering his name over and over.

And it’s perfect.

*************

Of course, perfection doesn’t last very long. Shiro pulls back, his hands still cradling Keith’s face, and turns to Pidge. “Are there any signs of ill effects? Any chance that being here is going to hurt him?”

Pidge reassures Shiro, showing him the results of the cryo-pod scan, and Keith just looks, admiring the sight of Shiro’s natural leadership asserting itself, the tone of command in his voice, after far too long of the occasional glimpses of him at a desk, dealing with stacks of paperwork. There’s a new scar, a thin line running just under his jaw and up toward his ear. It wouldn’t be that visible if Keith didn’t have a full view of Shiro’s profile. He wonders briefly what happened - Matt had been firm in his assertion that things are relatively peaceful here.

And it reminds him of the entire mixed-up situation. This isn’t his Shiro, or his Pidge. These are people who lost their Keith, watched him die in a brutal and painful way. He’s a simulacrum, a vagary. He can offer them the illusion of talking with their friend and maybe give them a sense of closure that was denied them, but he isn’t the one they mourn.

And in a demonstration of that point, Shiro lifts his hand and traces the scar that’s mostly hidden in Keith’s right eyebrow. “What happened here?”

Keith ducks his head slightly. “I made the mistake of agreeing to help Griffin learn how to use a sword.”

Shiro and Pidge crack smiles and Matt throws his head back in a loud laugh. “Oh, I would have paid to see that.”

Without thinking, Keith replies, “I’m pretty sure Kinkade recorded it—” He breaks off when the other three freeze. “Oh, what happened?”

Shiro’s thumbs caress his cheeks, making Keith hyper-aware that Shiro has not let him go yet.

“Our closest call was about a month ago. The Atlas ran into one of the former generals turned petty warlord, who still had a small fleet of battlecruisers. Kinkade got caught in a crossfire. He survived, but suffered a severe spinal injury. The pods repaired the damage, but he’ll need another few months of therapy before he’s active again.”

At that point, that spark in his psyche flares again, reminding Keith to ask. “Where’s Black?”

“Stationed on Altea,” Shiro replies. “After he chose not to respond to me, it seemed the best place. Why?”

“I… I’d like the chance to fly him again, just once more.”

Pidge frowns at that. “What do you mean? What happened in your reality?”

“The lions took off, a year after Allura died. It felt like they were going to bring her back, but it’s been almost two years since then and there’s been no sign.”

“Damn,” Pidge breathes out. “So how are they keeping the peace there without Voltron? The Atlas?”

Keith shakes his head. “The Coalition, mostly repurposing and upgrading the rebel fleet. But it’s been really quiet for us. The Blades are shifting their focus to aid and assistance.”

Shiro frowns. “Shouldn’t that be the prime purpose of the Atlas?”

Matt grips Keith’s shoulder, clearly worried about how this Shiro would take the news of his counterpart quitting to get married to some random person. But before Keith can decide how to respond, the doors open again to allow Allura and Krolia to enter.

Krolia’s approach is much like Shiro’s was, slow and tentative, disbelief in her expression. Keith has a moment to absorb the differences in this woman, one who has lost both husband and son. This Krolia seems older, worn down, with gray threads in her hair and a few wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. A notch mars the line of one ear.

Keith reaches out instinctively to trace it and Krolia freezes. She looks him over again, seeing the new scar, the longer hair, the Blade suit identifying his rank as a leader.

The words Mom and Krolia are battling it out, keeping his throat locked up. He holds out a hand to her, offering, and finally she takes it. She closes her eyes and draws him into an embrace, burying her nose in his hair. Keith puts his arms around her and holds still, letting her take what she needs from him.

When she pulls back, her eyes are wet like Shiro’s. Unlike Shiro, her expression is one of resignation and regret. Unlike Shiro, she sees the simulacrum first and her son second.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

She nods and takes one more hug as she murmurs back, “Your scent. It’s close, but just different enough.” She straightens and asks in a normal voice, “Is your mother still alive?” Keith nods and now she looks comforted. “That’s good.”

Pidge interrupts, bouncing in anticipation. “Lance and Hunk? How far out are they?”

Allura smiles. “They should be here in a varga or two. Or I can get them with the teludav if we can’t wait.” She steps forward for her turn, her smile almost sparkling with happiness as she tosses her thick braid of hair over her shoulder. “Keith, it’s so good to see you.”

Keith’s spirits rise in response to her uncomplicated joy and he welcomes her without hesitation.

The second they touch, a searing pain rips through Keith. Dimly he can hear Allura’s scream and the cries of alarm from the others as they collapse to the floor, writhing in agony. He can feel Shiro and Matt trying to pull them apart, but Allura’s voice echoes in his head, pleading with him to hold on, and he clings harder.

When Pidge lets out a shriek that sounds like panic, Keith forces his eyes open.

A patch of light has blossomed on Allura’s chest, a hand reaching out of it. A hand covered in a black glove and a pink-and-white vambrace.

Keith instinctively grabs the hand.

Yes! Hold on, Keith! Don’t let me go! Please don’t let go!

The pain is ebbing for him, though it feels like his skin is the only thing holding in a building explosion. He tries to channel that feeling into his arms and hands, to pull.

Allura wails in anguish, the sound echoing through the room, and Keith redoubles his efforts. He hauls on the arm, grabbing the elbow with his other hand as it emerges. He squeezes his eyes shut in concentration. Just as he thinks he’s reached his limit, that he can’t control the force anymore, he feels the wolf circling around him. Teeth close gently on the joined hands and there’s the familiar jolt of teleportation. But it lasts longer, milliseconds stretching out. Just before Keith can panic, he tumbles back into existence, a body landing on top of him.

The pressure is gone and there is stunned silence all around the room. The person lying on him stirs, inhaling deeply, and pushes up.

“Keith. You did it.”

Keith opens his eyes to see Allura’s sweat-covered face hovering over him, her hair coming down from its bun and her Altean markings glowing white.

*************

Allura is alive. His Allura is alive.

Keith can feel the difference immediately. Touching the others from this reality isn’t exactly uncomfortable, but when he takes Allura’s hand as they get to their feet, he can tell. Her presence meshes with his in a perfect harmony that isn’t there with the others.

Both Alluras are shaking and Keith puts his arms around his Allura to keep her on her feet while Krolia and Pidge help their Allura. The braid gets tossed over her shoulder once more and she takes a few deep breaths before speaking.

“Well, this was not how I expected my day to go.”

Everyone laughs at that, grateful for the breaking of tension, and Keith and his Allura look at one another, smiling. Keith brushes her hair back from her face. “What happened? How are you here?”

“Honerva’s been looking for a way to send me back for a while, ever since the realities began multiplying naturally again. We managed to call the lions to us, but once there, they weren’t strong enough to return. Then we realized that you might be strong enough, Keith, but we needed a way to concentrate your quintessence so it could be fully drawn upon. It was Honerva’s idea to send you to a different reality.”

“Of course!” the other Allura exclaims. “By isolating his quintessence, you’d be drawn to one another like magnets!”

“Exactly. I do apologize for your discomfort; Honerva wasn’t sure what would happen.”

The other Allura waves a hand. “The pain was temporary, though I think a rest is in order. What about you, Keith? Are you all right?”

Keith feels sore, battered from the inside out, but he can walk and he can think clearly. There’s no need to worry the others. “I’m fine.”

He doesn’t expect the penetrating look from Shiro, who steps forward and holds out a hand. “I can take you two to guest quarters.” His Allura nods. “I think that would be wise. Sleep, then food, then we can talk about how to get Keith and me back to our reality.”

*************

Keith is reluctant to leave Allura alone. He feels paranoia creeping in, that if he lets her out of his sight she might disappear on him.

The wolf head-butts him, then follows Allura into her room. She gives him a stern look. “No chewing on anything, understood?”

The wolf curls up at the foot of the bed since he’s too large to lie in it and leave room for Allura. He thumps his tail against the floor.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She starts pulling off her vambraces and Shiro gives Keith’s arm a tug.

Keith pulls away and steps forward, kneeling to give the wolf one more pat and whisper in his ear, “Come get me if she needs me.”

Shiro leads him to a room a couple of doors down and ushers him inside. Before Keith can glance around, Shiro takes him by the shoulders and turns him so they’re facing each other.

“Are you sure you’re all right? She didn’t hurt you?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” It’s on the tip of Keith’s tongue to tell Shiro to stop hovering, but he can’t. This Shiro lost his Keith. This Shiro has had months, maybe years of living with the grief, the what-might-have-beens. Given the chance to touch, to interact, it’s no wonder he’s seeking Keith’s attention.

And it’s taking everything Keith has not to just fall into it and let it happen. He hasn’t seen these looks from Shiro for a very long time. He remembers his own reaction, finding the clone of Shiro in that dead fighter and trying to be there for him as he recovered.

He has to leave here, Keith reminds himself. He can’t stay, can’t replace their Keith. He has his own mother, his own friends, his own life.

Shiro’s grip on his shoulders tightens and the slight dissonance from his touch increases, made much more noticeable after contact with Allura. Their quintessences don’t match up.

But judging from his actions, this Shiro either can’t feel the difference or doesn’t care. He moves in, pulling Keith into yet another tight hug. There’s dampness at the neck of his uniform as Shiro lets out more tears.

Keith holds him for a moment, long enough for Shiro to pull himself together, draw back, and wipe his eyes. He looks Keith up and down. “It’s so strange seeing you like that. You stopped wearing a Blade suit after you came back to us. After you found me again.”

Keith nods. That part checks out. He rejoined the Blades a few months after the final confrontation with Honerva, realizing that there was no comfortable place at the Garrison for him. They wanted him teaching others to fly instead of leading a squad himself. And while Pidge and Shiro were still there, they were both deeply involved in their own roles and visits grew few and far between.

And then Krolia had asked for his help as the Blades worked with the former rebels to clear out a particularly well-defended nest of pirates. Flying with a first-strike team to take out the pirates’ big guns had brought Keith to life in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. The target had been clear, the teammates competent fellow-soldiers rather than cherished friends. And when Kolivan observed that Keith’s help would always be welcome, it had been an easy choice to make.

“Why… Can you tell me why? You said the Atlas isn’t helping with recovery efforts? Why are you back with the Blades?”

Keith swallows, trying to find his way out of this maze. “It’s where I can do the most good right now. But I wasn’t on a mission or anything when I went through that portal. I was just exploring the quantum abyss again.” He glances away, in the direction of Allura’s room. “I wanted to see if I could find more space wolves.”

Shiro laughs at that a little. “You thought Kosmo needed a mate?”

Keith scowls a little. Some things never change.

“His name’s not Kosmo.”

“Has he told you his name, then?” Shiro challenges with a smile.

“No, but he will when he’s ready,” Keith snaps back, then pauses as the thought hits him. “Where...where’s the wolf now? In this reality? Do you know?”

Shiro’s good humor fades. “He… He stayed with Krolia a while. And then she reported that he teleported away one day and just didn’t come back.”

That hits Keith like a gut punch. It must show on his face, because Shiro steps forward and pulls Keith to him. “Hey, it’s okay. Kos—your wolf is here. And who knows? Maybe our wolf will sense what’s happened and come back and you can convince him to stay this time.”

Keith nods into his shoulder. “Maybe.” He takes a deep, steadying breath and pulls away. “We’ve got a lot to try and do tomorrow. We should sleep.”

Shiro looks disappointed, running his hands up and down Keith’s arms. “I was hoping…but okay. I’ll see you in the morning?”

Keith nods and Shiro snatches one more hug before letting him go and moving to the door. He looks back. “I know. I know it’s not the same. But I never got the chance to tell him… I love you, Keith. No matter what reality we’re in.”

Keith holds it together long enough for Shiro to leave before the sobs tear up from his throat.

If only that were true…

*************

A pounding on the door wakes Keith the next morning. He groans and rolls over, burying his aching head under the pillow. It occurs to him that the last time he ate anything was nearly two days ago and in another reality.

The door slides open and several bodies tumble in. Keith barely has time to sit up before Lance is on him, tackling him back into the bed as he whoops in delight. Then Hunk yanks them both up and into a tight group hug.

“Dude!” Hunk exclaims. “We missed you! You gotta tell us everything about your reality! Matt said you guys lost the lions? But everything’s settled down for you?”

Before Keith can reply, Romelle has joined them, worming her way in to wrap her arms around him and smacking kisses on his cheek. Lance has started babbling along with Hunk and Pidge is shouting encouragement from the door while Shiro looks on, beaming at the sight.

The subtle discomfort Keith felt yesterday when touching someone else is growing, multiplying exponentially as he’s surrounded by all of these people who are his friends, but aren’t. The headache spikes and his stomach is churning and he needs them to back off...he needs to breathe...he needs out…

The two Alluras come into the room, and the sensation of their double image pulls everyone’s attention away from him. Keith backs away as they take in the sight: his Allura back in her armor with her hair in its heavy bun, while their Allura is in an Altean divided skirt with her hair loose.

Pidge breaks the spell. “Okay, we’ve got a lot to do today! Let’s all get breakfast and then it’s off to the lab.”

*************

Between both Alluras, both Holts, Hunk, and a team of Olkari, it takes a remarkably short time to construct an arch that will, in theory, detect the proper reality through Keith and Allura’s quintessences and open a doorway to it. Pidge and Matt are going back and forth explaining their theories while those who are trying to pay attention just nod along. They are positioned on the border of the Olkari camp, with the four available lions arranged on four sides, drawing on the transreality comet that created them.

As the Alluras prepare to activate the device, Pidge cautions everyone. “Don’t get too close. We’re going to do a test run, try to isolate the correct reality, make sure it’s a stable connection, make sure the other side of the portal doesn’t open anywhere disastrously bad. Once we’re sure it works, we’ll get you guys home.” She glances up at Keith, her voice wavering just a little.

He’s been avoiding touching anyone other than his Allura since getting overwhelmed earlier, but the hint of grief in Pidge’s words gets to him. He resolves to speak to each of them privately, give each of them a chance for the closure they need even though it’s going to hurt.

The wolf whines as Pidge counts down. On her mark, both Alluras reach out a hand and send a pulse of light toward the arch. It starts to glow. But Pidge’s crow of triumph turns into a panicked howl when the light leaps from the construct to envelop Keith.

“No! NO! NOT AGAIN!”

The pain engulfs him so quickly he can’t even scream.

****************

He’s in the stolen Galra ship, hurtling toward the shields surrounding Haggar’s weapon. Matt is shouting at him through the comms, but he has to do this. There’s no other way to save the team.

There’s no other way to save Shiro.

The agony of the impact only lasts for an instant.

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

Matt is yelling again, but his voice is hopeful. “Break off, Keith! Everyone, go for the stabilizers! If the ship loses its nav control, it can’t aim!”

Keith swerves, missing the shields by scant meters, and corkscrews to the rear of the ship, firing in continuous bursts at the hull. The rebel ships converge and explosions bloom in the wake of their strikes.

The ship tilts and Matt’s ship fires at its belly, sending it into a spin. “Keep firing!”

“Rebel fleet, you did it! Naxzela has powered down! We’re out of its range!” The relief in Shiro’s voice is palpable.

“Zaiforge Cannon Senfama is back online!” Kolivan calls out through the comms.

“Rebel fleet, scatter! Let them take the ship out!” Shiro orders.

Keith responds instantly, weaving through the slower rebel fighters. When the blast from the Zaiforge cannon disintegrates the front of the Galra ship, he allows himself to relax.

“Who is that?” Lance’s voice is hostile and Keith’s heart rate skyrockets again.

“Attention Voltron! I am Lotor, crown prince of the Galra Empire. I come in peace. I think we should talk.”

***************

“You’re turning the room into a bomb!” Keith gasps, impressed at Thace’s technical ability but worried because the only entrance is blocked, with a squad of Galra soldiers on the other side.

“Yes. It’s not as elegant as the virus, but it will take down all power just the same.” Thace points to the well below them. “Your way out is below. There's an exit through the main power conduit. It leads to the second deck. Go, now.”

“You mean our way out,” Keith snaps. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

Thace breaks into a wry smile. “I stand corrected. A new fellow Blade. Kolivan hasn’t had the time to indoctrinate you with the ‘mission first’ message. You have to go—you’re a paladin of Voltron. You are needed.”

“So are you!” Keith darts forward to grab Thace by the shoulder and try and pull him along.

Thace is much stronger than Keith, but it still takes him a fraction too long to loosen Keith’s grip. There’s a blast as the slab blocking the door cracks apart.

Keith’s awareness lasts long enough to feel the laser blasts that rip into him and the initial shockwave as the bomb detonates.

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

“Go, now!”

Keith shakes his head at that. “What? No, I'm not gonna leave you!”

“You must. I will shut down the system. Paladin, this is where my journey ends, but, as a member of Voltron, you have a bigger mission. You must understand that.”

“What’s the issue? Timing? If you rigged the detonator, speed it up and come on!”

Thace looks at him briefly, then smiles. As he bends over the console and makes the adjustment, he tells Keith, “I look forward to the day Kolivan tries to instruct you in the code of ‘mission first’.”

Keith rolls his eyes, but loops his arms under Thace’s shoulders as soon as he rises. They vault off the edge and Keith pushes his jetpack to the limit as he flies them both down to the escape route.

***************

“Regris, no!” Keith feels Kolivan’s fingers just graze his back as he darts forward to try and pull his teammate to safety. He’s not even aware of Kolivan turning and running, leaving them both behind.

The explosion rips them apart before Keith can lay a hand on him.

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

“It’s a trap!” Kolivan shouts as he lunges toward the doors that have just closed them in. Regris runs to the controls to try and override whatever self-destruct has probably been activated.

Keith looks around and spies a panel in the wall. Mentally crossing his fingers, he darts over to put a hand on the control. It slides open, showing a rack of plasma rifles. He calls out, “Here!”

Both Kolivan and Regris catch as he tosses guns at them, then Kolivan shouts, “Now!” They all fire at the center glass and it shatters, sucking them out into open space mere seconds before the ship explodes.

It takes a little doing to get back to their ship, especially since Keith has a rip in his suit, but they manage.

***************

Keith can’t breathe. His lungs are aching with the effort to find the oxygen in this thin atmosphere.

And there’s the small matter of Zethrid’s arm around Keith’s throat.

She’s screaming about revenge, about making Keith suffer as much as she has and he tries to get free because Shiro and Axca are approaching and Zethrid has raised her gun in Shiro’s direction.

Keith writhes desperately, throwing all of his weight back against Zethrid. Her shot goes high, missing Shiro, but she loses her balance and falls back, over the edge, dragging Keith with her.

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

He can’t breathe. He’s dizzy from the lack of oxygen and Zethrid’s grip across his throat is like iron. Keith tries to break free anyway as he sees Shiro and Axca approaching slowly, the weak light reflecting off Shiro’s shoulder port…

...and only the shoulder port.

Shiro locks eyes with him and Keith plants his feet, dropping his center as much as he can.

And Shiro’s arm flies up from below the ledge to punch Zethrid across the face, then snap back toward Shiro, the fingers grabbing her gun and yanking it from her hand.

A sniper’s shot sends Zethrid backwards, stunned, and Keith twists, barely catching her by one wrist before she can fall to her death.

Shiro is there immediately to help him.

***************

“Come on, come on!” Keith yanks Red’s controls frantically but the lion is completely unresponsive. He looks up to see Zarkon shift his weapon into an enormous ax and lift it.

He’s got to move. If Zarkon takes him down, he’ll go after the Black Lion again and he’ll kill Shiro in the process.

Keith thinks he hears the screams of the others as the ax cleaves into the cockpit, bringing the ceiling down on him. He stays conscious just long enough to see the cracks in his visor and feel the cold as the vacuum of space draws his last breath from him.

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

“Come on, come on!” Keith looks up to see Zarkon descending and tries once more to reach his lion—

There’s a jolt that feels like his soul leaving his body, then the briefest flash of a midnight landscape, purple terrain and diamond stars. And suddenly he and Red are on the far side of Zarkon’s command ship, held in Black’s jaws like a mother cat carrying her kitten.

“I got you, buddy!” Shiro sounds winded, but he’s alive. He’s alive and he’s back in Black’s pilot seat.

Keith leans into his own chair, heaving air into his lungs as Shiro takes them back to Black’s hangar in the castle.

***************

Keith stumbles as he lands on his feet, looking around for the threat. But it’s an apartment, a very familiar one. He spins around and sees Shiro in his captain’s uniform. He stands in front of the mirror bolted to the wall, holding a small navy velvet box in his hand as he talks to his reflection.

“I know we haven’t been dating very long…”

“I want to take us to the next level…”

“I think we’re good together…”

With a groan of frustration, Shiro tosses the box onto the table below the mirror and crosses the room to collapse on the sofa. He leans forward to put his head in his hands. “Why is this so hard?”

Keith can’t contain himself anymore. “Shiro!”

Shiro looks up sharply, but his eyes pass right over Keith.

“Shiro, don’t! Please don’t! I’ll come back, I promise! I’m sorry I didn’t stay, but I’ll come back!”

Shiro continues to look around. “Keith?” He rubs his flesh hand over his face and stands. “I’m hearing things now. Great.” He goes back to the mirror and picks up the box again.

Keith’s heart is tearing into pieces. “Shiro, please! I love you!”

~~~~the universe twitches~~~~

Keith watches, invisible, as Shiro checks himself in the mirror. He’s wearing jeans with a leather jacket and has driving goggles hanging around his neck. He reaches into one pocket and pulls out a red velvet box with black edging before taking a long look at himself and speaking.

“I know it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come from that day at your school. At the time I only wanted to help you, because I could see your potential. You said once that your life would have been a lot different without me. But I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for you. You supported me when I chose my dream. You saved me...so many times. And you never once stopped believing in me. I’m honestly so humbled; you’ve seen me at my worst and yet you love me without hesitation. It took me a little while, but I know now. I love you. I’m in love with you. And I want to spend the rest of my life telling you and showing you just how much I love you.”

He pauses and takes a deep breath. “Keith, will you marry me?”

Keith wants to shout, but can only manage a whisper. “Yes!”

Shiro looks around anyway, but pain rips through Keith as a clamor of screams and shouts crashes over him in a wave.

*************

The pain evaporates as Black morphs into existence around Keith in a blaze of purple light. He grabs the controls. Black shifts back into real space and he recognizes the Olkari camp from the air. The other lions are looking up and roaring a welcome.

There’s a groan beside him and he whips around.

To see a red-and-white-clad body sprawled on the floor of the cockpit, trying to push himself up.

Frantic voices are pouring through the comms and Keith reaches for the panel automatically to answer. “I’m all right! We’re all right!”

“We?” One of the Alluras replies, her tone sharp and anxious.

The figure on the floor looks up at him. His eyes widen for a moment, then he asks weakly, “Did we do it? Did we save them all?”

Keith feels Black send assent and the other’s expression relaxes.

“Thanks, Black.” His strength gives out and Keith leaps out of the pilot’s seat to help him sit up.

The person with his own face looks up with a gleam of humor in his eyes. “So, which one of us is in the wrong place?”

*************

The others are rushing to Black, all shouting at once, as the lion lowers his head to open his jaws. Keith helps his counterpart down the ramp and they all skid to a halt, bumping into one another as they stare.

The other Keith sweeps them all with a look, a growing smile on his face. He falters twice, his eyebrows creeping together as he takes in the two Alluras, then again when he sees Krolia and Shiro.

Shiro gestures at Krolia, indicating that she should go first, but she shakes her head and pushes him toward the lion. With the amount of weight he’s bearing, Keith can’t step back yet and holds his double up. Shiro approaches with that same expression he’d shown the day before, equal parts hope and fear as he reaches out.

The other Keith doesn’t hesitate. He shrugs off the support and stumbles into Shiro, throwing his arms around his neck. Keith gets a full view of Shiro’s face, the tearful gratitude as he murmurs “Keith,” over and over. Suddenly it’s too much and Keith backs away.

Most of the others are surrounding them, looking to welcome their Keith back, but Matt breaks off and approaches him, the wolf bounding beside him. “You scared the hell out of us. Are you okay?”

Keith shakes his head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened.”

Matt looks down at a datapad. “Pidge was recording everything. It looked like you flew apart, the way she described it before when he died. But when our Allura was about to drop the connection, your Allura told her to keep it going. Then the readings showed energy coalescing instead of dispersing. And then the Black Lion just appeared out of nowhere and landed with both of you.”

“I saw… I don’t know how to describe it. I lost count of how many realities I saw, but in each one something bad was about to happen and then it’s like something tilted and it changed. In most of them I was dying, and the universe glitched and I lived instead.” He feels satisfaction coming from Black; it’s almost like a mental purr.

His Allura peels off as the group is sweeping their Keith toward the camp. She runs a soothing hand up and down his arm. “Are you all right?”

Keith pauses and takes stock. “I think so. I’m feeling sore from all those injuries and deaths, like echoes?”

She puts her fingers to his temples and concentrates a moment. A cool and soothing sensation fills Keith from head to toe and when she steps back, he feels much lighter. He can still remember so many of the other realities, but the physical sensations that lingered are almost gone.

She leans forward, touching her forehead to his. “I saw some of what you did. We need to try again as soon as possible. With the Black Lion here, I think we’ll have much more control this time.”

Keith nods as the wolf head-butts into his hip and Matt claps him on the shoulder. They follow the others back to the camp.

*************

If there were any doubt that the Keith who materialized out of thin air is the right Keith, it’s squashed when the wolf from this reality pops into the room where everyone is debriefing. He immediately goes to their Keith, who falls to his knees and buries his face in the thick fur.

Keith stays at the edges of the room, scratching his wolf’s ears, while everyone gets a chance to welcome their Keith home, including a comms call to the reformed Altea where Coran is stationed.

His Allura joins him when she hears the happy booming voice. Her eyes are shiny with unshed tears and Keith puts an arm around her. “We’ll be back soon and you can see him again.”

She turns into his shoulder. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to him.”

Keith pulls her closer. “Just think about getting to say hello to him again.”

Allura giggles at that even as a few tears spill over. She’s about to reply, but Shiro and the other Keith are approaching. Shiro says, “Princess, Pidge needs you. She thinks she’s got a fix on your reality but she wants to confirm it before we try again. I don’t think we’re ready to see any Keith disappear a third time.” His hand tightens around his Keith’s shoulder.

She nods and heads over to the crowd around the readout screens. The others remain. Keith takes the opportunity to look over his counterpart closely. The hair that is not quite enough for a ponytail. The absence of the scar in his eyebrow. The slightly smaller stature; Keith has grown a couple more inches in the three years since Allura left.

The confidence in his gaze. This Keith knows his Shiro loves him.

Shiro reaches over and puts a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I don’t know what happened to push you two so far apart, but you’ve got the chance to fix it.”

The other Keith nods. “I’m pretty sure that last reality we saw was yours.”

Keith swallows hard. He still remembers the complete shock at getting the wedding invitation. Standing to the side with the others, his arms folded and trying not to glare at them, because they’d decided to stand together with no best man or maid of honor.

He definitely doesn’t remember his Shiro proposing to him.

His uncertainty must show in his face. Shiro glances at his Keith, who smiles and moves to one side.

Shiro steps forward and lays a hand on either side of Keith’s face. “Go to him as soon as you can. Find him and tell him. If he’s anything like me, he remembers you saying it before, but he talked himself into believing it was desperation more than truth.

“I had to lose my Keith before I realized how I felt. Don’t make your Shiro wait any longer.” He pulls Keith close, smoothing his bangs back with one hand, and places a kiss on his forehead. “I know you can do it.”

*************

They’re ready to go within two vargas. Pidge has tested the arch multiple times and every time it has materialized on a planet with a breathable atmosphere. But they have a helmet for Allura anyway and Keith summons his mask. He’s never quite figured out just how many different atmospheres the wolf can breathe, but he’s confident that of the three of them, the wolf can get to safety the quickest.

The last round of goodbyes has been said, everyone getting hugs or backslaps, and Allura has whispered something into her counterpart’s ear that makes the other Allura blush and pointedly not look at Lance. Keith gets one final nod of encouragement from Shiro and the other Keith as the portal opens once more.

“See you on the other side,” Pidge shouts over the whine of the machines and they plunge through…

And land, instinctively tumbling into rolls across soft grass. Keith gets to his feet and looks around. The terrain is familiar.

Then he looks up and curses in three different languages.

“What is it? Where are we?” Allura asks.

Keith stares into the sky, watching as dozens of celestial bodies are pulled together, stretched out and collapsing.

“We’re in the quantum abyss.”

*************

Pidge should have tested the gate once more. Ten more times. A hundred more times.

Keith is doing his best to channel his frustrations on the long branches he’s snapping into kindling length so he and Allura can have a fire. He tries to focus on the small blessings. They landed on a space whale, which means they’re not going to get drawn into oblivion. Keith kept the emergency kit from his pod, which means they have a plasma firestarter and some other vital provisions to sustain them in the short term.

And, irony of ironies, they stumbled across an entire pack of more space wolves. The whole reason Keith was here in the first place.

Keith’s wolf got in front of them as the largest of the half-dozen wolves edged forward, growling at them. He couldn’t get more than a sense of negotiations happening, but his wolf apparently convinced the pack that they were not a threat. They vanished with a string of sizzling lights. Keith’s wolf looked back at him, then disappeared as well.

That had been around a varga ago.

Allura comes up to Keith and bends to gather the sticks. “He’s been gone a while,” she observes.

Keith’s lips quirk up a little. She’s stopped calling the wolf that silly name the others forced onto him. “He’ll come back when he’s ready.”

“And if he decides to stay?”

Keith glances away so Allura can’t read the pain that digs into his chest at that thought. “Then he stays. It’s his choice. I won’t take that away from him.”

Allura stands with the load of kindling in one arm. She reaches over to cradle his chin with her free hand, making him look back at her. “Is that what happened with Shiro?”

Keith jerks out of her grasp, stung. “What are you talking about?”

“Matt told me.” She grabs his arm and tugs, trying to lead him back to their makeshift camp.

He can resist, but it will only make things more difficult. It’s just the two of them, stranded together, and he can’t avoid her forever. He lets her pull him back to the clearing.

They start the fire and Allura draws him down to sit beside her. “What happened?”

He tells her. He tells her all of it, not just the bits and pieces he let slip to Matt or his mother. How he’d gotten involved in the rebuilding of the Galra as a society thanks to his connection to both Voltron and the Blades. How even as admirals Shiro and Sam Holt couldn’t fight a slow drag toward isolationism from the military bureaucrats who had suffered the invasion of Earth but had not been on the front lines to witness Sendak’s defeat. A standoff was coming, because Shiro was still the only one capable of transforming the Atlas.

Keith had suggested that Shiro take any willing crew members and bring the Atlas to Altea. Between the original plans and the crystal that had once been the castle, Coran certainly had some claim to the ship and plenty of resources on the restored planet to compensate the Garrison for the materials they contributed. But Shiro saw that as mutiny; it had turned into one of the most serious arguments they’d ever had. They’d ended on angry words, Keith warning Shiro against trusting the Earth bureaucrats and Shiro insisting that he could bring them around.

He’d been wrong. The armchair generals grounded the Atlas.

At that point the only thing Keith wanted to do was go back to Earth with a fleet and take Shiro and everyone who wanted to come with them back to space. But one of the things he had learned in his life was that choice was paramount. Keith had been given very few choices between his father’s death and meeting Shiro. He’d seen the lesson again, as Shiro rejected Adam’s ultimatum in favor of Kerberos.

So Keith had stayed back and let Shiro choose, no matter how much it hurt.

And it hurt very much indeed when Shiro chose to retire from the Garrison, followed by marrying a fellow crew member so quickly that Keith hadn’t even heard that Shiro was seeing someone.

By the end of it, Keith is crying on Allura’s shoulder as she rubs his back to soothe him. When the tears finally trail off, she sits back, taking his hands.

“Keith, you are one of the most honorable people I’ve ever known. It’s an incredibly generous trait to not push the one you hold most dear.” She reaches up and brushes his bangs to the side. “But you do have the right to tell him what you want as well.”

Keith shakes his head. “I can’t. I’d lose him, just like Adam lost him.”

The hand still holding his tightens. “No, not like that. Not a demand, not telling him he has to do it your way. But letting him know what you want? Talk together, see if there’s a way to meet in the middle? Isn’t that the cornerstone for a solid relationship?”

He looks off into the distance. He can’t argue with Allura’s logic, but doing anything that even hints that he’s trying to control Shiro’s decision paralyzes his heart with fear. It had hurt to watch Shiro go to Kerberos. It had hurt more to walk away in order for Shiro to reclaim his place with Voltron. And it had been crushing to watch Shiro tie himself to another person and settle for an ordinary life.

Keith’s not sure he can survive the pain if Shiro walks away again. He’s long since forgotten how to not care.

*************

Hours later, Keith wakes from where they’ve fallen asleep together at the fire. He’s no longer chilly and realizes there’s a very large and furry something draped over him. He smiles a little and strokes the wolf’s fur.

He sees movement out of the corner of his eye and looks.

A second wolf  is curled up next to Allura.

*************

They spend the next day searching for a good place to camp. Keith comes across an honest-to-goodness cave, deeper than the one where he had lived with his mother, and he and Allura spend the rest of the day clearing it of rocks and debris. The wolves bring a carcass that looks like a cross between a deer and a llama and Keith gets to teach Allura the fine art of butchering.

The memory waves begin that night. Keith had almost forgotten about them when he’s suddenly dropped into a vision of Allura and Honerva. Faint outlines of their bodies glow against dark clouds as they face one another and concentrate. Allura gasps out Lance’s name, then the lions roar in the distance as the vision fades.

Over the next several days, they share memories. Keith gets to see Allura’s past, including surprisingly painful views of Lotor as a child. Allura sees Keith with Shiro at the Garrison and gushes over how young they were.

Keith tenses every time a wave hits, wondering when he will have to relive Shiro’s wedding, waiting for that ax to fall.

It doesn’t happen.

Eleven days later by the series of scratches Keith made on the cave wall, they feel their surroundings shake and look to one another. Allura gets to her feet when the wolves trot to the mouth of the cave. “Was that a tremor? Did that happen to you before?”

Keith shakes his head as he rises. “No, that’s new.”

It happens again, and now that he’s upright, Keith realizes that the rumble is coming from within, a growl rising from his gut into his chest and filling his heart…

Allura gasps just before twin roars echo outside their shelter. Keith grabs her hand and they break into a run out of the cave.

Across the valley, two lions crouch, heads down and jaws open wide in invitation.

**********************

After a quick discussion, they decide to start with Coran on Altea and then get in touch with everyone else. They gather their sparse belongings and Allura races to Blue, radiating joy. Keith starts up the ramp into Black, savoring the warm mental welcome, then pauses to look back.

His wolf is at the foot of the ramp, ready to board. The second wolf, smaller and with more gray in her markings, has paused several meters away. She’s been happy to stay with them so far, joining in the hunting and engaging in play with his wolf.

Keith takes a deep breath and comes back to crouch by his wolf. He scratches behind an ear and presses his face into soft fur.

“You’re one of the best friends I have. If you want to stay, I’ll try to come back and visit when I can.” He sits up and turns to the she-wolf. “But if you’d like to come with us, you’re welcome. I can promise it’s never dull.”

His wolf whines, stretching his neck out and toward the other. She takes one more look around the valley, then lopes forward to bowl Keith over, licking his face.

Allura’s voice booms from the Blue Lion. “Get your pets and come on, Keith!”

Laughing, Keith leads the two wolves up into Black’s cockpit. Black’s approval flows through him as he takes his seat and plots the course to thread them out of the abyss and to Altea.

****************

As they approach Altea’s atmosphere, Keith hails the new Castle of Lions. The comms officer on duty doesn’t get even a full sentence out before Coran’s voice fills their ears.

“Keith? Oh, thank the ancients! Where have you been?”

He pauses at that. “Um, the quantum abyss? I let everyone know I was taking a little time to explore it again.”

“My boy, you’ve been missing for nearly four phoebs! We were worried sick!”

“Oh, I...I didn’t realize. It was a couple of weeks—movements—for me. I’m sorry about that.” “You need to stop going into regions that warp space-time itself! Now, are you landing your pod here and staying for a bit or do you want a teludav somewhere? You need to let your mother and the other paladins know you’re all right.”

“Stopping here, but we’ll land out in the memorial park. Can you meet us there?”

“In the park? Why there?”

With Keith’s encouragement, Black roars as he and Blue finish breaking through the atmosphere and descend toward the castle’s grounds.

Keith knows Coran has seen their approach when the words come quietly through the comms. “Oh my.”

***************************************

Keith lands first but watches from the pilot’s seat as Blue lands and lowers her head. Allura jumps to the ground before the ramp is fully extended, staggering briefly before taking off toward the castle. There are people on the grounds, staring at the sight of two Voltron lions. They start looking at one another and calling out when they realize just who it is they’re seeing. As it turns into a crowd that looks like it might overwhelm her, Keith grabs a handful of his wolf’s fur.

They’re beside Allura in a flash and Keith draws his blade. “Back off! Don’t mob her!”

The surrounding group, mostly Alteans, are surprised enough to pause, and the wolf threads himself between them before teleporting them out of there.

The wolf deposits them back in the Black Lion’s cockpit. Allura protests, “Wait—”

And the she-wolf appears and dumps Coran into her arms.

Allura squeaks. Coran is speechless, staring at her with his mouth open. Finally he draws a shaky breath and whispers, “Princess?”

She beams, even as tears spring to her eyes. “Oh, Coran! I missed you so much!” She tightens her embrace and Coran flings his arms around her.

“Allura! How? When? What happened?”

As she starts trying to explain Honerva’s plan, Keith kneels down between the wolves. He strokes the she-wolf’s head and murmurs, “That was a good move. You’re just as smart as he is, aren’t you, girl?”

She chuffs and head-butts him as his wolf gives a mildly affronted growl. The conversation catches his attention again.

“—quintessence to draw me through. Then it was just a matter of getting to our reality from that one, although Keith gave us quite the scare. The first time the other Pidge tried the gate, there was a surge of energy, not just quintessence, that appeared to blast Keith apart. But I could still feel a connection to him somehow, and when I realized it was Black I pushed to keep the gate open. Then the energy started coming together and suddenly Black phased in, and he not only had our Keith but the Keith from that reality, who had disappeared during the final confrontation with Honerva.

“After that, we tested the gate multiple times and it worked. But it dropped us on a space whale in the quantum abyss and it took the lions eleven quintants to get to us.”

“Incredible,” Coran sighs. He turns to Keith and pulls him into a hug. “Thank you. You brought Allura back to us. Thank you.” He makes a show of producing a large handkerchief from his sleeve and blowing his nose. “Now, we need to—”

A voice bursts through the comms. “Pidge! Lance! Are you there? Did they find you yet? Yellow’s back! I’m in the Yellow Lion! Come on, guys, answer!”

“I’m here! I’m here! Green’s here!” Pidge’s joy easily matches Hunk’s.

“Holy quiznak, I can’t believe it! Lance, are you there?”

“You keep trying! I’m going to get Shiro! If the lions are coming back, then there’s a chance we can find Keith! Maybe he can get Coran to commandeer the Atlas in the Coalition’s name! They can’t say no then!”

Keith’s spirits rise, just before he remembers the bridge officer that Shiro married. If the quantum abyss has screwed up his timeline again, he wonders how long ago the wedding was.

He notices Allura giving him a look and mentally shakes himself. He steps over to the console and taps the appropriate screen while Allura signals Coran to stay quiet. “I’m here, guys. No need to summon the cavalry.”

Twin shrieks of “KEITH!” make the wolves flatten their ears.

“I’m okay! Black’s here, too. Sorry about the whole missing thing; Coran just told me how long I’ve been gone. It was only a couple of weeks for me.”

Hunk replies first. “Okay, I’ll forgive you because I’m just so glad to hear your voice again. But maybe stop going to that abyss?”

Keith laughs. “Yeah, maybe. I’m on Altea. Coran can wormhole you guys in and I can try and raise Lance.”

“And Shiro! He’s been going nuts trying to find a lead on you!” Pidge retorts.

“He has? But what about—”

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Lance!” Hunk’s gleeful shout echoes in Black’s cockpit. “Lance, did Red find you?”

“Yeah, yeah, she did.”

“So did Yellow! And Green and Black are back! Keith’s safe, he’s on Altea! Can you meet us there?”

“Sure, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Lance’s tone is quiet and Allura covers her mouth, drawing Keith and Coran’s attention. She gulps once, then touches the marks below her eyes.

Keith gets it. “Lance, are you okay?”

“Yeah...I think so. I think we need to find Blue. My marks...my marks are glowing. I think they’re finally trying to bring Allura home.” Lance’s voice breaks at Allura’s name.

***************************

Pidge tells Coran to wait until she’s corralled Shiro, so he arranges wormholes for Hunk and Lance. They land their lions in the park, now filled with people gawking and sharing rumors. Keith sends the wolves to retrieve them, depositing them in Coran’s sitting room where he and Allura are waiting.

Keith grabs Hunk’s arm and pulls him into a hug, clearing the way for Allura to fling herself onto Lance. As Hunk squeezes his ribs to the breaking point, Keith watches Allura alternate between peppering Lance’s stunned face with kisses and wiping away his tears. Finally she slows down and reaches over to grab Keith’s arm. “Here, trade for a tick. I need a hug from Hunk.”

Lance looks him over for a moment, then holds out a hand. When Keith takes it, Lance tugs him forward and throws his other arm around Keith’s neck. “You did this, didn’t you? You found a way to bring her back.”

“It was more like she had a way back but needed me to do it.”

“Still. Thank you.” Lance draws back and cuffs him on the shoulder. “Man, is Shiro gonna be glad to see you.”

“I don’t know why. He’s been busy with everything Earthside, hasn’t he?”

Lance gives him a look. “Seriously? I thought you’d gotten over this by now.”

Keith stares, bewildered. “Gotten over what?”

“Oh my GOD,” Lance starts, sounding so much like his old self that Hunk does a double-take. “Hunk, we’ve got to do it all over again.”

Hunk groans dramatically. But before Keith can ask just what they’re talking about, Coran’s voice sounds through the comms. “Pidge and Shiro are on their way!”

****************************

Keith retreats while they wait. He lets the others talk with Allura while he takes a low seat away from them and learns how the she-wolf likes her ears scratched.

Both wolves perk up, seconds before Pidge’s voice comes through the comm. “I see you guys left a parking spot! But how the heck are we gonna get through that mob to the castle? And what’s Blue doing here?”

The she-wolf disappears and reappears almost immediately with Pidge. She shrieks Allura’s name as Shiro’s voice sounds over the comm, “Wait, that wasn’t Kos—”

Keith’s wolf zaps him into Green’s cockpit before Shiro can finish his question, then shoulders him at Shiro before vanishing.

He stumbles forward, but Shiro catches him in a tight embrace. His hand is on the back of Keith’s head, fingers tangled in his hair, while his Altean arm pins Keith close.

His approach is completely different than the Shiro in the other reality. The other Shiro hesitated to hug Keith at first despite his need for comfort and closure; this Shiro is holding on to Keith with desperate strength, radiating relief.

It’s a one-eighty from Shiro’s attitude the last time Keith saw him, wrapped up in the gaze of his new husband.

Finally Shiro’s grip loosens. “God, Keith… You scared us so much.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning to go through an inter-reality portal and get sent back to land on a space whale again.”

“Is that what made you vanish for four months?” Shiro brings his hand forward, cradling Keith’s face.

Keith reaches up to remove Shiro’s hand. He doesn’t understand why Shiro is acting like this, but it’s painfully close to everything Keith ever wanted and he needs to separate them before he simply melts into Shiro’s arms.

His fingers brush across Shiro’s knuckles and pause, seeking something that he knows ought to be there. Then it hits him.

Shiro isn’t wearing his ring.

Keith had hated the ring. Not only for what it represented, but because it was so not Shiro. Big and gold with a chunky raised setting, it was designed to be flashy, to grab attention. To stake a claim. Shiro would never have chosen it for himself.

Of course Shiro might have left it behind. It’s hardly a practical thing to wear if one is going off on a mission, even one with known parameters.

Keith takes Shiro’s hand to draw it away from his face, but Shiro immediately twines their fingers together and pulls their hands to his chest. Keith can feel his heart pounding. He responds instinctively, feeling guilty for causing so much worry.

“I guess. It was just a couple of weeks for us.”

“Us?”

Keith can’t stop the smile that lights up his face. “Yeah, us.” He reaches mentally, asking the wolf to come back. There’s an ozone-filled flash and the wolf appears, sitting with his head cocked to one side in an inquiring manner.

“Don’t give me that look. You’re the one that did this.”

The wolf rises and circles them, shoving Keith up against Shiro once more. Shiro laughs and wraps his arms around Keith as they teleport.

They land in the room with the others. A voice scolds, “You’re still a menace, even if you have learned not to chew things.”

Shiro’s head snaps up from Keith’s shoulder. “Allura?”

Keith disentangles himself from Shiro’s embrace and pushes him toward Allura. As the two of them hold one another and laugh through tears, Pidge crosses to tuck herself into Keith’s side.

“Missed you. Glad you’re back.”

Keith squeezes her, lifting her up from the floor. “Glad to be back. Sorry, again.”

“Can we please stay away from places that are prone to time-travel shenanigans for a while?”

Keith laughs and sets her down. “We can try.”

“On the bright side, I think this has convinced Shiro that we need to move the Atlas to Coalition jurisdiction, like you suggested.”

Keith freezes.

Pidge continues to talk, not noticing his reaction. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that angry, when the top brass flat-out said they weren’t going to re-activate the Atlas just to look for one person, even if said person had been one of the heroes who saved the planet. He and Dad and Iverson were ready to just take all willing crew members and go, but the comms officer threatened to report them. It took weeks of maneuvering, but Dad got him reassigned and put Matt on comms instead. By then, your mom had gotten in touch and was able to talk Shiro down from just taking off with the Atlas—oh, quiznak! Your mom!” Pidge whirls out of Keith’s arms. “Coran! We need to let Krolia know Keith’s back!”

Everyone flocks around Coran as he pulls up a comms screen and Keith is drawn to the front. He looks for the timestamp on the screen, in the corner. It lists the date on Altea, New Olkarion, Daizabaal, and Earth.

He feels eyes on him and glances around. Allura is looking at him, her eyebrows up in inquiry. He nods.

The date is nearly six months before Keith originally took off to explore the quantum abyss.

****************************

Keith has no time to consider the implications. The screen winks into life, showing his mother. Her expression is calm, but Keith can see the relief in her eyes.

“Well, little star, you gave us quite a scare. I am very glad to see you safe and sound.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t plan for an inter-reality portal springing up in my path.”

“Aha,” she replies. “So that’s what happened. Did you meet interesting versions of anyone? Was there a Sven?”

Those who experienced the first crossing to an alternate reality laugh at that. Keith shakes his head. “No, no Svens. It wasn’t all that different from here...except at the final battle, instead of Allura leaving with Honerva… I died.”

That gets cries of protest from the others. Keith draws breath to explain that it had all worked out, but almost chokes in surprise when Shiro’s arms clasp him from behind.

Krolia’s mouth curves up into a knowing smile. “No more letting him out of your sight, Captain. Understood?”

Shiro leans down and props his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “Loud and clear, ma’am.”

She nods, satisfied. “Are you all staying on Altea for now?”

Shiro straightens but doesn’t let go of Keith. “I think so. We need to come up with a plan to get the Atlas off Earth.”

“Kolivan and I can make arrangements and leave in the morning, if a wormhole can be managed?” Krolia looks over at Coran.

“Absolutely, Krolia! Just signal when you’re ready!”

“Thank you, Coran.” She focuses on Keith once more. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you then, Mom.” The call disconnects and Keith stands awkwardly, unsure of how to deal with Shiro still clinging to him.

Hunk solves the problem by coming forward and throwing his arms around both of them. “Okay, Keith, no dying! You hear me? You don’t get to die just because the you in another reality did!”

“Oh, it’s all right. We managed to bring the other Keith back before we left.” But Allura’s actions belie her words as she steps up to join the group hug. Pidge, Lance, and Coran follow her and everyone’s combined presence helps Keith to shake his hyperfocus on Shiro’s behavior.

As they finally separate, Pidge’s eyes gleam with enthusiasm. “I want to hear everything! What you and Honerva did, the other reality, all of it!”

Allura laughs. “All right, but first I’d really like the chance for a shower. Keith and I had to make do on the space whale and I’m sure we could both use one.”

There’s a glint in Coran’s eye that makes Keith nervous. “Lance, show Allura to the royal wing. She can take any suite there. Shiro, do you remember the way to the ambassadorial hall?”

Keith groans. “Coran, I remember the way.”

“Perhaps, but you have a recently developed habit of disappearing and I’d feel better if Shiro stayed with you. We need to prevent a repeat occurrence.”

Shiro shifts but keeps his left arm around Keith. “Coran’s right. And your mother did tell me not to let you out of my sight…”

The others don’t even try to hold in their laughter as Shiro leads Keith away.

****************************

Shiro doesn’t let go of Keith the entire way and it’s about to drive him mad. His head is bursting with questions and it’s like he’s got half the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and no box with the full image. He doesn’t know what to do with the possibility that he’s got a do-over, that he’s landed back in time before he and Shiro drifted apart to the point that Shiro married someone else without even telling Keith he was dating.

He knows Shiro can feel the tension in his shoulders as they enter the room that has been Keith’s whenever he visits the new castle. Shiro’s response is to turn him and pull him into yet another hug, pressing his lips into Keith’s hair.

He can’t take it anymore. Keith pulls back and holds his hands up. “Look, I need to clean up, I need some rest, and I need to think. It’s been a really weird couple of weeks. I need some time to process it all.”

The hurt in Shiro’s eyes feels like a knife penetrating Keith’s chest, but he has to do this. He has to get some space between him and everyone else, be alone and sort everything out.

Despite his pain, Shiro does what he’s always done ever since the day he walked into Keith’s classroom door and immediately gives him support. He takes a couple of steps back.

“I don’t know the full story of what happened to you out there, Keith. And I won’t ask until you’re ready to share it. If you need time alone, you’ll have it. But I have to tell you this.”

Keith looks up at the conviction in Shiro’s tone. He has no idea what Shiro is about to say, but he’s suddenly terrified.

“You were gone for months. We were starting to think you were dead, that we’d lost you forever. And the last time you and I talked, we argued over the Atlas and left angry at each other. I’m not risking one more minute leaving this unsaid.” He steps forward and gently lays his human hand along Keith’s jaw, the thumb stroking his cheek above his scar.

“I love you, Keith. I’m in love with you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, you’ve been my defender and brother-in-arms, you’ve been my rock and you’ve been my savior. I don’t know exactly when I started to realize it, but you being gone made it crystal clear for me. And I understand you may not feel the same way, but after the last few months of not knowing if I’d ever see you again, I had to tell you.”

Keith can’t speak. Fuck, he can’t breathe. What is he supposed to do, how is he supposed to handle it, when the one thing he’s wanted more than anything from the universe is suddenly dropped into his lap?

He has no idea what his face is showing, but Shiro’s determination melts into fear and concern. His Altean hand comes up and he’s wiping at Keith’s face—shit, is he crying?

“Keith! I’m sorry! You don’t—you don’t have to—” Shiro’s words fall over themselves as he grows frantic.

Keith’s throat starts working, just enough for him to gasp out, “Shiro!” before he thrusts forward and up to crush his mouth against Shiro’s.

He can feel the surprise and joy from Shiro as his hands slide back to cradle Keith’s head, tilting it just enough so their lips mesh perfectly, tongues already meeting. The joy sings through Keith as he pours everything he has into the kiss.

The need to pause and breathe is what convinces Keith that he’s not dreaming. They pull apart just enough to gulp in air. Shiro keeps his hands in Keith’s hair and leans forward to touch foreheads. Keith’s fingers dig into Shiro’s uniform jacket.

“Still need me to go?” Shiro asks, his voice soft and gentle.

Keith shakes his head. “Don’t leave.”

Shiro chuckles and bumps noses with Keith before taking one more quick kiss. “Never.”

****************************

Keith emerges from the shower, an Altean-style robe pulled over his head and towelling his hair dry. Shiro is still there, changed into casual clothes and lounging on Keith’s bed, petting the she-wolf. Her head is draped over his lap and her eyes are closed. Keith’s wolf is stretched out on the floor. He lifts his head and gives Keith an exasperated look.

Keith crouches down and gets his fingers into the thick fur behind his wolf’s ears. “Feeling left out?”

The wolf licks Keith’s face and he laughs. The she-wolf watches as Keith moves in for more scratches, then sits up and looks at Shiro.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Shiro protests as she sits up and goes for his face. “You don’t need to slobber all over me if you want your ears scratched!” He ruffles her fur and she leans into his touch with a blissful expression.

Keith hides a smile when he sees the gleam of humor in her eyes, just before she surges forward and laps against his cheek anyway.

Keith breaks into laughter again as Shiro sputters. The she-wolf jumps down to rub noses with Keith’s wolf and Shiro sits up, wiping his face.

“They’re going to be a pair of troublemakers. And they really do need names now that there’s two of them. Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer?”

“Those are cats!”

“Bonnie and Clyde?”

“They were criminals!”

Shiro holds up his hands. “All right, all right, I’ll stop. But everyone else is going to try and come up with something that goes with Kosmo.”

“They can try. I’m not forcing names on them like they’re just dogs.”

Keith’s wolf butts his head against his shoulder gently and Shiro softens, clearly seeing the gesture of gratitude. He gets up and crosses to Keith, holding out a hand to pull him to his feet.

“That’s just one of the hundreds of things I love about you. You’ve never once tried to dictate anyone else’s choices to them.”

Keith grins. “Hundreds of things? Come on.”

Shiro gets a don’t-challenge-me look in his eyes, then smiles. “I love how loyal you are. I love your daring. I love your fire. I love how your eyes are the color of a starlit night sky. I love how soft your hair is. I love how this is a guaranteed way to get you to blush—”

Keith plants a kiss on Shiro’s mouth to get him to stop. Shiro’s shoulders shake with suppressed laughter as he wraps his arms around Keith and parts his lips, eagerly picking up where they had left off earlier.

There’s a beep as a comm screen appears, then a flustered “Oh dear!”

They pause and turn to see a chagrined Coran.

“I’m sorry for interrupting...yes, interrupting...that. Shiro, we’re getting hit with incoming messages from Earth. Admiral Holt, Admiral Iverson, Veronica, Axca, two of the MFE pilots, an Admiral McConnell, a Lieutenant Curtis…”

Shiro straightens, suddenly on the alert. “Can you put Admiral Holt through?”

The screen blinks, showing Sam on the Atlas bridge. He calls out, “I’ve got him!” As Shiro frowns, several others gather behind Sam. Keith makes eye contact with Matt, who gives him a relieved grin as the rest break into gasps and exclamations.

“Keith!” Sam bursts out. “It’s so good to see you! You had us worried.”

Keith nods. “Sorry about that.” He pauses to let Shiro take over.

“Sam, what’s going on?”

“It’s the Atlas. It—she...I think she’s going rogue.”

****************************

Shiro insists on getting back into uniform and convening everyone in the control center, where the bridge was on the original castle. In the time it takes to gather the others, Coran reports that Admiral McConnell has tried to contact them three more times. Shiro continues to ignore him in favor of Sam’s report, summarizing the experience of the around three hundred people currently aboard the Atlas. Which is currently passing Alpha Centauri and helpfully displaying a flight pattern to the crew that will eventually take it to Altea.

Sam describes how every single person on board was woken by an alarm and most received a texted message to board the Atlas and report to Sam immediately. While Sam himself was trying to sort out what had happened, the ship had closed all entryways, including closing the MFEs in their hangars, and taken off on her own.

Sam falters as he describes the bridge crew’s fruitless attempts to get control of the ship, and Iverson clears his throat. “We think the Atlas is coming to find you, Shiro.”

Coran lets out a hiss of breath. “Astonishing. Just like how Red used to go after Keith if he needed her.”

Shiro chews on his lower lip a moment. “Does anyone have a roster of who’s on board?”

Veronica has a tablet in her hand, skimming its display. “Yes, and yes, everyone on board is part of the group we considered trustworthy when we talked about ways to get the Atlas out of Garrison control. Including families. My parents got here before I did.”

Coran and Allura look at one another and she nods. He turns to the comm screen. “Admiral Holt, as a founding member of the Galactic Coalition, planet Altea officially offers your ship and crew sanctuary. We will begin preparing a formal request that the Atlas be moved to Coalition jurisdiction to present to the Garrison. In the meantime, we can arrange a wormhole, if you can convince the Atlas to fly through it.”

“Better idea,” Pidge pipes up. “Keith can take Shiro in Black through a wormhole to their location, and once they’re on board Shiro can direct the Atlas back through a return one.”

Shiro glances over at Keith a little shyly. Keith smiles back and can’t even bring himself to mind when Matt’s whoop of “Finally!” sparks a wave of babble and congratulatory cheers from both sides of the transmission.

****************************

It’s a messy transition.

The armchair admirals, led by McConnell, try to demand the return of the Atlas in front of the Galactic Coalition’s judicial body. Coran represents the Coalition and delivers an incredibly impassioned speech about how the Atlas may have begun by helping to save the Earth from the Galra but ended by helping to save all realities everywhere. It doesn’t help when another admiral makes a not-so-vague threat to the crew members who might want to return long enough to visit friends or put their affairs in order for a permanent move to space.

McConnell can’t silence him fast enough. The judges’ decision is a foregone conclusion after that.

****************************

Keith is leading a joint paladin/MFE  training session when the text comes through: How about a hoverbike ride before it gets too dark?

Keith grins. The training session is supposed to go for another half-varga, but they’ve done particularly well today and deserve a bit of a break. He texts back an affirmative to Shiro and gets everyone’s attention to dismiss them.

James looks put out at the deviation from their schedule. Lance trades a high-five with Nadia before going over to grab Allura’s hand. Pidge and Ina immediately put their heads together—they’ve been spending all their free time trying to incorporate Balmera crystals into the MFE jet engines so they don’t have to charge as often. Keith pulls Hunk aside for a quick consultation on putting a picnic together and Hunk promises to have a hamper delivered to the hangar that holds personal vehicles.

Even with that and stopping to change into casual clothes, Keith arrives first. He loads the hamper onto his hoverbike and opens the hangar door to the afternoon sunshine. They’re currently stationed on Tympaysia, a new member of the Coalition, and the Atlas is parked in an arid region that is remarkably like the Arizona desert except with sands of blue and purple instead of red and brown.

Shiro enters and heads straight for Keith, giving him a light kiss in greeting. Keith admires him for a moment in his black leather jacket—Keith has appropriated his old one from their Garrison days—and takes the set of driving goggles that Shiro holds out to him.

“So, are we riding or racing?” Shiro asks.

Keith grins. “Riding. We don’t know the terrain and I’d hate to make you lose.”

“Brat.”

“Seriously, I don’t want to shake up our dinner too much.” Shiro brightens. “Dinner?”

“Yeah, I got Hunk to put something together for us.” Keith puts on his goggles and mounts his bike. “Shall we?”

They ride for a varga or so, traveling up the hills around the valley where the Atlas is docked, and find a spot high enough for a nice view. They eat and chat about random things, like Veronica and Axca dancing around one another or Ryan’s next film project. The conversation fades and they relax in comfortable silence on a spread-out blanket, watching as the sun begins to sink below the horizon.

Keith is trying to judge how much longer they might stay before it gets too dark when Shiro takes his hand.

“So, I had a reason for this. I’ve been trying to find a chance for us to be alone and away from everyone else for a while now.” He threads his fingers with Keith’s and Keith is suddenly on the alert. He doesn’t know what Shiro is leading up to, but the very air around them suddenly seems heavy with anticipation.

“I know it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come from that day, when I came to your school. At the time I only wanted to help you, because you had so much potential. You said once that your life would have been a lot different without me. But I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you. You supported me when I chose my dream over everything else. You saved me...so many times. And you never stopped believing in me. Not once. I’m honestly so humble; you’ve seen the worst of me and yet you love me without hesitation. It was so hard to make myself believe I could deserve someone like you. It took believing you might be dead to make me realize that I was focusing on what might go wrong, that I was missing the chance to have something great.

“You are that something great, Keith. I love you. I’m in love with you. And I want to spend the rest of my life embracing greatness with you.”

It’s not the same as the memory Keith has from the reality-hopping, now some six phoebs in the past. But the rhythm is there, the sincere emotion in Shiro’s words as they flow from him.

And the red velvet box is there, in Shiro’s Altean hand. He lets go of Keith long enough to open it, revealing the black cushion that cradles a startling ring. The slim metal band is a bright fiery red, smooth and polished, set with a black cabochon stone.

“Keith, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

He drags his gaze up from the ring to Shiro’s face, alight with love and hope and a little fear.

Keith launches himself into Shiro’s arms, knocking him flat onto the blanket as he kisses Shiro ferociously. He’ll eradicate that fear, that doubt, from Shiro if it’s the last thing he ever does.

As the need to breathe asserts itself, Shiro takes Keith’s head in his hands and lifts him enough to look him in the eye. “So that’s a ‘yes’, I take it?”

Keith huffs. “Of course it’s a ‘yes’. What made you think I’d ever say anything other than ‘yes’?”

Shiro looks just a little abashed. He takes a lock of Keith’s hair, escaped from his braid, and tucks it behind his ear. “Well, you know how Slav would never admit anything could be a one hundred percent certainty…”

“How dare you bring Slav into my marriage proposal!” Keith tries to look angry, but can’t contain the joy he’s feeling. He beams at his fiancé.

“I promise it will never happen again.” Shiro pulls him close and sits up so that Keith is in his lap. He uses his left arm to keep Keith in place, sending the Altean arm to retrieve the ring box from where it had fallen.

Keith tugs his glove off so Shiro can slide the ring onto his finger. They both admire it for a moment as the rich light from the setting sun plays over it.

“It’s beautiful,” Keith says.

“Just like you,” Shiro replies, and he has to put fingers under Keith’s chin to get him to look up. Because Keith knows he’s blushing hard at those words.

“So beautiful,” Shiro whispers as he draws Keith in, opening his mouth as their lips touch to deepen the kiss.

Keith savors the moment, enjoying the perfection without fear of it ending. Because, in this rebuilt reality, he is certain that perfection will return often and be enjoyed for the rest of their lives.

[panda-noosh]

Less than Lovers, More than Friends {Matt Holt x Reader}

Words: 8k

  Summary: Matt's girlfriend is toxic, and he doesn't realise it.

  Genre: angst

  Warning: domestic abuse – manipulation

  Notes: masterlist –  i’m back folks yeehaw 

  ---

    Your shoulders jerked as another crash sounded from the room opposite you, followed abruptly by Matt and Caitlin's yelling.

   It was nothing new. You heard them fighting all the time, heard Caitlin losing her temper to the point where she picked up the closest object to her and volleyed it across the room at Matt. But just because you heard it often, didn't mean you enjoyed it, didn't make it any easier to sleep through.

    You clenched your eyes shut tight and rolled over, dragging the pillow over your head in any attempt to block out the god awful arguing; it would go on for hours. Caitlin would never let the subject drop, not until Matt was all but claiming she had been right the entire time. Sometimes Matt let the argument go on and on, refusing to belittle his own intelligence for someone as stubborn as Caitlin – but eventually she would lose her temper, and things got broken and Matt got hurt.

    Sometimes you wondered why he was still with her.

   In fact, you always wondered why he was still with her, when he could have any person in the world. He was smart, kind, good looking – he was a gift. Someone you knew you weren't worthy to call your own, but someone you wished you could.

     And yet there he was, in the hallway across from you with his wild girlfriend throwing foreign objects at him. He could be doing something with his life, have a love that he deserved, but he stayed with her.

    The door to your room slowly creaked open, and you knew immediately who it was. Glancing over your shoulder, your suspicions were confirmed when Allura slipped into the darkness and stood hesitantly in your doorway, awkwardly ringing her hands in front of her.

   You rolled over fully, having to speak up to be heard over the psychotic screams of Caitlin across the hall. “Why are you up so late?”

   “Why do you think?” Allura replied. Now that she had confirmation you were indeed awake, she strolled confidently across your room and flopped down onto the bed next to you, tugging the covers up to her chin. “They've been arguing for hours. I think she hurt Matt again.”

   “Should we do something?”

   “Yes.” Allura paused. “But you know what Matt's gonna do if we try to intervene again.”

   You pursed your lips, remembering the last time any of you had tried to step in front of Caitlin and put a stop to the chaotic fighting. She had gotten out of control again, and Shiro had had enough. He marched into the room, got ready to yell, but then Caitlin was whirling on him and throwing an ash tray in his direction. Matt had been forced to grab her, causing himself even more harm.

   He hadn't spoken to Shiro for days after that.

   You sighed and buried your head in the pillows once again. “What do you think they're arguing about this time?”

   “I wouldn't call it arguing as much as it's Caitlin screaming her head off,” replied Allura. “But I think it's about Matt's mission tomorrow.”

   You perked up. “The one him and I are going on?”

  “Mm.” Allura picked at her nails, her arms stretched high above her face. “Miss Caitlin doesn't like it when you and Matt have alone time together.”

   You paused, head snapping round to evaluate the expression on Allura's face, because surely she was kidding. Despite there being absolutely no hint of humour in her voice, you couldn't bring yourself to believe that she would even suggest such a bizarre thing.

   You prided yourself on how well you hid your feelings for Matt Holt. There was no way someone like Caitlin was able to see through the wall you had built for the past five years of knowing the man.

   “What are you talking about?” you asked when Allura showed no sign of elaborating on her bizarre claims.

   She looked over at you and shrugged, as if her words were no big deal. “I don't exactly blame her. You've known Matt longer than she has, and she doesn't like that you two have that bond. Plus, Matt is always ten times happier when he's around you – anyone on the ship is able to see that.”

   Your mouth grew dry, head running at a million miles per hour. Was Caitlin currently hurling insults, hurling objects at Matt because of what she thought of you?

   You clenched your fists tight in the covers. Allura jerked, the covers bunching up around her chin with the grip you currently had in them.

   “Y/N?” Allura inquired, slowly leaning over to get a better look at your expression in the darkness. You quickly unclenched your jaw, relaxed your fists, started nonchalantly smoothing a crease out in the blankets.

    “He promised us he can deal with her,” you said. “I'll check up on him once she's calmed down.”

   Allura nodded, though she kept a suspicious eye on you even as she relaxed back into the pillows. Neither of you spoke after that – it was too difficult trying to have a civil, simple conversation when you could hear Caitlin's animalistic shrieking thumping through the walls in the next room. It played as background music to the sound of your own worried thoughts, images of Matt trying desperately to calm Caitlin down.

    Allura's breathing slowly eased until it was nothing more than a gentle trickle, indicating she had finally fallen asleep. You wanted to follow her lead, needed to follow her lead considering you had an important mission to go on the next morning – but you couldn't. You couldn't even close your eyes without thinking of Matt, without thinking of the guilt that was currently erupting in your system because you weren't doing anything.

   You pressed the balls of your palm into your eye, tried to fight off the urge to scream before rolling over and burying your head in the pillows, the only thing you could think to do to waste time before morning came.

   +++      How he always managed to pretend that nothing had happened was completely beyond you.

     How she could pretend that nothing had happened was completely beyond you.

     Caitlin and Matt walked into the kitchen side-by-side, as per usual, the next morning. You had been sat downstairs since before the sun had even risen, your lack of sleep dragging you from the warmth of the comforters so you could start breakfast for everyone else. Shiro and Keith – forever the early birds – had already indulged in a plate of scrambled eggs each, both very confused as to why you were up so early, but neither asking for answers.

    Now it was Matt and Caitlin's turn, and to say you were dreading their appearance was an understatement.

   As usual, Matt gave you that award winning grin before he settled himself down at the counter. Caitlin gently stroked her fingertips over his shoulder blades as she walked past him towards the fridge, a way of silently telling you that he was hers. She didn't even look in your direction, but the message was clear from the smug smile on her face as she let her fingers scrape along his flesh, forcing him to look up and give her a small, acknowledged nod.

    You clenched your fists, biting your lower lip before you looked over at Matt and smiled. “Sleep well?”

   “Do we have any milk left from our last grocery run?”

    Your teeth clamped impossibly harder upon your bottom lip, Caitlin's shrill voice making your toes curl.

   Nonetheless, you turned and glanced at her. “We should do. Unless Hunk was doing his usual late night-”

  “Oh, here's some!” she yipped, popping up from the fridge with a full carton of milk in her hand – she had only interrupted your greeting with Matt to stop any type of conversation from forming.

    You turned back and shook your head slowly. Matt caught the movement – he often did – and pursed his lips, before reaching over and grabbing the bowl of scrambled eggs that you had left out on the counter. “These fresh?”

    “Freshly made this morning,” you replied. “You should probably dive in, though. Even Keith had some.”

   “Keith?” Matt widened his eyes in exaggerated shock. “Wow. Whoever made these must have some skills in the kitchen.”

    You shrugged. “I can't take all the credit. I didn't even know how to crack an egg before Hunk-”

   “Matt, scooch over.”

    Once again, Caitlin made her appearance. Matt barely had time to register what she had asked of him before she was crashing her shoulder against his and slipping onto the stool next to him. She slapped her bowl of cereal down onto the counter, took one glance at the eggs and scowled.

   “They look like they've been sat out for hours.”

   You raised a brow. “I only made them this morning.”

   “Mm,” she hummed dismissively before turning to Matt. “I think you should just have cereal. Don't wanna risk getting sick before a mission, do you?”

   Matt pursed his lips. Your heart thundered, anger pouring into your veins at a million miles per hour. You were going to lose it. You were really going to lose it, because her attitude this morning and the memories of the vile things she had been screaming the previous night were flashing through your mind, driving you forward, making you-

    “No. I feel like having scrambled eggs this morning.”

  Your eyes snapped up, widening just a fraction. “Matt, you don't have to-”    But he was already reaching for the bowl, even as his girlfriends eyes shot daggers into the side of his head, even as Caitlin all but trembled with fury at being disobeyed by the one person she believed she had wrapped around her finger.

   You kept your eyes on her, prepared for anything. It was a protective streak, a dull thump in the back of your head. Your fingers uncurled from the fist you had them bunched up in, ready to reach over the table and grab her ponytail if she even so much as tried to lay a hostile finger on Matt.

    But even though she was an evil bitch, she had common sense. She flicked her eyes over to you, took a deep breath and quickly dove back into her cereal, now turning her head away from Matt as a sign of defiance.

   Matt scooped some scrambled eggs onto his plate and started eating, eyes shining with the first bite. “Ooh. Hunk taught you well!”

    You kept an eye on Caitlin, even as you accepted the compliment, even as you and Matt were finally able to get into a proper, intelligent conversation that didn't involve her stupid, petty questions cutting in every few seconds.

   It was nice, despite the air of tension that was surrounding you all. Allura's words from the previous night echoed in your head; Caitlin wasn't bristling because of Matt. She was bristling because of you, because of your presence, because Matt truly could speak to you with little to no hesitation.

    A part of you thought it might be better if you just got up and left. Caitlin would calm down, and Matt would be able to have a peaceful breakfast – but you were only guessing with that one. You could get up and leave and open the flood gates for him by leaving him alone with her. She could turn on him, her temper flaring, and then what would happen? God only knew, but judging by the argument they had been having last night, the aftermath could be nothing good.

   And so you stayed, talking to Matt both because you wanted to hear his voice, and because you wanted to keep him safe.

   +++

  You buckled your seat belt and shot Allura one final farewell glance before the ship was taking off and you and Matt were alone.

    You couldn't remember the last time you had been alone with him. The two of you were friends – best friends – but there was a barrier that had been placed between you in the past six months that he had been with Caitlin.

    Neither of you spoke about it, though the tension within the silence was clue enough that he could feel it just as heavily as you could. He was sat in the drivers seat, hands gripping the wheel, glancing up at you through the rear view mirror every few seconds. You could only spare him an awkward smile before you turned back to the GPS you had been put in charge of.

     Things were just different. Not in a bad way. Just being able to see him every day and still call him your friend was good enough for you, but things were different in the sense that Matt was no longer the young fifteen year old boy you had met all them years ago. He was someone different now – smarter in the sense of his intelligence and his experience, but stupid in the sense that he had let himself get trapped in such an awful situation, and was currently refusing any of the help he was being offered.

   The ship juddered. Matt changed gear quickly, glanced at you to make sure you were okay, and it was then that you decided to speak up.

    “You didn't have to do that at breakfast, you know.”

    Matt looked away. “I didn't do anything at breakfast.”

   “You did. You can't deny it.”

    “I ate breakfast.”

   “You went against Caitlin's orders.”

   Matt's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. Part of your brain was screaming at you to back off, to let the subject drop before he got angry at you and this entire mission became one big, awkward mess.

    But you didn't back off.

    “You say that like she owns me,” Matt grunted finally. “I'm a twenty year old man. I can do what I want without her permission.”

   “That's not what the rest of us have been seeing these past few months.”

   “Good thing the rest of you aren't in my relationship and don't know jack shit about what goes on behind closed doors.”

 You scoffed. “I think those of us that hear her throwing stuff at you every night are pretty familiar with what goes on behind closed doors.”

   He snapped, slapping his palm against the steering wheel. The ship stirred, but Matt quickly got it back under control, ignoring your startled cry. “Why are you even talking to me about her? You two don't even speak to each other!”

    “And by the looks of things, you two don't speak to each other either!” you exclaimed. “She just yells at you and tells you what to do, and you sit back and pretend like it's okay!”

    “I can do what I want. Just because I try to listen to my girlfriend sometimes-”

 “Oh, Matt, give me a break,” you scoffed, slumping down in your seat, running your hands through your hair. “You're smarter than this. You're so much smarter than this – you know full well you aren't just listening to your girlfriend.”

    Matt bristled. “You have no idea what you're talking about.”

  You clenched your jaw. Why was he being like this? Why was he being so clueless? There was no part of you that believed he truly did not understand, that he truly just thought he was being a caring boyfriend by doing everything his girlfriend told him to do. He was smarter than that.

    He just didn't want to admit it.

    You turned back to the GPS, pressing your elbows into the table and leaning your head in your palms. He wasn't going to listen to you – that much was obvious.

   +++

     The thing about Matt was that his job was his life.

     He did everything for the sake of the world. He stayed up until early hours of the morning trying to figure out a single line of coding that would jump start whatever piece of machinery he was having trouble with. He would risk his own life for the sake of the people he loved, and he let nothing get in the way of getting his job done.

    The argument the two of you had gotten into was forgotten almost as soon as his boots touched the ground. He had been silent for the remaining hour of the journey, but as soon as the two of you had landed and the mission had officially started, it was almost as if nothing had happened.

   “Stay close to me,” he demanded, grabbing your arm and pulling you into his side. “First step – find the entrance to the factory, find the systems room and get the information.”

   “Easier said than done,” you muttered, but you followed his every step nonetheless. You were the back-up in this situation; cover for Matt if things got a little too difficult. Whilst he was a whizz with computers and programming, you had been trained in the art of combat for as long as you could remember. You would be parading around the door, making sure nobody was going to attack Matt as he gathered the information you two had been sent out to retrieve.

    The factory in question was not difficult to find by any stretch of the imagination. Guards littered the doorways, the building towering over everything else. You could see the tip of the roof as you and Matt approached through the trees, could smell the smoke billowing from the many chimneys lining the tiled roof.

   You could also smell the blood.

   You shot Matt a startled glance; you knew what this place did, the amount of bodies that had been discovered and hidden by the Galra. You knew it was terrible, but the proof of it in the air was startling. Matt clenched his jaw, looked back at you, but neither of you said anything. You both knew what to expect – there was no point in making a big deal over it.

    You stepped out of the tree line and started towards the entrance. The suits you were both wearing would be enough to disguise you, help you blend in, but as soon as you started messing with the systems, suspicions would be aroused and the two of you would have to pick up the pace.

    “Agent Spears and Agent Givaldi,” Matt said as soon as you were both in front of the guards. They barely even glanced at the badges you were both holding up before the door was being shouldered open and you were granted much-needed access.

   You hesitantly stuffed your badge back into your coat pocket, leaned towards Matt and whispered, “That was too easy. Something's not right.”

   “Keep an eye out,” he whispered back.

   The hallways grew less and less crowded the deeper into the factory you and Matt went. You kept your head low as Matt nodded and interacted with the passing mechanics, scientists, evil geniuses that you came across; he was good at this kind of thing, pretending everything was okay when it wasn't, putting on a fake smile for the sake of others.

     You, on the other hand, could do no such thing. You pulled your collar a little bit higher around your jaw, picked up your pace until you and Matt had finally arrived at the systems room.

   Matt made to walk right past it. If it hadn't been for your quick reflexes, he would have done so, but you just barely managed to hook your arm through his and drag him through the metal door. You shoved him forward and quickly slammed it closed, pressing your back against it as rough pants rattled your chest.

   “Go,” you ordered upon realising that Matt was simply staring at the lines upon lines of computers currently flashing at him. He swallowed thickly, nodded and dashed off to the nearest one. His fingers sped across the keyboard as he put in the details he needed, his tongue slowly making it's way out of his mouth in that way it always did when he was concentrating. His brown eyes narrowed, and he ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

    You could have watched him forever when he was in this mindset, because it was one of the rare times he actually seemed at peace. Despite the risk of getting caught, despite the fact that you had just stolen the identity of two people who could very well be marching through these hallways right now, Matt was at peace because he was doing what he loved.

   But you couldn't watch him forever. Not now. Not whenever you heard the voices ringing out behind the door.

   Matt looked up, eyes frantic. Swiftly, you pulled your gun from the back of your dress trousers and whirled around, waving a dismissive hand in his direction.

   “I can handle it.”

   “They're early. By the time they get to the door, I won't have gotten in,” he replied. “Y/N, if we need to leave-”

   “I can handle it!” you barked. “Get the information. Fast.”

   Truth was, you weren't sure if you could handle it. The voices were getting louder and louder with each passing second. They would be passing the door soon, might just decide to look in if you and Matt hadn't been subtle enough – you couldn't risk that. You couldn't afford them getting suspicious and looking inside whenever Matt was elbow deep in their computers mechanics.

    The gun trembled in your hands. If they were to open the door, you would never be able to get a direct hit. Your aim would be off, lives would be at risk, the alarms would go off and you-

    “Have you got in yet?” you hissed, stumbling away from the door just as the heads of the passing scientists disappeared down the hallway. You nearly doubled over in relief, but used the energy instead to spin around and look at Matt.

    He nodded slowly. “I'm in but . . . there's so much to undo. It'll take hours for all of it to transfer onto the memory stick.”

     “We don't have hours.”

   “I know that,” Matt hissed, running his hands through his hair. “I can only take little bits at a time.” He looked up at you. “We're gonna have to come back another day for the rest.”

   You blinked, heart dropping into your stomach. “Matt...”

  “I know it's not ideal,” he said, already plugging the memory stick into the side of the computer. “But we have no other choice. If Shiro doesn't like the sudden halt in plans, then he's gonna have to find another way. Right now, this is the only option we have.”

   You didn't bother arguing with him; what could you even say? If he was unable to do it, then that was completely out of his control. Besides, the idea of risking another few minutes in this room, behind an unlocked door with Galra soldiers marching outside of it, had you uneasy. The quicker you got out of here –  information obtained or not – the happier you would be.

   Matt plucked the memory stick out from the computer after a few minutes, stuffed it into his pocket before dashing round the side of the desk and heading towards the door. You took one last hesitant glance back at the room before you followed behind him, making your way back down the hostile hallways.

   +++

     Never before had you been happier to see Team Voltron.

     Lance opened the doors and immediately engulfed you in a welcome home hug. You spluttered against him, but wrapped your arms around his middle and hugged him back nonetheless.

    “You both went off the radar,” he said. “We thought we'd lost you!”

   “We had to take our jackets off to put on the blazers,” you explained, pulling away and flattening a piece of his hair with a fond smile on your face. “We left the tracking devices in the pockets of our old jackets.”

   Lance grunted. “Don't scare me like-”

    “Oh my God, there you are!”

    You squeezed your eyes closed. Of course.

   Caitlin stampeded through the array of people waiting to welcome you and Matt home, bouncing her shoulder roughly against Slav's and causing the poor man to stumble forward, just barely catching himself on Pidge's upper arm. She was wearing one of Matt's old jumpers, along with a pair of stained blue jeans and converse.

     She looked casual. She truly looked as if she'd been having a spa day whilst you and Matt had been out risking your lives for the sake of people like her.

   You gritted your teeth and forced yourself to look away before you could play victim to the sight of her crashing her lips against Matt's.

    “They told me about you going off the radar,” she said. “I was so worried, Matt. I thought I'd lost you.”

    “I'm fine,” Matt replied, a slight tremble to his voice that had you glancing over your shoulder to make sure he was okay.

   His eyes were wide, cheeks flushed and fingers slack against her waist. It was a direct contrast to the tight grip Caitlin had on his shoulders, caging him in before he had a chance to detach himself from her arms.

     “This is exactly the reason why I didn't want you going,” she huffed. “Y/N could have handled the mission perfectly well on their own. You had no reason to go.”

   “Y/N isn't a computer programmer,” Pidge scoffed. “Idiot.”

   Matt's eyes widened. You snickered, but quickly hid it with a cough as Caitlin whirled around to shoot a glare in your direction. She would never yell at Pidge – not with Matt in the room – meaning the first person she could release her anger on was you.

   You gave her a wary grin. “I'm afraid Pidge is right. We needed Matt today.”

   Matt placed a hand on Caitlin's arm. “It's okay, Cate. I'm fine. We're both fine.” He glanced up at Shiro then. “We might have to go back another few times to get the rest of the information.”

    Shiro started to reply, but of course Caitlin had to get her own comments in first. It started with a shrill squeal of shock before she was spinning on her heel and slamming her hands into Matt's shoulders.

   It could have been light hearted. There was every possibility that she didn't mean to hurt him, but you saw the way he winced, the way he stumbled back and bit his tongue in any attempt to keep his noise of pain at bay.

   Caitlin's eyes were wide with fury. “You didn't tell me that!”

   Matt blinked. “I didn't think it was-”

   “You know what? If you two bonded so well on this mission, why don't you just go off with each other, huh?”

   Matt's eyes widened. Your heart stopped, the crowd around you suddenly going eerily silent.

   “Cate-”

   “Don't call me that,” Caitlin hissed, slapping Matt's shoulders yet again. “I have had it up to here with trusting someone who would rather spend more time with some other person than me! I deserve better than that, Matt Holt! Much better!”

    “It's for the mission!” Matt exclaimed. Lance had already awkwardly ducked out of the room, Pidge and Hunk following close behind him. Shiro glanced at you, silently asking whether or not you wanted him to stay to keep track of things – you simply nodded towards the door, giving him all the permission he needed. He grabbed Keith's arm and steered him out of the room, leaving you alone with the arguing couple.

    “It just seems like you want to spend every moment you can with Y/N and not me,” Caitlin was saying. “Why should I put up with that?”

   It was that question that spiked your fury, the genuine tinge of betrayal in her voice. She had the nerve to ask Matt why she should bother with him when he had put up with her bullshit for months now. He had suffered through abuse and insults and being made to feel tiny for her to lose her mind over something as petty and childish as this.

   You gritted your teeth and risked a step forward. “Are you-”

   Caitlin whirled on you. “And you stay out of this, you bitch!” And then she swung her arm, her long nails raking across the flesh of your cheek. You cried out, stumbled back with the force of the blow – it wasn't so much her strength, but more the shock that came with the sudden slap.

   Your eyes watered, blurring your vision, but not enough for you to be unable to see Matt taking a step forward. He grabbed Caitlin around the waist, lifted her behind him even as she kicked and screamed and clawed at the air in any attempt to reach you.

    Matt set her down and immediately rushed to your side. You hadn't even realised you had fallen over until he was beside you, gently stroking the hair away from your neck, whispering words to you that made no sense past the thrumming of blood in your ears.

    Caitlin cried out. “Look at this! You go straight to them even though I'm right here!”

   “Would you just be quiet!” Matt suddenly roared. You flinched back, the volume of his voice stunning you – never before had you heard him be quite so aggressive. This was Matt you were talking about; sweet, delicate Matt who wouldn't hurt a single soul even if his life depended on it.

   He didn't cast her a glance even after he yelled. Caitlin was stunned into silence, her arms wrapped tight around her middle, her eyes firm on the back of Matt's head as she watched him help you up, one hand firm on your elbow to steady you. You could walk. You were perfectly fine bar the scratches currently oozing blood upon your cheek, but you stumbled nonetheless. The shock had gotten to you, the affects of the last two minutes making it difficult for you to even concentrate on a simple task such as walking.

   “Let's go. Come on,” Matt whispered, leading you out the door. He didn't look back at Caitlin, but instead directed you to his room, where he sat you down on the bed before disappearing into the bathroom.

   When he was gone, the ship seemed eerily quiet. You were so used to hearing Caitlin parading around the hallways, giving her usual orders or making her usual snarky remarks. You were used to hearing Shiro in the kitchen giving Lance a lecture on what he should and shouldn't be eating, was so used to Hunk and Colleen talking about the different kinds of plants that could be used within different recipes. You were so used to noise that the sudden silence had you feeling numb, unsure where to direct your thoughts.

   They zoned in on what just happened, no matter how hard you tried to get them to focus elsewhere. Matt's face. Caitlin's words. What she could have done had Matt not grabbed her. What she will do whenever Matt and her finally came face-to-face again.

   You shivered at the thought.

   “Pull my blanket over you if you're cold.”

   You jumped, head snapping towards the bathroom where Matt was standing in the doorway, busy stirring a tablet into some water.

   “I'm fine,” you croaked out. “You look a little shaken up.”

  He did. His eyes were now veined as he tried to fight back tears, his cheeks pale and sunken in.

   He glanced up and shrugged, wading over to you with the cup in his hand. He placed it on the bed side table before hesitantly lowering himself onto the mattress beside you.

    “I didn't know she was gonna go for you.”

   “I know you didn't.” You shrugged. “It doesn't matter. What's done is done now.”

     “You shouldn't be thinking like that. She hurt you, Y/N.”

   You bit your tongue; you so desperately wanted to bring up the fact that she had been hurting him from the very beginning of their relationship, both emotionally and physically. The manipulation you had seen Matt play victim to was scary, and the fact that he was so oblivious to it was even scarier.

   Matt sighed and trailed his hands through his hair. “I'll talk to her. I'll – I'll tell her to get help.”

   “She's not staying on this ship.” Even as you said it, you knew the decision was final. You had family on this ship, people you loved and cared for – you would fight till the ends of the earth if it meant getting her away from them.

   Matt froze. When he spoke, his voice was small and strained with his efforts of not crying. “She can change.”

    “She won't,” you replied bluntly. “She's had her chances, and you know that. So you can either go with her or stay – but I'm not putting my family in danger by keeping her here. Not any more.”

    Matt pushed his palms into his eyes, as if doing so could somehow push this conversation back. “I've been such an idiot, haven't I?”

  Your head jerked in his direction. “What-”

     “You told me on the ship today,” he said. “You told me I was smarter than this, and I am. It's just . . . . I thought I was in love, Y/N.”

   You swallowed thickly. This had definitely not been the direction you had been expecting the conversation to go. You had wanted to talk to him about this issue for months, but now that he was initiating it, every long-willed and emotional speech you had mentally prepared had disappeared into the back of your mind.

    “She treated me well at the start,” he croaked out. “We were happy. And then she got comfortable, thought she could start controlling me, and I let her. I just – did whatever she told me to because I thought that would stop her from lashing out. But then even doing what she said wasn't enough. I couldn't do the things I wanted to do without her getting mad at me, claiming I was leaving her out or favouring someone else over her.”

    “You were being manipulated, Matt. None of us understands how that feels. Nobody can blame you until they've experienced it themselves.”    Matt shook his head, lower lip trembling. “Why did it take her hurting you for me to finally realise who she is?”

   Your breath hitched, the scratches on your face suddenly burning. “I don't – I don't know.”

   “I've never felt so angry at her,” he continued. “She's thrown a glass at me, and I didn't feel as angry at her then as I do now.”

    “Matt-”

   “I'm not thinking straight,” he grumbled, standing up before you had a chance to grab for his arm. He stumbled towards the door, gripping his hair into a ponytail at the nape of his neck before letting it fall and cascade down his back again. “You can leave when you're ready. I'm gonna go and find some fresh air.”

  You made to stand up. “Matt, let's just talk about this. You can't go out there on your own. Not when you're like this.”

   He waved a dismissive hand in your direction, swallowing thickly. For a second, he looked like he was about to say something, but then his eyes fell to the floor and he shook his head, leaving you behind with not a single word spoken.

   +++

     They were arguing again. It sounded bad. Worse than before.

   You were sat upright in bed this time, leaning your head back against the wall with your eyes closed. The covers were draped over the top of your knees, even as they were bunched up to your chest, a way to stabilise yourself as you listened in to Caitlin's screaming and Matt's calm responses that never seemed to get him any further forward.

    Already two glasses had smashed. You heard them crash against the wall, followed abruptly by Matt saying, “You didn't have to do that,” as if his calm and collected demeanour was going to do anything at all for the fury Caitlin was feeling. Caitlin had laughed at him, called him stupid before she went back to screaming at the top of her lungs over something you had yet to catch on to.

    You had a fairly good idea, though. It had to be about earlier, about Matt protecting you over her. There was no other logical explanation, nothing else Matt could have done that would have angered Caitlin so much.

    It must have been around one in the morning when the argument finally started to cease. Caitlin got quieter, no more glasses were being smashed, Matt had gone completely silent-

   And then something crashed against the wall.

   You jerked upright immediately, pure terror sinking through your body. You were scrambling out of the covers before you even had a chance to comprehend what was going on, throwing yourself towards the door and yanking it open just in time for Matt to yank his own bedroom door open and come flooding out. He didn't spare you a glance when he turned the corner and all-but-sprinted down the hallway.

   Your eyes flicked to the open door. Caitlin stood there, gripping the door frame with whitening knuckles, panting heavily. There was blood on her palm, a piece of glass dropped to the floor beside her; she looked insane. She looked utterly, completely insane and there was a side of you now that wanted to dive towards her and pummel her.

     But you glanced back down the hallway to where Matt had just fled, and you realised that he was much more important than her.

   You turned back to Caitlin. “What did you do to him?”

   She looked up at you through the tips of her eyelids, her dark hair scraggled and hanging in her eyes. She didn't give you a proper answer, merely shrugged and said, “I'm sure he wants you right now, so you can find out then.”

    You didn't have time to argue, didn't have time to piece together her snide little comment. You shoved yourself off the door frame and dashed down the hall towards Matt, heart thumping at a million miles per hour; he was going to be hurt. He was going to be hurt, and heartbroken, because maybe now he had finally come to terms with the truth. No matter how evil you saw Caitlin, no matter how evil she genuinely was, Matt had loved her at one point. He had been so deep beneath her spell that, despite the abuse she had given him, he still would have gone to the ends of the earth for her.

   You rounded the corner, and there he was.

   Curled up at the end of the hallway, half hidden behind shadows cast from the window above him. He rubbed at his wrist roughly, something he always did when he was fighting off the urge to cry; you had seen it many of times, and every single time, it completely broke your heart.

    “Matt,” you choked out. He didn't look up. He didn't really need to. He simply closed his eyes and let his head fall forward, letting the first few tears slip down his cheeks. He was with you now. He could cry if he wanted to.

    You kneeled down beside him and placed a gentle hand on his arm. He stopped rubbing his wrist, glanced up at you and shook his head; it was a simple gesture, one that portrayed his message perfectly.

   It's over.

   You nodded back, pulling his hand into your lap and intertwining your fingers with his. He shuffled closer to you, his knee clipping against your own, and the two of you sat in the warm comfort that came with the silence. Neither of you needed to talk. Neither of you needed to comfort the other person, or make up some bullshit excuse as to why you were sitting in a hallway with tears streaming down your face – just being there, with Matt by your side and his hand in your own, was enough for you. It was enough for both of you.

     Hours must have passed before the silence was finally shattered and Matt spoke up. His voice was groggy, thick with unshed tears and memories of what – you hoped – he was leaving behind.

    “I should have listened to you.”

   You rubbed your thumb against his own. “You don't have to think about her any more. I'll make sure – I'll make sure you're safe.”

    “I don't want pity.”

   “I'm not giving you pity. I'm being a good friend.”

   Matt closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall.

   “What did it?” you asked before your nerve could splinter. He creaked open one eye, pinched his brows together in confusion. You inhaled before elaborating. “What did she do this time that was so different from all them other times? What made you finally decide to leave?”

    Matt didn't stiffen, didn't shy away from the personal question. His grip on your hand tightened that little bit more before he opened both of his eyes and glanced down at your joined fingers. Bracelets hung loosely around his wrist, the string tickling your flesh but you did not pull away. Not when he started messing idly with your fingers, plucking each one and letting it snap back against his leg in a way you could only describe as childish.

   It was nice to see him relax for a change.

    “She threatened to kill you.”

   Your breath left you in one clean swoop. Your head snapped round, eyes wide and heart thundering – and yet you did not move, even though every instinct in your body was screaming for you to stand up and confront Caitlin before she could become even more of a threat. That was what you had been trained to do – dismiss the threat, get rid of anyone who may be willing to hurt you or your family.

    But you stayed beside Matt, staring at the side of his head as the world tilted and disappeared until it was only him that you could properly concentrate on.

    He pursed his lips, not looking at you when he continued. “She's not safe to be around. I should have realised that sooner, but – but before, she was just hurting me. Mentally, physically, but it was just me and I could deal with that. But then tonight...” He bit his lip, started messing with the ring on your finger. “Tonight she said she was going to kill you, and I snapped. I realised what you had been telling me was true the entire time, so I stormed out. She tried to throw a glass at my head when I was walking out, but I think she ended up cutting herself instead-”

   “She did,” you burst out, because you just needed to talk, just needed to say something. “She – She sliced her palm open.”

   Matt nodded. “I didn't go back even though I heard her cry out.” He looked at you. “That's – That's progress, isn't it? I can – I can get over her.”

   You had never been one for affection. You had been trained in the art of being completely heartless when you needed to be, but it was different with Matt. You reached over, wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug before you could think about your own actions – and it was natural.

   His head dipped into the crook of your neck and it was there that he started crying. There were no sobs, no racking shoulders and hysteric screams. The only sign you really had that he was finally letting go was the damp tears sliding onto your flesh. You reached up and ran your hands through his hair, letting him cry because this was what he needed. It was what he had needed for months, and you were honoured to be the one he trusted enough to finally let it happen.

   +++

    “Happy Valentines Day!”

    You looked up, startled at the sudden loud noise that had emitted from the doorway. With your headphones dangling around your ears and your sweatpants rolled up to your knees, you did not look ready to go on a surprise Valentines Day date.

    Which seemed to be exactly what Matt had planned.

   He stood in the doorway wearing his Spiderman pyjamas, an unopened cake in his hand alongside a bottle of wine that you knew neither of you would finish. It was the same every celebration – Matt would spend plenty of money on alcohol, only for you to both get so absorbed in conversation that you would forget about it until it no longer interested you.

   Your computer and the work within it went ignored as you stood up and dashed towards the door, grabbing the cake out of Matt's hands. He smiled at you.

   “That's the first thing you grab for?” he teased, raising a brow.

   You grinned, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips before you span on your heel and dashed back towards the bed, flopping down upon it with the boxed cake balancing on your knee. “Where did you find the time to do all this?”

   “It wasn't difficult,” he replied, sitting down next to you, pulling two forks out of his back pocket. “Not when you've been working all day. I've barely seen you.”

   You sighed. “I'm sorry. I'm a bit behind on work, and-”

   “Don't apologise,” he scoffed, shoving the fork into your hand. “I can see you now, and that's all I care about. Now, let's eat.” He stretched out across the bed, placing one hand behind his head. “And tell me all about how your Valentines Day without your boyfriend has been.”

   You rolled your eyes. “You really know how to make a person feel bad.”

  He grinned. “I'm teasing. I know how hard you work.” He sat bolt upright. “But from here until tomorrow morning, you're not doing any more work. We're gonna take as many hours out of Valentines Day as we possibly can, whether we-”

    You cut him off by crying out, the cake on your fork having spilled and landed directly on your shirt.

    Matt's flinch was unmistakable, as you had seen it plenty of times before. His entire body jerked, his hands flying up to cover his face as if he expected you to swing for him – it broke your heart every time it happened.

   As soon as his eyes met yours and he realised what had happened, he relaxed. He rolled his eyes, pretending he hadn't just completely lost himself for a moment in believing you were going to hurt him. He leaned forward and started dabbing at the front of your shirt, shaking his head like a disappointed dad.

   But whilst he was used to his own reflexes, you couldn't let it drop like that. You stared at him for a moment, before reaching up and taking his hand in your own. He froze, shocked at the sudden movement, risked giving you a tiny, confused smile before you leaned in and pressed your lips to his own.

   He hummed against your mouth, eyes widening for only a moment before he pulled away and raised a brow. “What was that for?”

   “She's gone,” you whispered, and he froze. “You know I'd never hurt you, Matt. You don't have to be scared any more.”

   Matt's features softened with realisation. He hadn't even fully noticed that he had flinched, that he still flinched every time a loud noise sounded around him. It had been two years since Caitlin had been banished from the castle ship, and still the remains of her abuse lingered in the back of Matt's brain.

   He pressed his forehead to your own. “I know. It's reflex. I'm – I'm sorry.”

  “Don't apologise,” you said, quoting his previous words. “I love you.”

    Matt smiled, pressed a soft kiss to the tip of your nose before he whispered, “I love you more.”

[captainharunanase]

Sigh...

I had Allurance for a moment only for vld to make it a ghost ship with Lance now forever pining after Allura's death.

Shiro was finally able to be the "White Paladin" of the team but he barely interacted with them or even looked at Keith.

Hunk and Pidge had amazing screentime but Matt and a few others got sidelined and forgotten.

And Keith? He apparently wasn't even in Shiro's "wedding" with that rando--Curtis--even though he pretty much has been implying since s1 that Shiro is his family and his guiding light so therefore someone he would always be there for especially in his ups and downs of life.

Sheith held on all this time only to act like coworkers in the finale but not anything more like they have forgotten how to be best friends until it was convenient for the plot.

And Allura? The girl who lost everything? She ended up being almost like Honerva--sacrificing everything that is her to help her new family get their happy endings even though she could never attain hers.

I loved the fighting, the mecha transformations, the development of the MFEs, the plot, and the final showdown against Haggar but--

--To give Lance and Allura happiness and hint on giving her a new belonging only to stripe it away as a "price" all while "subtlety" diminishing Keith and Shiro's importance to each other to make their disjointed individual endings "make sense" outside of their s1-s7 buildup and somehow mesh both ships to fail in the end as a "this was the only way to save the universe" ploy-----

--Despite the damn show constantly paralleling the lesson on how Zaggar's love turned to a twisted hate that destroyed the universe and it was up to literally Allurance and even Sheith's love that actually saved the galaxy throughout the series--

----Only to rip both ships off as a sacrifice to satisfy the plot just enough to "justify" their demise as a means to an end. That metaphorical 'smoking gun' we expected to go off at the end? Over Allurance and Sheith? Was nothing but an illusion and wasn't even loaded to begin with apparently.

It is aggravating and disappointing.

I really loved this whole season but that last episode completely went against it's own theme.

They wouldn't have let Allura sake herself let alone let her do it alone--even with Honerva.

Lance wouldn't have even accepted the thought of Allura with that dark entity in her for long or even allow her to die or even worse be forced to love her ghost for the rest of his human life.

Allura wouldn't have wanted Lance to pine after her and not move on from her. She wouldn't have asked that of him by giving him her marks as a way of keeping a part of her quintessence in him.

Keith wouldn't just estrange himself from the one person that made up his whole universe especially after his oath to Shiro of always being there. He, at least, should have been the best man in the wedding if he was the selfless type to watch the canonical love of his life get with someone else.

And Shiro? He wouldn't have remained sidelined til the very end when they only needed him for his Atlas to only help boost Voltron and he clearly, while became a pseudo-Paladin for a moment, did not make any direct change or impact on the 6-man team. He especially should have had a direct moment of any form of romantic attraction with someone in the show and not as a damn fucking footnote of a "One Year Later" offscreen and unwritten romance with a character we didn't even know the name of at first nor should Shiro's final arc be seen as a "oh btw he got married and retired? Idk we keeping it vague so we give you lgbt rep!"

Despite the clearly, already written in the show, deeper bond he has had with Keith since even before s1 and that now makes his supposed bond with Keith a moot point and now unnecessary since it did not deliver in any way or reach a pinnacle in the climax nor did it have any proper closure to even indicate whether it could have or couldn't have been in the first place.

I have a lot of amazing points I would have shared earlier if I hadn't watched the last episode but that last scene completely turned the whole s8 around it's own head and practically told it to go fuck itself.

They try to amend it with a cheap superficial "Praise Allura Day" and despite a few of the team indeed having some form of ending--the main cast which consists of Keith, Shiro, Allura and yes Lance too by his association with her as her boyfriend--was literally given the short end of the stick.

Keith was sidelined and not allowed to act but be an observer at the end with none of his usual prowess, Lance now forever will chase after Allura's ghost and be haunted by her, Allura, herself, died for literally no reason than to right Honerva and Zarkon's wrongs, and Shiro wasn't allowed to even be a part of his paladin family and only there to remind people--at the last 5 seconds--that he's gay and apparently not single anymore with literally a no-name guy (actually it's Curtis but I had to look that shit up) that looked too much like Adam for my liking and while completely disregarding everything he did for Keith and vise versa.

Man that last episode is like Bleach's last chapter.

A completely different almost rewritten reality from the entire series itself. It overturned all the canonization of seven seasons under one episode.

And whether it was DreamWorks or JDS & LM's doing is irrelevant.

While it was an incredibly impactful season it did it with a fucking high cost.

Not about the ships per say--except Allurance for why make it happen only to destroy them immediately later?--but rather the complete turn arounds it had to do to try and justify why they made it that way.

That is what's so aggravating and disappointing.

Not the plot.

But the writing standpoint of trying to explain plotpoint A to upside down B. In a way, they became Haggar themselves and rewrote B and inverted it to make no sense whatsoever but pretend that it was "the only way" for it to end.

I expected an open ending for Sheith or actual development of Keith with Acxa and Shiro with Curtis if need be--and it had to be extremely good--but they couldn't even do that right.

And Allurance? They planned for Lance and Allura since the beginning but apparently the price Lance had to pay for his happy ending was her life out of the blue and at the last second.

And that hurts me.

This isn't as bad as Bleach's notorious ending but this is a definite close second at how they completely turned things around to try and make the ships happen just so they can fail while preaching how the theme of vld is found family and true love saving the universe.

Too bad the main trio--plus Lance now too--weren't allowed to partake in that lesson or in true happiness.

I still love Allurance and I will always love Sheith.

But what they did to Allura and Shiro completely ruined both Lance and Keith's endings.

And that breaks my heart to see it as the price they paid for daring to love them and trying to make them happy.

Lance can't truly be happy now since he can't move on and let Allura go or rather he won't to keep her memory alive in him.

And Keith didn't even get to watch the man he loved get with someone else and is now estranged from his best friend he swore he loved so much he literally was willing to die with Shiro and allow the universe to pay for it.

And what of Pidge and Hunk? We know what they accomplished but what about their personal lives? Is Hunk with Shay? Is Pidge still single? Is Matt still with his girlfriend? What of Acxa and the others? It is so vague with no clear answer and that is also disheartening.

Ah, sorry for my ramble. I stayed up to watch it from 3am and it's now almost 9am as I finish typing this jumbled vent post.

I'm both happy it's over and saddened it ended that way. While I didn't expect Sheith to happen I never imagined it like this and while I hoped for Allurance I didn't want them to pay the price for loving each other to the point of ending them.

I'm sad but I won't take it out on the writers--idk if I trust them at the moment--but I am still grateful they gave me Shiro and so many other characters to love.

I just hope they understand what they did and how much they disappointed nearly everyone with this "twist" ending.

Imma go sleep now I still have a lot to process.

I thought we'd get to see them all get happy endings but apparently only half of them did.

And last but not least no one suffered more than Coran when he found out--I feel so broken for him the most since he couldn't keep the promise to King Alfor to keep Allura safe--which is what his whole point in life was and what defined him as both a mentor and father-uncle figure to Allura and his new family.

And I think that's the one that hurts the most.

Okay I'm tired and sleepy so I'll be sure to interact with yall later for better analysis of s8 when I'm in a better state of mind.

Peace out yall.

Edit: Keith apparently IS in the wedding but he’s literally behind Shiro the whole time that it took me a few rewinds to see his ponytail and slight show of his profile. Geez way to hide him from the camera angle DW it almost made it look like he wasn’t even there if you didn’t pay attention behind Shiro and gave us the impression he wasn't there to begin with.

[tybalt-tisk]

.consider it handled

// Shallura {protect au} Summary: Allura just wanted to have a peaceful workout. Warnings: Flirting, Fake Dating.  Also on Ao3 // Also, I did add a Read More option, but sometimes Tumblr hates ya girl.

.~.xXx.~.

Sometimes Allura was too nice. She knew that. It was one of the few things everyone knew about the princess. She always had the tendency to disguise how she truly felt behind a dazzling smile and uphold the regal composure that took years of etiquette classes to master. Sure, on more than one occasion, it had landed her in her fair share of easily avoidable situations when she gave people the benefit of the doubt when she knew she shouldn’t have, but it was never anything she couldn’t handle.

Until now.

Now, at this exact moment in time, while she was trying to complete her workout, she was doing everything in her power to remember her training by refraining herself from driving her fist directly into the mouth of the arrogant man who was desperately trying to get her number. He had been at it for far longer than she would have liked and even though she kindly rejected him, more than she could possibly remember, the man just couldn’t seem to take the hint. Her smile wavered with every obnoxious word that left the man’s lips and her fingers itched to find a new home in his mouth.

With perfect form, she did another forward lunge and masked her irritation with a deep breath that could be easily mistaken for exhaustion. Well, it wasn’t far off because she was exhausted. Just mentally. With him.

The only reason why she chose this gym was so she could have a peaceful workout. It was just far away from home so she could remain unrecognized most of the time, but just close enough so she could return within the hour in case something came up. For the past month, she enjoyed this gym; it was spacious, clean, and it had various activities, like yoga and spin classes she could attend if she ever felt the need to. All in all, it was a very nice gym...except for him.

The man laughed at his own joke and it almost made her sneer. “I was just thinking that. Ya know since we both like purple…” Allura feared that if she rolled her eyes one more time, they’d get stuck like that. This man was saying anything and everything to woo her even if it meant resorting to him assuming that her favorite color was purple simply because it was the color of her oversized tank top. “...that me and you could…”

“You and I,” she corrected under her breath with another lunge forward.

The man made a questioning sound. “You say something, darlin’?”

She shook her head innocently with a forced smile. “No, I didn’t say a thing.” She’d lost count of how many lunges she put her left leg through, but the burning sensation told her that it was time to switch to the right.

He leaned heavily on the machine next to him and folded his arms over his puffed out chest. “Anyway, yeah, what do you say to me picking you later tonight for a little...one-on-one time?” He finished the vain proposal with a wiggle of his eyebrows and Allura couldn’t help the subtle snort that left her lips at the ridiculous attempt to look...literally anything but sexy. This man was persistent, arrogant, and vain. What an unfortunate combination of shitty characteristics.

She quickly finished her set before she turned to him and wiped the sweat off her brow. “Look, I’m very flattered by your...persistence, Jerry.”

“The name’s Gavin.” She knew his name, but she was irritated.

She expertly hid a smirk under an artificial look of confusion. “Mason?” she responded absentmindedly with a fictitious frown as she picked up the various weights and placed them back in their appropriate locations.

“Gavin,” he said a bit louder, just in case she didn’t hear him over the sound of grunts and the machinery around them.

After she placed the weights back, she freed her hair from its loose ponytail so she could redo it tighter. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and raked her fingers through the strands to work out the newly formed tangles and knots. “Michael, please don’t make this hard for me…”

He suddenly clapped his hands together once as if he just witnessed an impressive trick. “How did you know my middle name?” he asked enthusiastically and Allura suppressed a groan at her accidental discovery. Out of all of the names she threw out, she just had to pick the one he identified with. “Wow, we have such a deep connection! Amazing!”

“Yeah...amazing,” she said sarcastically, fixing her hair. This was getting old and her patience was wearing dangerously thin. She decided then and there that she had finally had enough. “Gavin, listen to me and please listen to me carefully. I do not want to go out to dinner with you. I do not want to catch a movie with you. I do not want to take a long walk on the beach with you and talk about ‘our future together’,” she finished her sentence off with air quotes. She looked him square in the eye and spoke with the same authoritative voice that she used when she commanded the attention of the room. “I want nothing to do with you. Now, please leave me alone so I can continue my workout in peace. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”

Gavin seemed taken aback at her tone as the words started to sink in and for a moment, for a sweet, blissful moment; one filled with silence and the peace she longed for, Allura thought she finally had reached through to him.

He nodded slowly. “I think I get it,” he said with a roguish grin. “You just want to skip all the formalities and go right to the bedroom, don’t ya?”

Something snapped within her, and all of the training her etiquette tutors spent years embedding into her flew directly out the window. Allura didn’t think twice as she brought her balled fist back so she could deck the arrogant man who dared considered he even had a sliver of a chance with her, but before she surged it forward, a firm but familiar grip caught her wrist and eased it down to her side smoothly in one fluid motion.

“Hey babe, we still on for dinner tonight at your Dad’s place?” Allura didn’t need to look back to know exactly who just saved this idiot’s two front teeth. The arrogant man’s vision was so clouded with his own self-inflated ego, that he didn’t even know his, so-called, good looks were in danger of the princess’ wrath.          

It took a moment, but when she realized exactly what he had said, her eyes darted to meet his and she knew exactly what he was doing. Her bodyguard was only confrontational when he needed to be and right now, he was looking for a way to let the guy down easy, even if Allura wanted to do anything but that at this point. Shiro raised his brows as if he had asked her an unspoken question when she didn’t immediately respond. She narrowed her eyes but reluctantly followed his lead with a huff and relaxed her fist.

Within a fraction of a second, all of her training rushed back to her and she sent him the perfect smile. “Of course, but remember we need to stop by that cute little bakery I like so we can pick up dessert because I won’t have the time to make anything.”

Shiro released her wrist when he realized that she wasn’t going to follow through with her assault on the poor, unsuspecting man. “Okay, that’s fine. I’ll pick up a pie on the way home,” he lied smoothly. “Your dad’s allergic to apples, right? Or is it cherries?”

“Rhubarb,” she corrected him casually, even though the allergy was completely fabricated information about the reigning king.

Shiro made a sour face. “Great, rhubarb is trash anyway.”

“It’s absolutely delicious, you just have trash taste buds.” She turned her back to him then handed him her hair tie over her shoulder.

Shiro rolled his eyes. Of course, she would take this fake dinner date opportunity to make him fix her hair. But he’s not complaining. He’ll never complain. He absolutely loves the way her soft hair felt against his fingers. Although sometimes, the strand did tend to snag on his metal joints, thankfully he’s gotten better at keeping it to a minimum.

He rolled the elastic hair tie that’s seen better days onto his wrist before he gathered her thick curls in his hands. He finger-combed her scalp to wrangle in runaway strands before he secured her hair into a neat ponytail that left them both slightly surprised.

“Hell yeah,” he mumbled to himself, praising his small victory.

She looked over herself in the mirror that covered the entire back wall of the gym and tightened her new ponytail from the base. “Not bad, Shirogane.” She turned back to face him and was surprised and equally annoyed to see that Gavin was still there, looking back and forth between the two. Even when she was clearly “taken”, the obnoxious man still couldn’t even grasp the mere concept that she wasn’t interested in him.  

Her irritation must have shown because Shiro reached forward to grab her by the hips and gently, he pulled her closer to him. She came to him without the slightest ounce of hesitation and without being prompted to, she casually brought her arms up to rest atop his shoulders. With her in his arms and with him in hers, he almost forgot it was a charade they were acting out. He knew it was dangerous to be with her like this - for this to feel all too natural to him. It was such an intimate position but strangely enough, it felt like he’d done it a million times before.

Maybe because he did.

He’s held her like this plenty of times. Like when they were at formal events and she gave him a look that told him that she wanted to dance. He’s never told her no and using the simple steps she’d taught him, she allowed always him to lead her gracefully around the dance floor. Or when she brought out the teenage rebel in him when she wanted to sneak out of her luxurious home, “the old fashioned way” as she so elegantly put it, and he’d had to help her down from the second story when he knew damn well she was capable of doing it herself.

...Or when it just the two of them on those quiet nights when the manor was asleep and the only thing left for them to do was to explore the boundaries of the friendship they are both painfully aware that went well beyond what separate friendship from duty from something else he was always scared to admit out loud.

“What time do you want to leave?” he asked, breaking himself away from his runaway thoughts.

She made a thoughtful face. “I want to get there around 7:30,” she told him.

He looked at his watch to check the time, not that it even mattered. “Okay, I’ll do one more round, then I’ll head out and grab the pie on the way home. Don’t stay here too long because you know how long it takes you to get ready.” Unlike the rest of their ruse, that part was him speaking nothing but the truth. Sometimes, she could be a brat and she’d take forever to get dressed. Most of the time, it was because she was too busy pestering him, and other times, she simply didn’t want to go, so she waited until the very last possible moment before she started to even consider getting herself together.

She pouted and clicked her tongue. “I do not.”

“Oh, you might think that you don’t, but you do.” She playfully jabbed him on the shoulder in retaliation, knowing damn well that he was right.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gavin watching them intensely as if he was waiting for Shiro to leave so he could make his move on her again. He felt Allura’s irritation rub off onto him. What was with this guy? What did it take to get him to beat it?

In front of him, Allura giggled and she gave him a look that he’s seen plenty of times - when they glided around the dancefloor, when he helped her sneak out, and when it was just the two of them late at night hidden away from the harsh reality of the world and their position in it. He knew this look all too well and it always signaled for the one thing he’s never given to her.

But he’d be damned if he gave in to her now because some jackass that couldn’t read a room.

Instead, he hooked a single finger under her tank and pulled her close until her lips almost met his. She watched his mouth move as he spoke just loud enough so Gavin could hear what he was going to say next.  “Also, I want my tank back.” He almost laughed out loud when he heard Gavin release an annoyed gasp, followed by a few brash words.

She smirked at the man’s reaction and caught her bottom lip between her teeth, both out of spite for the arrogant man and also to tease Shiro with one of the many things she did that she knew drove him wild. If they were playing a game, then she might as well play to her advantage. She knew she hit her intended target when the hand that still rested on her hip tightened in warning.

She laughed to herself before she released her lip so she could speak. “I don’t think I can do that because it looks better on me.” Once again, the lines were blurred between the show they put on and the playful nature that was their undefined relationship.

He shrugged. “You look a’ight.”

She looked amazing.

Seeing her wear his clothes always stirred something within him. She had enough money in the world to wear the latest fashions, but instead, she chose to raid his closet for her casual attire. He still hasn’t seen his favorite hoodie. Well, no that was a lie because he’s seen it. On her.

When he was sure that Gavin had finally retreated somewhere deep into the gym, probably to cancel his membership, he stepped away from Allura. “You alright?”

She nodded. “Of course, and it's all thanks to my knight in sweaty joggers,” she laughed.

“I would have come sooner, but you keep insisting that you can handle these types of things.” His sentence was laced with sarcasm. Of course, if Gavin had displayed any type of aggressive behavior, he would have stepped in before the man even told her his name. But a subtle hand signal from Allura kept him at bay.

“And I was about to handle it until you showed up and pretended that you were my boyfriend,” she responded full of confidence with her head held high.

He raised a thick brow. “You call laying that guy out, ‘handling it’?”

She used him for balance while she stretched her legs for her upcoming jog on the treadmill. “As a matter of fact, I do. I can bet you my horse in The Netherlands that if I would have handled it the way I intended to, he wouldn't have ever bothered me again.”

Shiro snorted. She was completely right, she would have made her message clear as day if she had done it her way. She may be petite compared to his large frame, but the tiny princess had a mean left hook that was nothing to take lightly. He knew for a fact that he saved Gavin and not the fight club princess who was ready to throw hands. But also, “Who the hell bets a whole horse?”

She walked away with a flip of her new ponytail. “People who have horses to bet, of course.” She made it sound like he should already know this. “I guess it's time for cardio.” She looked almost defeated by admitting it.

Shiro laughed at her tone. “You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”

“Because it is,” she whined. Allura only liked to work out to keep her body healthy. Sure, there were certain activities she liked to do, but there’s one thing she hated more than anything and that was running. She definitely had the stamina to jog five miles easily, but her laziness tended to peek through and stunted that trek down to only two or three. Shiro lost count of how many times she dragged him out of bed for a morning run, only for her to give up at their further point and call for a taxi.

“You’re a drama queen, you know that?” He leaned her over to the treadmill and leaned over the frame as she programmed it for a steady walk.

“I am not a drama queen.” She increased the speed to a light pace she could be comfortable with before she placed her headphones into her ears. “I’m a drama princess.” She gave him a purposely cheesy wink before she fully started her cardio session and Shiro shook his head before he ventured off to finish his own workout.

.~.xXx.~.

Allura wiped the sweat off her brow once she finished her run. It wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be. She actually made herself proud at the fact that she ran for a lot longer than she usually did, but she felt like she needed to make up the extra cardio from all the time Gavin wasted trying to woo her.

Allura took a long drink of water before she came to the decision that she was done putting her body through hell for the day. She wrapped her headphones around her cell before she left to search for Shiro in the massive gym.  

She immediately knew where he was. Unlike her, who just did what she pleased at the gym, Shiro had a strict schedule that he religiously stuck to. Today was arm day for him and along with a few reps using the equipment, he also liked to work on his agility in the boxing ring.

She heard him before she saw him. The hard jabs that met his opponents punch mitts echoed throughout the room and it gathered a crowd who looked on in awe. She found a gap in the crowd and approached the edge of the ring so she could watch him as he went through the speed drills. His feet were silent and his hands were quick and powerful as they met their target with deadly precision. He showed perfect form when he followed two quick jabs to the right with a hard left hook and a tuck to the right. The action happened so fast, she almost missed it.

His steel grey eyes were focused on their target and they held a different light than what she was used to seeing. It was like he wasn’t her Shiro. The Shiro she knew was always so kind and gentle with her that she always forgot that he could be extremely dangerous when he needed to be. He had been top of his class after all.

Beside her, a few women swooned at the sight and she rolled her eyes. Gavin and these ladies would get along just great, she thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro saw a flash of white. He knew he had gathered a crowd but none of them phased him like she did. Right now was the absolute worst time to be distracted, not during a speed drill. He twisted his body to evade an incoming punch before he gave a precise combination of jabs and hooks.

When the whistle blew, both praised the other for their participation. Shiro unfastened his gloves before he made his way to Allura who was stood at the side of the ring. His face heated at the realization of how many people had gathered around to watch him.

She handed him her water bottle so he could take a well-needed drink. “You’re so cute when you blush,” she teased loud enough so the gossiping ladies could hear her. They immediately went silent when they watched Shiro take her offered water.

“I thought I was cute all the time?” he caught her tease and threw it right back at her.

She folded her arms over her chest and raised a brow. “And what hussy told you that?”

He finished off the rest of the water before he handed it back to her. “You did, ya hussy.” He laughed at his own joke and she couldn’t help but join in. He squatted down to her level. It was rare that she watched him do his drills. She always tended to keep her space from him until it was time to leave or if something was bothering her. His face suddenly turned serious and she saw the same dark look flash in his eyes when he was focused in the ring. “Is that man bothering you again?”

She quickly shook her head. She was glad that Gavin gave up on her because there was no saving him if Shiro took him as a serious threat. “Nope,” she said lightly. “However, something is on my mind.”

“What is it?” he said quickly. When she disclosed something to him, he always took it seriously, regardless of the severity.

“What time should I be ready?”

Huh?

She didn’t have anything scheduled tonight. Along with being her bodyguard, he was also sometimes her personal assistant. He knew of every event, every public appearance, and every trip she had coming up within the next two months memorized down to the hotels they were staying into the roads they would be using. When he couldn’t think of what she was referring to, he furrowed his brows in confusion.

She rocked on the balls of her feet causally and her crystal blue eyes danced with mischief. “You promised me a date tonight, Shirogane,” she said playfully. “Or did you forget already?”

Shiro searched her eyes, looking for any sort of indication if she was joking or not. There were ladies around ogling his form, so maybe she was just returning to their little charade they played earlier.

But then…

She always told him that she’d get him to take her out one day, and he did. He did every single time she asked, but it was always in good fun...that always ended with a missed opportunity.  But now, he could tell that she meant it.

He smiled at her warmly before he brought her knuckles to his lips. “How does 8:30 sound, Princess?”

“It’s perfect.”

.~.xXx.~.

Also, I’m really considering making this an actual story. One with a storyline and character development, but I’m unsure. Let me know! 

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Just Another Cinderella Story (Chapter 4 - Final)

-Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy who was left in the care of his uncaring stepmother. Raised in a life of servitude and seeing his stepbrother lavished with praise and given everything he desired, the boy knew there was only one way he would ever be free. If their dreams of marrying into a life of luxury came true, then he would be left with his childhood home and he would finally be able to turn his life around.

Of course, Fate often has other plans in mind.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune

- - - - -

4. Dianthus caryophyllus

Keith sat next to Curtis in the wooden cart, his father's clothing still damp and sticking uncomfortably to his skin. The horses pulling the cart plodded happily down the well-traveled path, completely unbothered by the darkness of the forest around them.

“You can stop here,” Keith said.

Curtis urged the horses to slow with a gentle tug of the reigns. “Are you sure? I'm sure Shiro is asleep, but you can still come over and get cleaned up before you go home.”

Keith shook his head. “I'll be okay. It's a shorter walk from here.”

“If you're sure...”

Another tug of the reigns brought the horses to a complete stop, allowing Keith to hop out of the wagon and back onto solid ground. He didn't immediately begin walking and instead remained where he landed as he gathered his thoughts enough to ask a single question: “Did you know about Pidge?”

“Yes,” Curtis said. “She came to us and called herself Pidge the first time she visited, but once Shiro was able to save her brother, Prince Matt, she admitted who she really was. When she kept up her trips to see us, we thought it best for her safety if we continued to use her nickname. None of us ever meant to lie to you, Keith. It was all to keep her safe.”

That much Keith could understand. However, he and Pidge spent hours talking at the ball and some of that time had been about the princess herself! Why hadn't she said anything?

Keith needed time to calm down and think.

“Thanks for the ride, Curtis. I...” Keith stopped and shook his head. “Tell Shiro I'll be by when I get a chance?”

“Of course,” Curtis agreed easily.

Keith bid him goodnight and then set off for home, trying to sort out his tangled mess of feelings. He needed to approach it logically, however difficult the sting of betrayal made that. (Was it really betrayal? Maybe that was too strong of a word.) He had known Pidge was of noble birth. That much had been clear from the start, so why was the news of her being the princess so difficult for him to accept?

He had spent the night dancing with Princess Katie.

Princess Katie, who Lotor was determined to make his bride.

Keith wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the bizarre situation he found himself in. At least he knew there was no way Pidge would ever marry his stepbrother, even if he hadn't given her a warning. She was far too smart to fall for Lotor's lies.

For the time, his home was safe. Keith could breathe easily at that.

He focused on that little fact for the rest of his walk home. When he finally got back to the dark manor, he set to work on arranging things so Lotor and Honerva would never know he'd been away. He lit the lanterns at the front door and then hurried inside to turn on a few of the other lights in the entryway and up the staircase to the family suite.

With that done, Keith could focus on himself. He hurried to his own room, which was a converted pantry next to the kitchen, and stripped out of his wet clothing to put on his threadbare sleeping clothes. He hung up his father's suit to dry and then reached back to remove the mask, but his fingers encountered nothing.

There was a rush of hot fear as he realized it had come loose when he and Pidge fell in the fountain. He could only hope no one had seen him as he fled the gardens. Without the mask, he had no protection. His identity was bare for everyone to see.

Keith took a deep breath. He had to believe that everything was alright. There was no one else in the gardens who could have seen him, aside from Pidge's white-haired guard, and he doubted the woman cared enough to look into who he was.

Everything would be fine.

- - - - - 

Pidge laid in her bed, holding a red mask up in front of her face as she examined every little detail about it. What she initially thought were feathers, was actually tiny red flower buds groups together to form feather-like bundles. Tiny glittery spheres poked out between some of them.

If she hadn't known about Shiro's magic, she would have spent hours trying to figure out how it was made and where it came from.

She sighed as she sat up. Ever since her escapade in the garden, she'd been under stricter watch than normal, with two guards posted outside her bedroom door and another pair beneath her window. No matter where she went there was always someone watching her. Pidge was quickly reaching her breaking point and had several ideas of how she could get away for at least a little while, though she would have to wait a few more days before attempting that again.

It wouldn't be too difficult as long as she chose the right moment.

A knock of the door drew Pidge out of her musings and she quickly hid the mask beneath her pillow before calling out: “come in!”

Allura stepped inside her room, dressed in her more casual uniform and with her hair pulled back into a thick ponytail. She bowed to her princess before saying anything. “Your parents requested to see you. I believe it's about your behavior at the ball.”

Pidge did her best not to groan as she slowly slid out of bed. She smoothed out her dress to try and rid it of any obvious wrinkling and then double checked her hair in the mirror. Once she deemed herself presentable enough she followed Allura out of the room, the posted guards easily falling into step behind them as they walked through the halls.

The night of the ball, Pidge had taken the time to explain to her parents everything that happened. How she'd already known Keith thanks to her visits with Shiro and how he caught her when she fell, which was how they ended up in the fountain. While they were sympathetic, they also agreed that, above all else, no one else could find out that she was alone with a man for several hours, nor that they ended up in the fountain together.

It would cause a scandal.

Luckily, the only other person who knew about what happened was Allura, whose loyalty to the royal family was unparalleled.

It was for that reason that Pidge wasn't anxious about her parents wanting to speak with her. They likely wanted to ask for her opinion about her possible suitors now that everything was calming down so they could move forward with whatever plans they'd been making behind closed doors.

The great double-doors were opened as she approached and she nodded to the guards on either side as she strode into the throne room. Allura remained near the doors as they closed, keeping a respectful distance from the royal family while Pidge walked over to her parents – King Sam and Queen Colleen - and warmly greeted each of them with a hug.

“We have news, Katie,” King Sam said cheerfully. “Matt will be returning home in three days to give Princess Romelle a tour of our kingdom.”

Pidge found herself beaming back at her father. “That's great! I'm glad his courtship is going well.”

“Speaking of courtship, we have received news from the eligible nobles regarding your own. It seems news of your... dalliance has reached ears outside of the castle,” said Queen Colleen.

Pidge was about to open her mouth to defend herself and Keith, but the weight of her mother's words quickly sank in. In a single swoop, her good mood evaporated, leaving her feeling light-headed from shock. “But how?”

“We are looking into it,” King Sam said. “The thing is, it leaves us in a delicate position. None of them seem willing to overlook the fact that you were alone with an unknown man for several hours. We can hope that if we give it a few days the rumors will begin to die down, but we cannot rely on that.”

“Keith and I didn't do anything wrong!” Pidge protested. “We just talked. That's it.”

Queen Colleen's gaze softened. “We know, darling, but you have to look at this from an outside perspective. It's why we have increased your guard. You must tread carefully if we are going to navigate this to our advantage.”

In other words, Pidge would be watched day and night and would have to make a number of public appearances to restore her good name. Every one of her actions would have to be carefully considered. There would be no sneaking off to visit Shiro. And there was absolutely no way she would be able to get away and speak with Keith, to explain why she kept her identity a secret and apologize to him for not telling him sooner.

That was the worst part.

She genuinely enjoyed Keith's company. He was the first friend she made who had nothing to do with her duties as princess, even when considering Shiro and Curtis, who she met when searching for a way to help save her brother. She wanted the chance to get to know him better. To spend more time with him. She wanted to help him find a way to save his father's home and, if at all possible, to get out from under the thumb of his stepfamily.

Maybe she could still do that.

She was likely to spend a lot of time alone in her room with guards posted at every conceivable exit, so she may as well make good use of her time.

Pidge tilted up her chin. “I'll do whatever I need to do,” she promised her parents.

Pleased with her answer, they turned the subject to how they would welcome Matt back and ensure that his bride-to-be was also made to feel at home. Even as she helped plan a simple dinner, Pidge's thoughts strayed to how she might be able to help Keith, and when she was able to get back to her room she immediately sat at her desk and began writing.

- - - - -

Despite his resolve that no one other than the guard had seen them in the garden that night, Keith couldn't help but feel a bit anxious over the next few days. Neither Lotor nor Honerva were acting any different and his chores went on the same as always, but there was something about the way Honerva looked at him sometimes that sent a shiver running down his spine. It wasn't her usual looks of complete disdain. No, it was something more calculating, as though he were a particularly difficult riddle she was trying to figure out.

Keith did his best to stay out of her way and complete his chores in a timely manner and without asking questions.

It seemed to work.

The looks stopped as Honerva turned her full focus back to her precious son and her schemes to get him into the good graces of the royal family. Keith continued to stay out of her way just in case she changed her mind, as she often did, and had several days of peace as he easily completed his tasks with minimal interference from Lotor, who only went out of his way once to dirty up a section of floor that he had just cleaned.

But Keith knew from experience that peace never lasted in their house. Sooner or later, the shoe would drop and he would take the blame for whatever great catastrophe they dreamed up.

It came as he was serving dinner one night.

Keith was normally good at tuning out their conversation, his years of practice at not reacting to their insults lending to that ability. But then he heard Lotor speak of the princess and those walls he built crumbled around him.

“I think it is time to move on with our plans for the princess, mother,” Lotor said. “We have left her wallowing for nearly a week now and none have dared to reach out with offers after those awful rumors. Now is the perfect time to strike.”

Honerva nodded. “Agreed. I will send a missive first thing in the morning. It won't be long before your courtship will be made official.” She smirked at her son. “Those other nobles will regret listening to the chatter of rumors. As though the princess would ever do something so uncouth as to be unchaperoned with a strange man.”

Keith's heartbeat sounded thunderous to his ears and he carefully turned away from his stepfamily to hide his face. He slowly moved towards the kitchens, an excuse of fetching more wine poised on the tip of his tongue in case either of them questioned his actions. He didn't need to use it and got away without either of them noticing.

He gripped the counter to keep himself upright and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to get a hold of himself as it fully sank in just how badly he'd messed things up.

Pidge's reputation was in tatters because of him.

Because of him, Lotor may end up being her only option for marriage.

There had to be something he could do. There had to be some way he could fix things, but it was something that was so out of his depth that he knew he would need help to find a solution, and for that there was only one person he knew to turn to.

Shiro was sure to have an idea.

Keith breathed in deeply and then slowly breathed out.

He would get through the rest of the night without alerting his stepfamily to anything being wrong or out of the ordinary and once they were both asleep in their beds he would sneak out and go to Shiro. With luck, he would be back by morning, even if it meant he didn't get any sleep.

His racing heart calmed back to a normal pace and Keith turned his attention to refilling the wine pitcher before carrying it back to the table.

The rest of his night went as usual, with him being ignored unless Lotor or Honerva wanted something, and he wrapped up the last of his cleaning just in time for Honerva to sweep through and judge his work with her usual criticism and scorn. He took her words without flinching and then bid her goodnight, making sure to go about preparing for sleep like normal just in case she suspected something.

It wasn't until midnight that Keith dared to get out of his “bed” - a pile of old blankets arranged in front of the kitchen hearth – and redress into something more appropriate for traversing the woods in the dark. He didn't dare leave from the front door, knowing it would cause too much noise as he shut it, and so headed for the side door from the kitchen, which would take him through their nearly barren garden and past the stables.

Keith glanced around and grabbed his basket at the last minute, hoping the old excuse of getting up early to gather herbs from the forest would work as well as usual.

And then he opened the door and stepped outside.

Something grabbed at him from the darkness, slamming him back against the wall hard enough that the back of his head collided with the wall and spots danced in front of his eyes. The basket slid from hand and bounced softly against the ground. Keith gasped and blindly swung out, trying to free himself, but was pinned so hard that there was no moving unless his assailant allowed it.

“You have been a thorn in my spine for too long, boy.”

The familiar hiss of his stepmother's voice drained every last ounce of fight from Keith as a cold chill settled over him. He did nothing as she yanked and shoved him back into the house, surprisingly strong for a woman of her upbringing.

“Did you think I would not find out? That I have no allies in court who would tell me of what they saw?” she demanded. “Did you really think for a moment that a lowly peasant could get away with speaking with the princess without repercussion? And to be alone with her!”

Another shove sent Keith sprawling to the floor, catching himself hard on his hands and knees.

“You nearly ruined everything for Lotor.”

Keith grit his teeth, anger bubbling up through the feeling of helplessness that was swiftly consuming him. He knew he wouldn't be getting away to see Shiro. There was a small part of him that feared he would never be permitted to see the light of day again. Who would even care about a dead servant?

“Princess Katie will never marry him,” he spat.

Dead silence met his words.

Honerva hauled him up with her inhuman strength and dragged him to the cellar door, which was propped open and waiting. Keith struggled in her grasp, doing his best to break away and try and reach the door, but none of his attempts worked.

“Be thankful I'm letting you live.”

With one final shove, Keith tumbled down the cellar steps and landed on cold, hard concrete. Before he could get to his feet, the door swung shut above him and a grinding sound told him that a board was being slid into place to prevent him from opening it.

He was well and truly trapped.

- - - - -

Things were not going as Pidge had planned.

Matt was home and brought with him his lovely bride-to-be, which was wonderful, but on the same day that he returned they received a request of courtship from one of Pidge's approved suitors, which had only the King and Queen pleased.

“He's terrible, mother,” Pidge protested the moment she heard the name. “He doesn't care about me or the kingdom, all he wants is the power that comes with it all.”

“You don't know that for sure, Katie. You will give this young man a chance and I will not hear another word about it,” said Queen Colleen.

Pidge didn't argue. She knew they hoped that news of one suitor offering courtship would pave the way for others to speak up again, but she hated the thought of being forced to spend time with Lotor when she already knew she couldn't trust him.

Knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with her parents, she complained to Matt during one of their strolls through the garden instead.

He listened without making a remark, waiting until she was finished detailing the night of the ball when all Lotor wanted to do was showcase his many talents, and then said: “He does sound pretty awful, but are you sure you're not projecting your dislike of the situation onto him?”

Pidge glared at him. “I am not.”

“Take it easy, Pidge, I believe you,” Matt said, lifting his hands in defense. “I know it's overwhelming. Suddenly, there's a lot of pressure on you now to find a suitable match and it wasn't there before. Now it's no longer about finding someone whose company you enjoy, but someone who can rule an entire country by your side and there's so much more to consider and think over.”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” Pidge muttered bitterly, the words slipping out before she could stop them. She looked guiltily at her brother. “I didn't mean – I really like Romelle, Matt. I'm glad you're marrying her. I just can't help but wish you were still inheriting the crown instead of going off to another kingdom to rule there.”

“That would make things easier. Then maybe you'd be able to marry this mysterious guy I've been hearing so much about instead of Baron I-am-so-much-more-important-than-everyone-else,” Matt joked.

“Keith's my friend,” Pidge corrected automatically.

Matt hummed, the teasing grin not fading from his face. “So, when do I get to meet him?”

“I... I don't know if you'll be able to,” Pidge said, slumping her shoulders at the reminder. “I met him when I went to visit Shiro. All I really know is his name and...”

She trailed off as she stopped walking, realizing she knew a good deal more than that after their talk in the garden. Something she'd been ignoring. While he'd been careful not to mention any names when he explained that his stepmother was determined to have her son marry Princess Katie, he did slip up later when asking her to give a warning.

“Pidge?” Matt asked, waving a hand in front of her face. “Katie?”

“Lotor is his brother.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Are we still talking about your friend?”

“Keith and Lotor are stepbrothers. I can't believe I didn't put it together until now! I feel so stupid!” She turned to face Matt, a determined glint in her eyes. “I need you to help me. We need to go see Shiro.”

“Aren't you grounded?”

“Then I'll go by myself.”

Matt reached out and grabbed her shoulders as she turned to walk away, making her face him once again. “You have to calm down and think this through rationally. Why do you need to go see Shiro?”

“Because he can help,” Pidge said, purposefully keeping her answer vague. She honestly wasn't sure how Shiro would be able to help, but going to talk to him first felt like the right thing to do.

“I feel like I'm still missing part of the puzzle here. Why do you need help? Is your friend in danger? And how do you know he's in danger if you haven't seen him since the night of the ball?” Matt asked.

All good questions.

Pidge took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts in a rational manner so she could better explain why she needed to leave the palace. She led Matt over to the fountain so they would have a place to sit and then she began to explain everything she knew, starting with the fact that Keith came to the palace just to see her that night without having any idea that she was the princess.

As before, Matt listened to what she had to say without complaint, taking in all of the details she was willing to give.

“Okay,” he said when she was finished. “I'll help you get to Shiro, but you have to be patient. Give me a few days to figure something out.” He paused for a moment when Pidge let out an agonized groan. “I'm sure you can handle dealing with Lotor until then.”

Pidge nodded, privately thinking that the sooner she could get to Shiro and ask for his advice, the better.

- - - - -

Pidge's jaw ached from plastering a fake smile on her face after one full afternoon in Lotor's company. She hoped Matt had a good plan for getting her out of the castle, because there was no way she was putting up with another round of the young Baron boasting about his studies and wealth. She only wished her parents saw through his ruse, but unfortunately he had them both charmed.

She was giving Matt one more night to figure things out and then she was going out on her own. Somehow.

Luckily for her, it didn't come down to that. Just as the sun began to dip over the horizon there was a knock on her bedroom door and Pidge answered to find Matt standing there with a solid black cloak in his arms.

“Wear this,” he instructed, handing it to her. “And move quickly. I bought you a little time before the guards come back.”

Pidge giddily pulled on the cloak and tugged up the weighted hood, letting it obscure her features as she and Matt tiptoed through the halls and outside into the humid summer air. Matt led the way to ensure she wouldn't be spotted, but they encountered no problems and were soon safely inside the stables.

“Romelle will cover for us, but we need to be back by the morning,” Matt said as he headed towards his horse, which was already saddled up and waiting for him.

Pidge found her horse there as well and took a moment to soothe the fidgety mare before stepping up and swinging herself into the saddle. She looked to Matt for further instruction, unsure whether or not they were waiting for a signal or if they needed to leave immediately.

“We should go. The others are waiting for us,” he told her, nudging his horse into a walk.

“Others?” Pidge asked.

“You didn't think we'd be going alone, did you?” Matt asked, flashing her a charming smile.

The others turned out to be their personal guards – Allura and Lance, who were astride their own horses and waiting near the gate. Allura had a frown on her face and was pointedly looking away from Lance, who was grinning broadly as though he'd won an argument for once.

Pidge rode over next to Allura, knowing her guard would feel more at ease if she was close. “I'm surprised you agreed to this.”

“I couldn't leave you with only that one as your guard,” Allura said, nodding her head toward the brunet.

Pidge bit her lip to keep from laughing. Allura may complain about Lance quite often, but the pair of them actually got along well. That was, when Lance wasn't flirting with her and every other young woman in the vicinity. “Well, I'm glad you're going with us.”

The four of them set off at an easy trot and kept quiet until they were safely within the borders of the forest, where they were able to speak freely.

“So, how did you enjoy Polluxea, Lance?” Pidge asked.

Lance eagerly launched into a description of the lush gardens and farmland of their northern neighbor and the friendliness of those who lived there. He made a few references to some of the lovely women he met there, but cut it short each time Allura rolled her eyes or made a sound of disinterest.

Matt and Pidge exchanged amused glances each time it happened.

“...prefer being home. I missed this place more than I thought I would,” Lance said with a short laugh.

“What are you going to do when you go back?” Pidge asked.

“I'm not going back,” Lance replied. “I went to help choose a Polluxean guard to watch after Matt and he'll be taking over for me. His name's Tavo and he seems pretty cool, so I'm permanently home now.”

“Mother and father want Lance to be the personal guard for whichever suitor you choose,” Matt added.

Pidge considered Lance for a moment. “Maybe I should introduce you to Lotor and let you scare him off.”

“Is that supposed to be an insult?”

Pidge winked at him and spurred her horse on, racing ahead of the others with a joyous whoop!

It wasn't long before the other three were galloping alongside of her, following the winding path that led to Shiro's cabin. They arrived in good time and Pidge was relieved to spot light through one of the windows. At least they wouldn't be waking them.

“The barn is over to that side of the house. You can put the horses there and then join us inside,” Matt said as he swung down from his horse. He handed the reigns over to Lance and then turned to watch Pidge do the same with Allura.

Pidge led the way to the door, but before she could knock it opened to reveal Shiro waiting for them on the other side. He let them in and told them to get comfortable while he fetched the snacks Curtis made earlier that evening.

“It's rare to get such a late-night visit,” he remarked as he returned with a tray of small sandwiches.

“I couldn't get away any other time,” Pidge said. And then, unable to wait any longer, asked: “Shiro, have you heard from Keith since the ball?”

He blinked in surprise at the abrupt question, but recovered quickly enough. “I haven't. Why? Is there something wrong?”

Pidge shook her head. “No, not-”

“Yes,” Matt cut in.

Pidge whipped her head around to stare at her brother, her lips parting in surprise. What was he talking about? Nothing was really wrong, per-say, she just wanted to talk to Keith and clear some things up. She wanted to apologize. And then she wanted to ask if he and Lotor were truly stepbrothers and if he had any advice for how to prove what a snake he was.

So why was Matt saying there was something wrong?

“I grew up learning about all of the nobility of our kingdom. Five years ago, father had me study each of them in-depth so that I would have talking points when meeting any of them. I'm sure you'll be learning this all soon, Pidge,” he said, nodding to her. “The thing is, I remember reading about this one estate. A small one, with a garden large enough for the household and for selling any excess to the townsfolk. It worked well for them, but that wasn't the most interesting thing.”

He paused as Curtis entered the room from a side door with Lance and Allura, who were offered seats and joined them. Lance happily accepted a sandwich as the tray was held out to him.

“Baron Travis Hawkins married a woman of unknown status from Daibazaal. She was his first wife and they had one child together. A son.”

Daibazaal was a neighboring empire to the west of their kingdom. Twenty-five years ago, it had been in the middle of upheaval as a rebellion overthrew the then-emperor and instated a sovereign of their own choosing. Emperor Kolivan brought them into an age of tranquility as they reached out and made peace with their neighbors and began to let go of their path to conquering the entire continent.

“She passed away a few years after giving birth to their son and five years after that, Baron Hawkins remarried, only to pass away nearly a year later. His widow is Baroness Honerva Hawkins, who had a son from her previous marriage.”

“Lotor,” Pidge breathed out. “But then... then that means...”

“Keith was meant to inherit his father's position as Baron once he turned eighteen, but obviously that hasn't happened,” Matt said with a frown. “Instead, the title is set to be handed over to Lotor, but since it's being done against the wishes of the previous Baron Hawkins, it's not entirely legal. Keith has until his twentieth birthday to contest it before a court of his peers.”

“But why didn't you say anything before now? We could have done something!” Pidge cried out.

“Like what?” Matt asked. “Pidge, we don't have any proof that they're doing something wrong. For all anyone else knows, Keith turned down his title and wants it to go to Lotor instead. The only people who have talked to him are you and Shiro and that isn't enough. I waited because we need to come up with a plan and the people in this room are the only ones I trust to help. The first thing we need to determine is how much danger Keith is in. Shiro?”

Shiro took a moment to mull the question over. “I've been treating his injuries since the first time that we met, but even I would have a hard time saying how far they would be willing to take their abuse. The only reason he would be in immediate danger is if they realized he went to the gala, but that's impossible with the mask I created for him.”

Cold rushed through Pidge's veins. “The red one?”

Shiro nodded.

“It fell off,” Pidge admitted, barely able to speak above a whisper as she met Shiro's wide eyes. “I stumbled and we fell into the fountain and it was knocked loose. I still have it in my room.”

“Then we act immediately,” Allura suggested as she stood and began to pace. “We'll need a way to distract Baroness Hawkins and her son for a day while a few of us see what we can find out around the estate. If Keith is well, we'll be able to speak with him and clear things up. If not...”

“We'll need a warrant,” Lance said with a sigh.

Allura nodded. “We can't just break into someone's house, no matter what we think is going on.”

“Would it really be breaking in if you show up and a door is wide open?” Curtis asked. “It would give you a reason to check and make sure everything is alright, wouldn't it?”

“Even then it would be our word against theirs,” Allura responded.

The debate stretched on into the night as they went back and forth, analyzing details and discarding the majority of their ideas. Eventually, they put together something that could work in their favor and while Allura wasn't thrilled about the possibility of law-breaking that was involved, even she agreed that it was the best chance they had.

All Pidge had to do was spend one more day in the company of Lotor. She could handle that.

Probably.

- - - - -

Two days passed before things lined up for them to proceed with their plan.

Allura and Pidge would remain at the palace, where Pidge would be entertaining Lotor and his mother for the afternoon. King Sam and Queen Colleen were pleased with the decision, hoping it meant their daughter was finally warming up to the only suitor who offered courtship, and made themselves available for a small luncheon to chat with their prospective in-laws.

Matt charmed his way out of joining them by insisting that he'd promised Princess Romelle a romantic tour of the kingdom, which wasn't a lie but was definitely part of their multi-step plan. Naturally, Lance and a pair of Polluxean guards – Tavo and Merla – joined them for their ride into the territory surrounding the palace.

Curtis and Shiro had the most freedom of any of them. They would wait until they were sure Honerva and Lotor were out of the manor and then they would sneak around and see what they could find out. Allura and Lance had insisted they not know all of the details to what “sneaking around” entailed, so they could rightfully claim ignorance if Shiro and Curtis found something by less-than-legal means.

They began on the grounds itself, searching for any sign of Keith, and when they found nothing Shiro led the way to the front door. With a wave of his hand, the bolt clicked into an unlocked position and the heavy door swung open to admit them.

“Impressive,” Curtis complimented.

Shiro grinned and then stepped inside, casting a second spell which created an orb of light, which hovered in front of them for a moment before beginning to drift down the hall towards the right. “Tracking spell,” he clarified for Curtis.

“Remind me why you don't use your magic like this more often?” Curtis asked.

“It makes people nervous. And it's more exhausting than it seems,” Shiro said with a light shrug. “Come on. We need to find Keith.”

They crept along, staying as quiet as they could just in case they weren't as alone as they thought. Just as Curtis was about to turn and ask Shiro another question, they both heard a gasp from up ahead, as a young woman wearing a plain apron came face-to-face with the seeking orb and then looked past it to see both of them.

Shiro took two hurried steps forwards and waved his hand in front of her face.

The woman wavered from side-to-side, her eyes slowly fluttering shut before her legs gave out and Curtis had to catch her and ease her down to the floor.

Shiro blinked back a wave of dizziness. He took a moment to let it settle and then wordlessly began to follow the seeking orb once again with Curtis close by his side. It led them to a door barricaded by a flat board that slid into holders on either side of the frame and then sank through.

“Let me,” Curtis said, stopping Shiro from lifting the board. He removed it on his own and set it aside before opening the door to allow Shiro inside first.

Leaning against the far wall, shivering from the chill of the cellar, was Keith.

Shiro nearly tripped down the steps in his haste to reach his friend, his hands fumbling with the bag at his side as he went for one of the potions he packed as a “just in case”. He kneeled in front of Keith, only slightly put at ease by the sight of his chest rising and falling and the occasional tremors from the chill.

“Keith, can you hear me?” he asked.

Keith groaned in response, straining to do something as simple as opening his eyes. He closed them again and muttered something about it being too bright.

Shiro snapped his fingers and the seeking orb fizzled out, leaving only the light streaming in through the door. “You're okay now. We're going to get you out. Keith, do you know how long you've been in here?”

“Days?” Keith guessed, his voice hoarse from disuse and lack of water. “Sorry, Shiro.”

“This is not your fault,” Shiro said firmly. He searched through his bag and came up with a potion in a green clay container, which he uncorked and held to Keith's lips. “Drink this. It will help soothe your throat.”

Keith drank without questioning what it was and made a face at the taste of it once he was through. “S'weird,” he muttered.

“I know, but it'll help. And so will this one,” Shiro said as he selected another container – one colored a sunny yellow. He helped Keith drink it and decided that it was enough to be able to move him. Any further healing could wait until they were someplace safe.

The empty containers went back into his bag and then Shiro gestured for Curtis to come over and help him lift Keith. They shuffled awkwardly as they adapted to how they could and could not move as a unit and then slowly made their way up the steps, back through the halls, and out the front door.

It took Keith a few minutes to realize they were going in the opposite direction from the path to Shiro's house. “Where are we going?”

“We're meeting up with someone who can help,” Curtis said.

Keith seemed to go even paler. “Someone else knows?”

“Without them, we never would have had this opportunity to come find you. It's thanks to them that any of this is happening,” Shiro said. “We can trust them, Keith. No one will think less of you for needing help.”

He perked up as the sound of hooves and the rattling of a carriage met their ears just as a pair of guards astride white horses crested the rise of the hill in front of them, followed by a gleaming open carriage. A third guard rode behind them on a dark gray mare.

“Just in time,” Curtis murmured. He glanced at Shiro, who nodded, and then transferred all of Keith's weight to his partner so he could run ahead and get their attention.

The guards came to an abrupt stop and the one with dark skin and hair demanded to know who he was.

“It's alright, Tavo, he's a friend.”

Shiro was relieved to hear Matt's voice. It meant everything was going according to plan.

Keith made a confused sound when he saw Matt jump down from the carriage to speak with Curtis. “Pidge?”

“Her brother,” Shiro correctly gently. “That is Prince Matthew. He's the reason we came to get you. We'll be traveling with him back to the palace and make use of their healers.”

Keith sucked in a deep breath in surprise. “Shiro, I can't! This isn't necessary!”

“You need more help and rest than I can give on my own,” Shiro told him. He adjusted his grip so he could begin weaving a spell with his free hand. “Rest easy, Keith. Everything will be alright from here out.”

“Using magic's unfair,” Keith slurred as his head drooped and he dropped into an easy sleep.

Guilt and his moral sense warred with his logical mind about whether or not it was necessary to use magic on his friend, and eventually logic won the battle as he helped lift Keith into the carriage and get him comfortable on the bench across from Princess Romelle, who watched everything with curiosity but not confusion.

“I apologize for cutting your excursion short, Princess Romelle,” Shiro said.

Princess Romelle smiled softly in return. “It is worth it if it means helping someone in need. There will be other days when I will be able to view this glorious kingdom.”

A diplomatic answer. One which sounded a little too well rehearsed for her to have been completely left in the dark about their plans.

Shiro glanced at Matt, who was too busy gazing fondly at his bride-to-be to take part in any conversation, so instead he lowered his eyes to Keith and took account of his newest injuries and the best ways to treat them.

Curtis took a seat next to the driver and they began to move.

- - - - - 

Keith woke to the white walls and ceiling of an unfamiliar room. Heavy, warm green blankets covered him up to his neck and smelled pleasantly of some sort of sweet flower. Delicate curtains fluttered in the breeze coming in from an open window and he could hear birdsong, over top of which was the brush of paper against paper.

It took a great deal of effort just to turn his head, but when he did he was rewarded with the sight of Pidge seated at his bedside, her hair pulled up in a high bun, her amber eyes focused on the pages of the book in her hands. On the small table next to her was a bouquet of red carnations and silver-tipped ferns artfully arranged in a clay vase.

For a moment, all he could do was watch her as his awareness and ability to move slowly returned to him. When he did open his mouth, there was only one thing he could say and although it came out as barely more than a whisper, Pidge jumped as though startled by a loud sound.

“Keith!” she exclaimed, all but throwing her book aside as she rose from her chair. “How do you feel? Can I get you anything?”

“Water,” he croaked out, hoping that a drink would help clear his throat enough that he could speak more normally.

Pidge nodded and walked across the room to fetch a pitcher and a glass. “Shiro made lemon-honey water for you to drink until he can come make a hot tea. Apparently, this one can be kept warm with one of his charms but tea is best drank soon after brewing.”

Keith fought the urge to groan at having to drink another one of Shiro's concoctions and instead gave a small nod that made his head spin and had him horribly disoriented for a long minute. He blinked away the dark spots to find Pidge back by his bedside, holding out the cup with a concerned expression.

To his embarrassment, she had to hold the cup so he could drink.

The lemon-honey water wasn't nearly as bad as he expected, somehow achieving a nice balance between the sweetness of the honey and the sour of the lemon without being too thick. It quickly went to work on soothing his throat and after a few swallows, he felt like he could talk again.

“Where am I?”

“The palace,” Pidge responded promptly. She held the cup for a moment longer and then set it on the side table next to the vase and retook her seat. “You're in one of our guestrooms and Shiro and Curtis are borrowing one just across the hall. You've been here for two days, healing in some kind of magical coma that Shiro put you in.”

Keith felt even less comfortable once he fully understood where he was. He was just a servant. Hardly someone who belonged in such a nice room. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re not the one who should be apologizing. Keith, I… I’m the one who needs to apologize. I should have told you who I really was instead of letting you find out on your own. That wasn’t right. I just got so nervous that you wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore or that you’d treat me differently once you knew who I was and I didn’t want to lose that,” Pidge explained, bowing her head slightly. “It’s no excuse and I know that. I’m really sorry, Keith.”

Keith wished he could reach out and comfort her, but even if he weren’t recovering from days of being locked in darkness with no food and water, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to bring himself to touch the princess. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Then neither do you,” Pidge said.

Keith tried to think of a reply but came up empty-handed. The moment passed as the door opened and Shiro stepped inside with a tray. He brightened up when he saw Keith awake.

“Oh good! I brought you both some food,” he said as he bustled inside. “It’ll be soup for you until you regain some of your strength, Keith. How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Sore,” Keith admitted, knowing there was no lying to the man.

Shiro nodded. “That’s all normal. You’ll probably spend the next few days sleeping while the magic does its work.” He handed off one bowl to Pidge and then walked around to the chair on the other side of the bed.

Keith warily eyed the bowl in his hands. “You’re not going to put me to sleep again, are you?”

“No, not like before. I’m sorry about that, by the way. I didn’t think I’d be able to get you here without stressing you out so badly that you’d become even more ill,” Shiro told him. He set everything down so he could prop Keith up with an extra pillow they collected just for the occasion. 

While Shiro helped Keith sit up and eat, Pidge carefully kept her gaze averted and ate her own food in slow, small bites. By the time she finished, Keith was nearly done with his own, his stomach almost unpleasantly full despite the smaller amount in his bowl.

“M’done,” he muttered when Shiro tried to get him to keep eating. He closed his eyes for a moment. “What now? I mean, what about my home? I can’t go back again.”

“No. At least, not right now,” Shiro agreed, giving Pidge a pointed look over the bed.

Keith followed his gaze. “Not right now…?”

“I think I’ll leave you two to talk,” Shiro said as he stood. He walked back around to collect Pidge’s bowl and left after promising he’d be back in an hour to deliver a special tea for Keith to drink.

“What did he mean by ‘not right now’?” Keith tried again.

Pidge took a deep breath as though steeling her nerves for something that would be difficult to say. “My brother, Matt, has been doing some research ever since I told him about you. Nothing bad! He was just curious, especially when we realized Lotor is your stepbrother.”

A cold chill swept through Keith. “How did…?”

“It was just a few of the things you said when we talked that night. And then Matt’s research seemed to confirm all of that… You’re the son of Baron Travis Hawkins and the rightful heir to his estate and title,” Pidge said.

And then all Keith felt was confusion. “That’s not right. The title goes to the oldest and that would be Lotor.”

“The title passes to the firstborn son,” Pidge corrected. “That’s you, Keith. You’re the one whose name is listed in the court records. It’s been unchanged for twelve years. The last update to the record was to note that he remarried and that Honerva would act as Baroness until you came of age to take up the title. You are the Baron of the Hawkins estate, not Lotor.”

Keith turned his head to look straight up at the ceiling, feeling a little dizzy from the news.

The estate was his.

They had taken his childhood home from him unlawfully and made him feel as though he was worthless for so long when he was meant to be learning to take over for his dad.

Baron Keith Hawkins.

That was going to take a lot of getting used to.

“We have a plan, but it will all have to wait until you’re well enough to walk and get around on your own again,” Pidge said.

Keith attempted a nod. “Yeah.”

He was aware of Pidge talking a little more, telling him about the history of the estate and how his ancestor’s earned their title because of the messenger hawks they raised and trained for the royal family. He drifted off to sleep to the sound of her soft voice.

- - - - - 

As Shiro mentioned, Keith spent several days drifting in and out of sleep. Sometimes Pidge was there. Sometimes it was Shiro or Curtis. Occasionally he woke to find Prince Matt sitting there, silently keeping him company. The first time had been so awkward that Keith pretended to still be asleep until Shiro came in to make him drink more of his strange tea concoctions - licorice remained his least favorite and he’d be happy if Shiro never made it for him again.

Each day his strength returned a little more until Shiro cleared him for being allowed to get up and move around the room. His appetite grew with his strength and soon he was able to handle a full meal that wasn’t soup.

During the times he was awake he got caught up with their plans to expose Honerva and Lotor and make it so they could never hurt anyone else again, adding his own details so they could prepare for their attempts to weasel their way out of trouble. By the time Keith was able to stay awake for more than an hour, they were just about ready to put their plans into motion.

They would call Lotor and Honerva to court, hoping they would believe it was the will of the King and Queen to approve a formal courtship between Lotor and the princess. There, they would reveal the truth.

It all hinged on Keith’s ability to remain standing long enough to see them brought to justice.

“You’ll need appropriate clothing, as well,” Matt mentioned, looking him up and down. “I could get my tailor to make you something, but I’m not sure he’ll be able to finish in time. Anything I already have won’t be appropriate for you either, otherwise I’d offer.”

“I can take care of that,” Shiro promised.

“Another glamour?” Keith guessed.

Shiro nodded. “It’ll be simple enough to make you something that reflects your heritage. Are there any portraits of your father that I could see to get an idea of what I should create?”

It was Matt who answered. “There was a decent one in the court record. I’ll show you later.”

Conversations with Pidge were vastly different, full of colorful stories and long rambling rants about all of the things they hated about Lotor. Keith found himself laughing every time Pidge mimicked Lotor’s voice and tried to repay her by telling her the more amusing stories of growing up with him as a stepbrother, like all of the tantrums he’d thrown over the years.

By the time the day came to confront his stepfamily, Keith didn’t feel nearly as nervous as he expected to.

After so many years of their abuse and of being told he wasn’t good enough and fearing that his father’s house would forever be a prison to him instead of a home, Keith was finally able to stand up tall and proud and reclaim it all for himself.

Shiro was his first and only visitor that morning, as Pidge and Matt prepared on their own for what was coming. They ate together and then Shiro had him stand still while he used his magic to weave a brand new glamour for the occasion.

Keith had expected colors similar to the suit Shiro created for the ball, but instead the color palette and style were vastly different.

The top was a high-neck, military-style jacket in deep plum and with a black inner lining. The epaulets on each shoulder were lavender with silver fringe, which matched the belt around his waist.  His pants and shoes were solid blacks.

Keith eyed his reflection with mild unease, feeling entirely out of his element as Shiro stepped up and began to style his hair by hand. “Do you really think I can do this?”

“I have always believed in you, Keith. You are more than ready,” Shiro said. He tied off Keith’s hair with a strip of fabric that matched the purple of his clothing, leaving it in a simple low ponytail. “Now you just need to believe it too.”

Keith nodded but said nothing else as he followed Shiro out of the room and through the wide halls of the palace to the throne room, where a crowd of available nobles had gathered in the hope that they would be among the first to hear news about the newest royal courtship.

He paused outside the door to steel his nerves for what was waiting for him on the other side.. “I am ready.”

Shiro smiled and opened the door for him.

The low murmur of voices met Keith's ears as he stepped into the room. Several people glanced his way and then turned again to stare, but Keith didn't pay them any attention and put all of his focus on the royal family at the other end of the room. His eyes landed on the King and Queen first, who sat upon their throne with benevolent smiles and occasionally bent their heads together to whisper something. To their right stood Prince Matt and a beautiful woman with blond hair and a soft pink gown, who Keith rightfully assumed to be Princess Romelle of Polluxea.

When he looked at Pidge, he nearly stopped walking. It was only because of how many times he recited his role in their plans that he continued on, but from that moment on his eyes never left her.

Emerald green suited her, he couldn't help but think as he watched her stand there in a gown that shimmered as though it was covered in gems. Around her neck was a simple, round green stone on a golden chain.

Enter the room. Back straight, head held high. Act as though there is no other place you belong. (Easy for Prince Matt to say.)

Walk to the throne and stop at the foot of the stairs, no less than three feet from the guards on either side. Bow respectfully to the King and Queen. Then to Prince Matt and finally to Pidge.

Keith followed Prince Matt's instructions to the letter, but as he turned to bow to Pidge, someone forced their way through the crowd and reached out as if to yank him away, but their hand was never allowed to make contact.

In the blink of an eye, Lance was there in front of him as guards closed in around the royal family to shield them from the potential danger.

“Madam, I ask that you compose yourself,” Lance snapped.

Keith couldn't help but flinch away at the utterly thunderous look on Honerva's face as Lance continued to hold onto her wrist, unwilling to let go until he was sure she wouldn't strike out in rage. Lotor appeared over her shoulder in the crowd, but he stayed back and tried to keep his face impassive, though Keith could see his fury roiling beneath the surface.

It took a moment, but Honerva calmed herself enough that Lance let go. “That boy is nothing more than a servant. I merely wished to save their Majesties from being forced to listen to any of the lies that spill forth from his mouth.”

“I fear you have been misinformed, Madam,” Prince Matt spoke up. “If you would wait but a moment, he was about to introduce himself to the court.”

Honerva scoffed. “There is no need to play along with his foolish games. Allow me to take him home and deliver appropriate punishment for his misdeeds.”

Again, whispers broke out in the room as people latched onto her words and took them as the truth. Why wouldn't they? After all, Baroness Honerva was a lady of noble birth and was well-known in their circles, as was her son, Lotor. If she said the well-dressed man in front of them was nothing more than a servant boy playing dress-up, then why wouldn't they believe her?

King Sam stood from his throne and held up a hand, silently calling for everyone to be quiet. “I would like to hear what this young man has to say.”

Chin up.

Back straight.

Keith folded his right arm over his midsection and bowed one last time. “Your Majesties, my name is Keith Hawkins, son of the late Baron Travis Hawkins and his first wife, Krolia Hawkins. I am here to ask that you see justice carried out in regards to the Hawkins estate, of which I am the rightful heir.”

He might as well have said he was the grandson of the emperor of a foreign land with the amount of pandemonium that broke out in the throne room. Honerva's angry screech could barely be made out as the other nobles broke out into loud questions and demands, each wanting to know if it was true.

Keith stood in the middle of it all, letting the voices wash over him as he kept his focus on Pidge, who smiled encouragingly. That alone kept him grounded.

Well, that and the fact that Lance remained by his side as a physical blockade between him and Honerva until the other guards arrived to take her into custody until they could get to the truth of what had been revealed. Lotor attempted to slip away into the crowds and escape unnoticed, but he was caught as well and taken away, though he didn't struggle nearly as much as his mother, perhaps hoping that by going along willingly he could show his innocence.

Keith was led away by Lance, who was acting on Prince Matt's orders and took him back to the nice guest room where he'd spent the past week recovering.

“Nice job, Keith,” Lance complimented. “All it'll take is for the King and Queen to check the records themselves and this will all get sorted out. I bet you'll be glad when this is all over.”

“Yeah,” Keith agreed.

At long last, his nightmare was coming to an end.

- - - - - 

The Hawkins estate was a beautiful property when it was being properly cared for. Pidge almost couldn't believe it was the same place when she finally found the chance to visit again nearly a year after the debacle with Honerva and Lotor. Under a new Baron, the estate flourished in more ways than one.

With Allura and Lance following like a pair of persistent shadows, Pidge was led around to the back gardens, where an ornate table and chairs waited beneath the shade of a massive oak. Keith stood there, dressed down in soft reds and black, and smiled when he saw her.

“Princess,” he greeted with a smile and a friendly bow.

“Baron Hawkins,” she responded with an easy nod.

They both grinned and dropped all formalities as they sat and began to catch up on everything that had changed since they last spoke. It had been a while, as Keith busied himself with the spring planting and some of the heavy manual labor that needed to be done, even though he had staff who were more than capable of doing it all themselves. Keith said that he enjoyed the work when he wasn't forced to do it and having company made it even better.

“Mostly, I've been going through my parents' old things. There was a lot more than I expected locked away in some of the old rooms. Like my mother's journals. I felt odd about reading them at first, but it's the only chance I have to get to know what kind of person she was,” Keith admitted.

Pidge reached across the table and took his hand. “I don't think she'd mind. So, what have you learned?”

“She was from Daibazaal. That's where my dad learned a lot of new stories and legends that he told me when I was young. But she left near the end of the revolution, though she never said why in any of the journals. At least, she didn't say in any of the ones I read.”

Pidge couldn't help but smile as she listened to the way he spoke of his parents. His joy at getting to learn more about them, even if it was from an old journal, warmed her heart.

“Did you know in Daibazaal they don't begin courtship by gifting a piece of jewelry?”

Pidge blinked in surprise, unsure of how the conversation drifted to courtship. She must have gotten more lost in her thoughts than she meant to. “I didn't know. What do they do instead?”

“In Daibazaal, a bouquet of carnations is the traditional first gift. The rarer the color, the better the proof of their love.” Keith reached into his jacket and withdrew a thin box, which he placed on the table in front of her. “My dad wanted to combine their traditions, so he had this made for her.”

She couldn't stop a startled gasp from breaking past her lips as he cracked open the box to reveal an ornate bracelet with links designed to resemble tiny flowers. Most of it was silver, including the delicate leaves, but the flowers themselves were some sort of purple crystal.

“Purple carnations to represent Daibazaal,” Keith said softly. “I was hoping you would accept it as my first gift to you.”

Pidge's eyes flickered up to Keith's face and remained there as she struggled to find her words. Finally, she snapped out of it. “Yes. Yes, of course, I will!”

Keith breathed out in relief, his smile turning brighter than she'd ever seen. With a gentleness that endeared her even more to him, he helped her put on the bracelet and they both took a moment to admire the way it looked against her pale skin.

And while it didn't happen in the way he ever expected it to, Keith realized at that moment that all of his hopes and dreams for his own future were finally beginning to come true.

[everythinginslowmotion]

The End is the Beginning

So, like everyone else, I was very dissatisfied to say the least with the ending of Voltron. And people kept saying, “just ignore canon, fanon has always been better than it anyway”. Which is true, but sometimes for me, especially as soon as a show ends, canon is pretty hard for me to get out of my mind. However, the one thing I did like with the ending of 8 was the openness of it all. The fact that Klance could be canon for all we know somewhere down the line and we really wouldn’t ever know. So I decided to write something. Its just under 10k words and it is NOT a fix it fic (that would imply that I fixed the things that I found wrong with season 8, when really i just kept everything from canon despite how wrong and painful it is, and instead extended the openness of keith and lance’s endings into the future and wrote off of that). Enjoy! This takes place in the future after the war, right before Shiro’s wedding.

ao3- |x|

When he received the invitation in the mail, it almost didn’t seem real. His life now had become so slow and different from where it was when he was 17 years old that he had almost forgotten that the war was real. Had it really been five years since the end. Since her. He knew time had passed but even with their yearly meetups, it hadn’t completely caught up with him yet.

He was completely fine the whole day leading up to him opening the letter. His mom had called out to him while he was weeding the juniberry garden from the house letting him know there was an envelope addressed to him from Shrio. He had a feeling he knew what it was going to be. He was sitting at the table reading the back of the invitation when Veronica walked in.

“Oh hey, is that for Shrio and Curtis’s wedding? I was wondering when he was going to ask. It’s been, what, like four years that they’ve been together. It’s about time they just made it official.”

“Five years,” he whispered softly. “They’ve been together five years now.”

He wasn’t sure when his mood shifted. Coming inside he was perfectly normal, he had only come in for a glass of water and then he would be back off to work. While his cup was filling with water the white of the envelope caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He shut off the water and carefully picked it up. Lance McClain was carefully written on the back in Shiro’s neat handwriting. Sitting down at the table, he opened up the top and pulled out the black and white save the date card that had a picture of Shiro and Curtis on the back with their foreheads pressed against the others. Behind it was a letter asking him to be one of the groomsmen. After reading the note, he just sat there at the table alone, staring at the cards laying out in front of him. He doesn’t know how long he was in there before Veronica entered the room.  

“Oh wow, five years. Yeah it really is time then that they just get married. They sure act married enough when they are at work.” Lance just softly laughed at that. It’s not like he would know. He really only goes around the garrison a handful of times a year anymore. “I’m guessing that other letter is him telling you he wants you as a groomsman. When was the last time you even saw any of them? It’s been a couple of months since Hunk and Shay came to visit. And I’m its been at least half a year since you’ve seen Keith.”

Keith.

It had been awhile since he had last saw him. Lance had been too busy with the farm and Keith had been off in space on missions and it just made it hard for them to see each other outside of their scheduled once a year meetups. In fact the last time he saw him was when they got together for their yearly dinner on the anniversary of the end of the war about four months prior.

He missed Keith. Besides Hunk, he was the closest one to Lance on the team. He was Keith’s right hand man. They could always count on the other to be there when they needed each other most. Lance would still trust him with his life, but everyone on the team feels so far away, but Keith just feels completely out of his reach for so much of the year that Lance just tries to not think about his former “rival”.

“Keith probably got the spot of best man, do you think? He is practically Shiro’s brother but I cannot imagine him planning a bachelor party for the guy. You’ll probably have to help him out with that one,” she said. Lance stopped really listening to her ramblings about the nearing future of the wedding after that.

He was happy for Shiro, he really was. But seeing the invitation in front of him seemed like a real end to the past. As if the end they had before wasn’t real but just a start of a transition period in their lives. And seeing this, no holding, this physical invitation in his hand started something in him. A reminder of what all had happened to get them to this point. And it hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veronica had ended up being right about Keith needing help.

Five and a half months had passed since he received the invitation. Since then Lance had seen Hunk and Pidge. They got together for a small birthday celebration. Shiro had been off on a diplomatic mission and Keith was somewhere off in space. So it was just the three of them, his family, a cake that Hunk made. Nothing special. Nothing huge. And now they were just five days away from the wedding.

Lance had just started packing his stuff for his weekend away for the event when he got the call.

It was 11:30 at night and everyone else in the house had fallen asleep already. The sound of his phone ringing across his room came blaring through the silence surrounding. He quickly ran over to answer whoever was calling so late at night. Turning the phone over in his palm the name Keith showed on the screen over a picture of his friend holding the middle finger up at the camera.

“Kei...”

“Oh thank god you’re awake. Lance I need your help.” His voice sounded rushed and panicked. Something that was almost unheard of from Keith. Keith, who was always so sure of what he was doing. Keith, who could do almost anything they put their mind to. Panic washed over Lance. It had been months since he had heard his friends voice, and he answers to just hear chaos.

“Keith are you alright? What’s the problem? Why are you calling so late? Help with what?”

“Lance, I have a big problem. I need your help planning Shiro’s bachelor party. Like now.”

“What the fuck, Keith. That’s in like two days and you are telling me that you don’t have something planned?”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to be planning anything. I’ve gone with him to a few things to help him with small wedding details but he never mentioned anything about me planning a bachelor party.”

“You do realize that the bachelor party is like the main thing that a best man does, right?”

“I do now. But before about three hours ago, no, I had no fucking clue. I just arrived at Shiro’s apartment and he was talking about last minute details and then suddenly goes ‘And oh, I hope you have something good planned because the last few days have been so stressful with getting these last few details ready’ and of course I had no idea what he was talking about and he just gave me a look and said ‘Keith… you do have my bachelor party planned, don’t you?’ And then I panicked and said of course I did then spent the next two hours trying to come up with something for this stupid thing and I still have nothing. Please help me, I don’t want Shiro to know that I am basically the worst best man ever.”

“So let me get this straight… you need me to help you,” he said smirking. It was always fun when Keith actually asked for his help. And now that he knew that Keith wasn’t dying and that the world wasn’t ending again, he let himself have fun with this.

“Ugh Lance, not now. Please just help me before I hang up and call Pidge.”

“Fine, but you so owe me one buddy.”

“Yeah yeah I know, I know. Now just tell me your ideas before I lose my mind. Or my head after Shiro finds out I lied.”

They spent the next three hours on the phone coming up with Shiro’s bachelor party. He could finish packing in the morning before he left.

Two days later he found himself back in New Mexico with his family. When they arrived, they went to the hotel and Lance made his way over to Shiro’s apartment where everyone was at already, waiting for him. After just one knock on the door, Hunk swung it wide open for him, immediately pulling him into a bone crushing hug. Pidge, Shiro and Matt were next to greet him. When he finished hugging them he searched around the room for the last of them, but Keith was nowhere to be found.

Down the hallway he heard a door close, followed by the familiar voice.

“Hey does anyone know when Lance is getting here? We are going to be…” he looked up as he came around the corner. Lance froze, taken aback from how different Keith looked from when he saw him. His hair was significantly longer, and also pulled back into a ponytail. His face had matured as well. He was wearing tight black jeans, a red shirt and his leather jacket. He looked good and it suddenly made Lance feel very out of breath for a moment.

“Hey man,” he manage to breathe out before taking a couple of steps forward to greet him. Keith pulled him into a quick hug.

“Okay everyone, let’s get a move on. I’m ready to see how Keith managed at pulling together a party,” Pidge exclaimed.

“Hilarious Pidge. I’ll have you know that I actually pulled this together fine.” Lance gave him a look but Keith just ignored it and took a couple of steps towards the door. “Besides, you won’t even get to experience all of it because someone is still too underage.”

“Barely, by like five months. No one would even be able to tell the difference. Plus Matt is here and he will help me get in,” she said gesturing at her brother who just looked shocked as well as guilty.

“Pidge, I wish you could go, but I’d rather not get killed by your mother just three days before my wedding day.”

“Ugh, fine. But only because I know the wrath of my mother. Also I’m still going to complain about it the rest of the night.”

All of them made their way outside, Keith going towards his bike and the rest of them making their way towards Shiro’s car. As they got closer to it, Shiro looked back at the four of them and back at his car.

“Uhh, one of you guys might want to ride with Keith. Theoretically we could all fit in the car, but the back is kind of a mess and it’ll be tight for all three of you.”

“I’ll ride with Keith,” he said before making his way over to where Keith and his parked bike were. “Guess I’m stuck with you,” he said to Keith, who had his back turned.

Keith turned around and looked at Lance, obviously not expecting him to be there. “Oh, uh, yeah. Okay, cool. Cool. Well, uh, hop on then. And here, you can take this helmet, if you want it.”

Lance straddled over the back of his hoverbike. It was much newer than the one that they rode on all those years ago when they found the blue lion. Still red and similar in design, but definitely more high tech. Keith got on in front of him and Lance put his arms loosely around his waist. Keith powered up the bike, turned his head to the side to say “You might want to hold on tight,” and then took off, Shiro following closely behind as they drove out to the city.

It had been a while since Lance had been out here. He forgot how pretty the desert could be at night. There was nothing but the mountains in the background, the distant lights of the only city around for miles, and the stars shining above them. The November air was so fresh as it blew against his face and through his hair as they made their way down the empty road out towards the middle of nowhere.

They finally arrived at their destination. Lance was sure Shiro must have figured out where they were taking him by now. It seemed like only a place that Keith would be able to think of, where him and Shiro used to race back when Keith was a student at the garrison. There, were two parked hoverbikes Keith had managed to borrow from the garrison. Keith and Lance dismounted Keith’s own bike and looked at them.

“This was a really good idea, Lance.”

“I didn’t come up with it all on my own.”

Pidge ran out of the car and up behind the two of them. “Keith, how did you manage this! Did you steal these from the garrison?”

“What? Why would I steal them? Your dad let me borrow them for the night.”

Shiro came up behind them and put his hands on their shoulders. “This is great guys, thanks.”

Lance just gave Keith a look of how does he know? and Keith just looked back at him just as confused, shrugging a shoulder before shoving Shiro’s hand off of him and moving forward towards a bike.

“So, who’s first?”

Keith and Shiro had gone first in racing. Shiro won despite Keith’s insistence that he cheated. After that they split up into teams, him, Pidge and Hunk on one and Matt, Shiro and Keith on the other. Overall, the three of them got crushed. Lance was the only one that won a race and it was against Matt. Hunk had thrown up on his when he went off the side of the hill and decided he would stick the rest of it cheering from the sidelines.

Keith and him ended up racing once. Lance had mounted the bike and looked over at the other boy before putting his helmet on.

“Ready to lose, mullet,” he said smirking.

“Oh, I think you should be asking yourself that question, Blue,” he said. Right before slipping his helmet on over his head, Lance could’ve sworn he saw the other boy wink quickly followed by a small smile. Lance just started back in disbelief before putting his helmet on. He didn’t even hear Pidge say “Go”. He was still trying to figure out if he had really seen a wink from Keith or if it was the darkness and his mind playing tricks on him. He heard Keith’s bike rev and then saw his vision blur from the dust kicking up in front of him, knocking him out of his thought and allowing himself to take off as well directly behind Keith. By the time they made it back up to where everyone else was, Lance was only slightly behind Keith, but he still lost. Keith dismounted from his bike, making his way over to Lance’s where he held out his hand to help Lance down.

“Better luck next time, buddy.”

Lance took his hand, feet hitting the ground soon after. Lance didn’t snap back a response to his friend about how he would have beat him if… well if Keith hadn’t caught him so off guard. He still doesn’t know if what he saw was completely real or not.

“It’s getting pretty late, so if we are going to go out more then we should probably go unless someone else wants to race,” Keith said. Lance looked down realizing that his hand was still locked into Keith’s grip. His palm was warm through his gloves, a pleasant contrast to the cold November air. Lance was thankful it was dark outside because he felt the heat rise up his arm up to his face that he was sure was bright red by now. He slowly took his hand back from Keith’s and took a step closer to Hunk.

Matt and Pidge were the only ones to want to race again, Pidge insisting that their last one hadn’t been fair. After that they loaded back up in the vehicles and made their way back into the town. Shiro dropped Pidge off at her parents house and followed Keith and Lance to the bar. It was a small one that was a few blocks down the road from the garrison. It wasn’t something that someone would just know was there, but Shiro had found it when he was a student and it was the place where he and Curtis really first connected after the war ended. Keith figured it would be the only bar that Shiro would really want to go out to if they were going to one.

They walked into the crowded room. They found a spot in the corner where they could all fit. Matt had already begun begging Shiro to go dance before they had even made it through their first round of drink.

“If you are going to make me dance at least let me get a decent amount of alcohol in me first,” Shiro groaned.

“Ugh but drunk Shiro gets all cuddly and handsy. And we don’t need that a couple of nights before you get married to another man now do we?” Matt replied. Hunk just gave Shiro and Matt several glances back and forth.

Shiro’s face fell flat, unamused, “Ha ha, Matt. You’re hilarious. Let me at least finish this one before you subject me to your awful dancing.”

After Shiro finished his drink, as promised, Matt dragged him out to dance. On his way out of his seat, he latched onto Keith’s wrist. Keith’s face filled with panic as he struggled to free his arm from Shiro’s grasp.

“Shiro let go of me,”

“Oh nononono you don’t hotshot, this is a bachelor party and we all get to participate in the humiliation,” Lance said as he stood up from his spot beside Keith. He put his hand on Keith’s shoulder and nudged him forward. “Come on, Hunk.”

“Aw man, Lance, that’s not fair. I can’t even drink anything to make this any easier.”

“What are you talking about dude, none of us are even drunk right now. If the rest of us have to suffer sober, then you, as the dd, gets to also.”

It didn’t take long for Hunk to get pumped up like Matt and Lance were. They all danced around an awkward Shiro and a pouting Keith. At least Shiro was trying to dance. Keith just stood there with his arms crossed tapping his foot and lightly bobbing his head to the beat of the music. Lance grabbed his arms to uncross them and started to swing them around.

“Lance what are you doing,” he deadpanned at the boy in front of him who was still shaking his arms around to the beat of the music.

“Uhhh, what does it look like, Keith. I’m helping you dance since you are incapable of having fun.”

“What! I am not incapable of having fun,” he said as his scowl hardened as Lance continued to haphazardly flop his arms in random directions.

“Well considering I have to do this,” he waved Keith’s arms in front of his face, “in order for you to move any part of your body, I would say that you are pretty incapable of fun.”

Keith just shook his head in disbelief as he ripped his arms from Lance’s grasp. “I’m more than capable of having fun,” he said. Lance just raised an eyebrow at the boy in front of him before Keith started swaying back and forth, matching the rhythm of the song.

“You call that dancing? Come on man, loosen up some,” Lance said to him, putting his hands on the others shoulders and shaking him a little. Keith just took a breath in and started slowly mimicking the movements that Lance was doing in front of him. As the song continued on, he did in fact loosen up. He got less awkward with his movement and more into what he was doing.

Lance watched as the boy in front of him closed his eyes and let the music move through his body. He watched as the long bangs that hung down in front of his eyes bobbed up in down with the movement of Keith’s body. Some of his hair was beginning to stick to his forehead due to sweat beginning to form in the warm room. He stopped for a minute just to watch Keith dance. It had been awhile since Lance had seen his friend so free. He was usually so run down by the duties he had been carrying around since he was 17, but now, in this small moment, none of those were present. Keith just let himself go. He was dancing, awfully, Lance might add, but he was still dancing. And it was the most beautiful thing Lance had seen in a really long time.

After a while, Lance started to get pretty tired. He gets another drink and then makes his way back over to their spot. By this point, Shiro and Matt were getting pretty drunk. They had more drinks in between every few songs, but Lance had just stayed dancing with Keith and Hunk. He almost never wanted that feeling to end, the one that he was getting from watching Keith dance horribly in front of him as if he hadn’t ever had a care in the world. It was so unlike the hard cold Keith that usually was present during these types of situations. He almost felt like he was living in a dream, until of course something had to come and wake him up.

The song switched and he opened his eyes and stopped dancing for a moment to catch his breath. He was looking at Keith again when a girl walked along the back of the room behind Keith. White hair, fastened neatly up into a large bun on the top of her head. Ears coming to a point on the side of the head. Dark skin contrasting to the mark glowing just under her eye. Allura.

Lance’s breath seized up inside of his chest. He took a better look at the girl passing by in the background. No, not Allura. Allura was… It was just an altean that looked so much like… like her. Lance felt his chest drop and he looked down at the ground. His head suddenly feeling very heavy. He was just… tired. So he took a break and now he was sitting alone in their corner trying to catch a glimpse of the girl who was now long out of sight. He took a sip of his drink and sighed. Keith and Hunk were still dancing. Matt and Shiro were nowhere to be found at the moment.

He is still searching the crowd to try and get just one more look at her, but Lacne can’t find the altean girl anywhere in the room. He looks down at the ground when he feels an elbow hitting his shoulder. He looks up to find Keith with a drink in each hand, bangs stuck to his forehead and hair draped messily on his neck, having come loose from his hair tie. Lance moves over to make room for the other boy to sit next to him. Keith hands him the full glass, taking a sip of his own at the same time.

“You’ve been over here by yourself for a while now, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine buddy. Just got a little tired.” Keith just gave him a look but took another drink rather than pushing the question any further. Lance took a glance out onto the crowd of people and aliens dancing in front of them. “Where’d Hunk go?”

“He went to go find Matt and Shiro. I told him to look in the bathroom. Shiro tends to end up there pretty quickly after he gets a few drinks in him and Matt definitely put more than a few in him.”

They dropped the conversation after that, continuing to drink their drinks in the comfortable silence that had fallen over them. After they both finished, Keith offered to go get another round and Lance didn’t turn it down. Maybe after a few more this feeling would fade away. Keith quickly returned handing his friend the new glass.

“I never thanked you for helping me the other night with this.”

“You don’t need to thank me dude, I figured it was only a matter of time before the panicked call came in begging me for my genius help in party planning.” Keith shoved Lance over, spilling some of both of their drinks onto the ground. “Now look what you did.”

“Shut up, Lance. I’m serious. This turned out great. Everyone is having a good time and we all get to do it together. I would’ve never thought of anything like this without you, hell, I didn’t even know I was supposed to plan anything in the first place.”

“It’s nothing. Besides I just led you into the right direction. You came up with the bikes and bringing Shiro to this place. But I will accept your gratitude because I really don’t want to know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t called me.”

“Honestly, neither do I,” he said laughing under his breath. “I’m glad you still have my back, Lance.”

“Hey man, we’re partners. I’ll always have your back when you need me. I don’t know what you’d do without me.”

Keith just looks up at him and gently smiles. “Yeah. I don’t know what I’d do either.”

They stay like that for a while going through a few more drinks, talking about nothing in particular. Eventually Hunk walks out from a hallway with Shiro and Matt following behind. He makes them sit down for awhile but they tell him that he isn’t any fun and that this is Shiro’s night so when Hunk turns his back for a second they are up and gone back out to dance. Hunk just lets them go, but doesn’t take his eyes off of the pair the entire time they are up.

Lance’s mind is now turning into a stronger buzz, the feelings that he felt when he originally sat down now replaced by a bubbling happiness that really acted up everytime Keith looked at him, accidentally brushed his arm against his own, or even talked to Lance.

“Keeeeeith. Let’s go dance again,” Lance said leaning his body against Keith’s as if he were trying to push him out of his seat.

“I’ve done enough dancing for a lifetime,” he mumbles pushing back against Lance’s weight.

Lance continues to push, but eventually he begins pointing the other boys side. “Pleeeease Keith. I like it when you dance. You start to look pretty.”

“Fine, but it's too hot in here for me to keep this on,” he says as he begins to strip off his leather jacket revealing the tight red shirt underneath. Lance feels his breath catch in his throat again, and the room suddenly does feel very warm as Keith had suggested it did. “Hunk, hold this for me pleeease. Thanks I love you.” Hunk looks shocked and slightly annoyed, but takes the jacket from Keith’s hand nonetheless.

“Please be careful you two, you are starting to look almost as bad as Matt and Shiro,” he warns them. Lance just takes Keith’s hand and scoffs at Hunk.

“We’re fine, buddy. We are just going to go make Keith pretty again.” With that, Lance tugs on Keith’s hand and drags him out to the area where Shiro and Matt are “dancing”.

He grabs Keith by his other hand and they start to dance as they had earlier but now hand and hand. Keith’s eyes are already closed as he lets himself go once again, but Lance doesn’t close his this time. He keeps them open the entire time watching as the others hair flies in all directions with the motion of his head and as is body moves in -sort of- time of the song. Their hands start to get slippery in the grip of the others, but neither one of them lets go of the others while they are out there. Shiro and Matt make their way more over to where Lance and Keith are standing and try and dance along with them, but Lance doesn’t pay much attention to what they are doing.

It doesn’t take much longer for Hunk to decide that it’s time for everyone to go home. He rounds them all up and takes them out to Shiro’s car where he piles him, Keith and Shiro into the backseat after Matt had whined about not sitting in the front yet.

“Waiit, Hunk. Keith’s bike, someone’s gonna steal it from him. What are we going to do?”

Hunk buckled himself into the driver's seat and just looked at Lance through the mirror. He looked tired. Lance suddenly felt a finger touch his lips.

“Shhhh, I’ll just get it in the morning. It’ll be okay,” Keith whispered into Lance’s ear.

“Remind me never agree to be the designated driver again. All of you are weird drunk.”

Lance decided to ignore his friends comment about them and just leaned his head against the back of his seat letting his eyes begin to close. Right before he started to slip into sleep, he felt the gentle weight of a head resting on his shoulder, bangs gently tickling against his neck.

The next thing he knows is that he is being shook awake and helped out of the car. They all slowly make their way up the stairs of Shiro’s apartment complex and over to his place. Matt just falls onto the couch and Shiro takes the chair next to it, curling up and immediately falling asleep. Lance is about to sit down and pass out on in the middle of the living room with the other two, but he feels a warm hand curl around his wrist, pulling him into the hallway leading to the two bedrooms. Keith guides Lance into the guest room where he is staying for the weekend and pulls back the covers of the bed in the middle of the room. Without a word, he strips down his pants and removes his jacket, leaving him in just his boxers and his red shirt, before climbing into the bed and pulling the covers up over his head. Lance doesn’t put much thought into deciding that what Keith did would be the most suitable option for sleepwear before doing the same and going to the otherside of the bed. As soon as his head hits the pillow, he starts to drift off, again only feeling the draping of an arm over his side before he completely falls into the darkness of sleep.

The next morning, Keith wakes up first to the morning light coming through the blinds that he forgot to close. He brings up his hand to cover his eyes from the blinding light that is causing his head to pound. As he slowly begins to wake up more, he realizes that his body was curled up into Lance’s side, head resting on his shoulder, hand draped over his stomach. He looked up at the sleeping boys face before slowly removing himself from the bed. Quietly, he slipped on a new pair of jeans and a new shirt, grabbed his jacket, closed the blinds and left the room deciding that it was best to do so before Lance woke up.

The light eventually starts to make its way under Lance’s eyelids, slowly waking him up. The first thing he notices is the pounding sensation in his head. The next thing is that he is alone, and the covers on the other side of the bed are messed up. He carefully and slowly sits up in the bed grabbing his head in his hands as the pounding gets harder with every movement. He eventually makes his way out of the bed and grabs his pants that were laying on the ground next to the bed.

Keith.

That’s who he shared the bed with.

Then it all came back to him. The wink, the lingering hand holding, the dancing, the touches, how pretty Keith looked when he was free. Lance looked back at the unmade other side of the bed.

Oh.

He puts his pants on and makes his way out to the kitchen where Shiro and Matt are sitting at the table with Curtis who must have returned this morning. Hunk was in the kitchen making pancakes at the stove.

“Oh hey Lance. Nice of you to join us.”

“Geez, buddy, can you keep it down some. Pounding headache over here.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry Lance. Forgot you guys were totally wasted last night. There is some aspirin on the counter,” he said. Lance made his way to over to him where he took the two pills and grabbed a plate of food that Hunk had made up for him. He sat down at the table in the last chair and began to dig into his food with the rest of them.

“Does anybody know where Keith went this morning?”

“Oh, I think he slipped out to go get his bike earlier. He’ll probably be back soon if you want to talk to him,” Hunk mentioned as he pulled up a spare chair to the table and started on his own food.

“No, uh, I need to get going after this. Me and Veronica were going to go do some stuff around town today. I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

He took the last few bites of his food before getting up and taking his plate to the sink.

“I’ll see you all later,” he told them making his way over to the door. Shiro stood up from his chair and made his way over to the door along with Lance. Shiro opened it up and Lance stepped outside.

“Hey Shiro, let Keith know I said thanks for letting me use his bed last night.”

“Will do. And thanks for helping him plan the party.”

“Uhhh…”

“Don’t act like you didn’t help him. There is no way Keith had anything planned when I asked him the other night. Are you sure you are good to drive back? Does your head feel alright and everything?”

“Well my head still hurts, but I think I’ll be good. It’s starting to go down some. Alright, see you later tonight for the rehearsal,” he said before turning and making his way to his car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He doesn’t know why, but seeing the altean two nights before had brought back the nightmares. The memories. The last of their teenage years wrapped up in the middle of a war they hadn’t even existed before they had found Blue. But worst of all, it brought back the hurt that came after her.

The feelings that usually dragged him down from thinking about his life before were being repressed. Pushed back by something. Something familiar yet new all at once. They were being drawn away by the red, fiery nature of black hair and violet eyes. By the electricity that ran through his veins when their arms brushed. The smile that burns brighter than any star he ever saw out in the universe. The vague memory of an arm wrapped around him, holding him close as he drifted off into sleep.

Feelings for Keith weren’t something he was unfamiliar with. For years he felt his heart race as they challenged one another over something ridiculous. When Shiro went missing and suddenly their rivalry morphed itself into something more. The feelings of loneliness after Keith disappeared with the blades. The soft flutter that reappeared in his chest when he returned. But by that point he had himself convinced he had moved on from Keith. That Allura was who he needed and that Keith obviously didn’t see him as anything other than his friend and teammate. Overtime those feelings faded completely into the background, unnoticed by Lance among the new ones that had taken their place eventually. That is, until two nights ago. And all it took was a wink.

Now it’s the night of the wedding and they haven’t gone away. He feels weird now after having shared the bed with Keith and then not being able to speak to him since. The familiar feeling of possible rejection climbs up his throat every time he passes by the other. That, followed by the undeniable guilt that builds afterwards. As if Keith is somehow a betrayal to what he felt towards Allura. And he hates it.

He wants Shiro to be happy, but he wasn’t expecting something as simple as his friends wedding to bring up so many emotions that were extremely unwanted.

It’s an hour until the ceremony starts and Lance still hasn’t had the courage or the time to talk to Keith about the other night. The night before at the wedding rehearsal and dinner, he avoided most eye contact with him. That of course got him several worried glances from Hunk but never an actual question of what was going on. And today, while they were all putting in place decorations and getting ready, Keith was gone almost the entire time helping Shiro prepare. When him and Shiro finally showed up, Keith was already dressed in his white tuxedo with his red vest and bowtie. Keith spared him one glance before ushering Shiro into the next room. Lance’s eyes followed, stopping and staying locked on the door, breath hitched up in the back of his throat, until an elbow nudged him gently in his side.

“Hey dude, you okay?”

Lance looked up at his friend who was fastening his own yellow bowtie on his neck in the mirror next to where Lance was standing.

“Uh yeah, I’m good. Totally fine.”

“You sure because you sure have been acting weird everytime Keith is around ever since you woke up at Shiro’s the other day. Did something happen between you two that night? I noticed you guys were pretty close all night long. Oh my god, dude! Did you two…”

“What!? Nononononononono. We didn’t do anything except share the bed. I swear, geez Hunk. And I am not acting weird around Keith. Why would I be acting weird around him?” Hunk just stopped what he was doing and stared at Lance who could feel his face heating up by the second. He just turned around avoiding his best friends intense and knowing stare that always got to him eventually. “I’m fine dude, promise.”

“If you say so, Lance,” he said placing a hand on Lance’s turned shoulder. It dropped almost immediately after, footsteps falling in its place, leaving Lance alone and lost without the comfort of his friend to distract his mind from the red that he can't seem to shake from his mind.

The ceremony was beautiful. The room was decorated in white and black with purple flowers occasionally standing out against the white ones they were surrounded by. Lance stood next to Keith on the stage, but his mind never wandered over to thoughts about him. His entire focus was on his friend who he had never seen happier as he vowed to be with the love of his life forever. Everything went relatively perfectly throughout the entire thing and tears were forming from the corners of his eyes almost from the moment that he saw Shiro’s face as Curtis started walking towards him.

They make their way over to the reception after they get in a few pictures of the new married couple. The decorations here are more purple, the rooms lighting is dim and the music is already playing the background. The moments directly after the wedding were full of a high. Everyone was crying and laughing, happy that their friend finally gets to experience permanent happiness after everything that he had to go through. It was the reception that started the low from that.

The lights were dim and the feeling floating around the air was one of light happiness. The room was crowded with people, some dancing, some sitting and chatting, others mindlessly eating away at the food laid out on the tables along the wall. He should have been happy. And he was in a way. He doesn’t think the happiness he felt for Shiro would go away for a long time. But at the same time the nagging is creeping up from the back of his mind again. Gnawing away at his thoughts slowly, making him think of what could have been, or even what could be. Reminders of the past and how they shaped the future and their current lives. He hates it. He hates being like this. Especially in a place where he is really not supposed to be like this.

Lance missed Keith’s speech. He was there, sitting at the table with him and the others, but he completely missed everything he said. He had spent the entire time staring. At his face and how his mouth formed carefully around every single word he said. At how his brows would twitch when he had to think a little longer about what his next sentence would be. At his hands and how they nervously intertwined themselves together throughout the entire speech. He had never seen Keith so nervous about speaking in front of a crowd before. Usually he was so confident, calm and collected as he spoke out among a crowd of people. But this was different. This wasn’t a talk about how they would come back triumphant in their quest to save the universe or a speech to unite alien civilizations. It was his best friend’s- his brother’s- wedding, and Lance picked up on how it was cutting through his confidence in a way none of them had ever seen.

The night carried on like that for a while. Hunk held his wrist and walked him around to different spots in the room to chat with people, took him to get food, and even took him out to dance. He felt fine while he was with Hunk, but something was still digging its way through his mind and even Hunk’s persistence couldn’t rid of it completely. They were dancing to a song Lance had never heard when Shay asked if she could cut in. Hunk just gave Lance a look, but Lance just smiled and nodded, moving out of the way so that Shay could take his spot.

“Have fun you two crazy kids. And don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do.” He continued to smile as a blush covered Hunk’s cheeks, but he turned around without another word and walked back to his seat at the table.

He looks out at the dance floor for a while, watching as his friends and the other guests dance along to the music. He hears the chair next to him slide out and feels the presence of someone next to him.

“You know, I just spent 10 minutes listening to Slav go on about how many realities there were to get us to this wedding and about how my bowtie being crooked would alter so many realities after this and now I feel like my head might actually explode.”

Lance turned his head to look at the man sitting beside him. His bowtie was crooked.

“You spent 10 minutes listening to that and you didn’t even think to straighten out your bowtie? Here, let me help you,” he said reaching his arms out to connect with the bright red bow around Keith’s neck. He looked up at Keith’s face briefly before concentrating back at his task. “Why were you talking to Slav anyway?”

“He had been talking to Shiro and I figured I should go save him since it was his wedding day and we don’t need this to turn into a crime scene today.” Lance finished straightening out the tie and slowly took his hands back, looking up at Keith and smiling. “Thanks. Maybe now realities are altered back to how they should be.”

“I don’t know a lot about the alternate reality thing, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works.”

They sat there after that, once again falling into comfortable silence as they stared out onto the crowd. Even with Keith sitting by him in the moment, there was something still clawing at his mind. How could everything here seem so right but wrong at the same time? As if something was missing from it all, changing the way everyone was experiencing it.

“You are thinking about her, aren’t you.”

Oh. It’s her. The guilt, the pain. The missing piece from today. Her.

Lance just looked back at Keith.

“Yeah. I guess I was.”

“It’s been bothering me all night. I was trying to figure out what it was and then it hit me. It just kind of seems wrong without her, but this is what she would want for him. For all of us actually. To be happy and living out lives as we should be.” Lance didn’t know what to say to that. So he just picked up his cup and took a sip from it. “Oh, I.. sorry. You probably really miss her right now.”

“Yeah I do, but not like I used to. Just sometimes when we are all together, experiencing things, it just gets a little hard.”

“Yeah I understand. But she would want this for you most of all, you know. To be happy, and to move onto new adventures as they come to you.” Keith is really looking at him now, face soft and comforting.

“I’ve moved on from her.  Really, I have. But you’re right, it’s just hard sometimes to do that second part. With the new adventures and all. I just, I don’t know, I think I feel like if I stop what I’m doing now, it’ll be a disservice to her.”

“Allura cared so much about you Lance. She liked you for who you were, for the Lance that knew exactly what he wanted in life. She knew from the moment she met all of us that we were destined for greatness and I don’t think that you could anything that would ever be of disservice to Allura and her life. You are capable of new adventures, Lance, and you will never convince me otherwise.”

Lance softly smiled back. “Thanks. I, uh, I really needed that Keith.” His mind was starting to calm. He didn’t know if it was the reassurance about Allura or the look that Keith was giving him in the moment, but it didn’t really matter. “Now I guess I just have to figure out where to start, “ he said laughing lightly with it. Keith turned his head away from Lance and back out to the crowd of dancing people, then stands up, holding his hand out to Lance. Lance’s eyes follow up his arm and find his face. It’s still soft and appears confident, but he can tell there is something hidden in his eyes- nervousness.

“How about right here,” he says softly keeping his hand extended. Lance feels the blood rise up to his cheeks.

“What do you mean?”

“You can start right here. With me.” Lance goes back to looking at his extended hand. He then looks down at his own and back up at Keith. A smile forms on his face as he reaches out with his own and takes hold of Keith’s hand, letting himself be pulled out of the chair and led back out to the middle of the room into the crowd of people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Half a year later~

He was out in the garden weeding the juniberry garden when the roar of the ships engine began to grow louder as it came closer. Lance smiled down at the large pink flowers in front of him, picking one from the ground before standing up and wiping off his hands. He threw the rake that he had been using earlier over his shoulder and looked out on the fields of his family’s farm. It was beautiful outside, sunny and clear but not hot so that it was miserable. They were all outside working today. His mom, niece and nephew were gathering flowers that had been ordered for bouquets and arrangements. His father had been milking Kaltenecker. Everyone had a job to get done but there was no stress out here. Everything out here was exactly how it was meant to be.

Lance had been out working since the sun rose in the horizon. He was always up earlier than anyone else on these days because it was hard for him to stay asleep. It was pickup day. The day that was guaranteed to be his favorite of the whole week every week. It had been since mid-November. He had finished all of his usual daily chores early on in the morning and went out to the Juiberry garden to pass the time. It always calmed him, working out there. Made his excitement tone down for a while so he wouldn't be restless the entire day.

He made his way down to the barn where all of the crates that were ready to be picked up were located. He tucked the flower behind his ear for safe keeping as he leaned over the boxes, counting to make sure they were all there and labeled correctly.

He stood up and straightened his back when he heard the barn door open up behind him, the soft creak of the hinges acting as a warning. A smile spread across his face and his heartbeat picked up as he pretended to continue counting the boxes. Eventually, two strong arms found their way around his waist followed by a head full of long and soft, black hair nuzzling its way into the crook of his neck. Lance wrapped his arms over Keith’s, his hands molding perfectly over the others. He opened up the arms around him and turned around, looking into the face of his boyfriend.

“I brought you something,” he said pulling the juniberry from behind his ear and pushing Keith’s hair back so that he could move it to stay behind Keith’s ear. “Beautiful,” he whispered to him before leaning in to kiss him gently on the lips. And it was true, Keith was beautiful and Lance didn’t think he could ever get enough of it. He pulled away, slipping his hand into Keith’s and turning back towards the crates.

“Everything’s ready to load up, partner.”

After Shiro’s wedding, Lance decided it was time to start his new adventure- baby steps at a time. Him and Keith started dating not long after the wedding and everything started to build from there. Keith eventually decided that his humanitarian efforts throughout the universe could really use some good, homegrown products, thus starting their partnership. Lance’s family was all for giving what they produce towards Keith’s cause. They’d do anything for Keith. All of them already treat him as if he were a part of the family.

The best part of the pick up days was that after everything was loaded into Keith’s ship, they had the rest of the day to themselves. Keith usually ended up staying the night since he didn’t really have to take off again until the morning.

The last crate of the day gets loaded into the cargo hold and Keith takes Lance’s hand in his own.

“So what is on the schedule for today?”

“I was thinking that we could just have a do nothing, chill day. Maybe walk around later. I’m fine with anything just as long as I get to spend all of it with you.”

Keith looked at him, smiling that smile that made Lance’s insides feel as if they were about to explode. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

So that’s what they did. They laid around inside, watched movies, and helped his mom cook and set up for dinner. After they ate and helped clean up, they went outside for their walk.

The sun was just starting to set, the sky changing from blue to a painting of yellows and oranges as the sun began to disappear behind the hills in the distance.

“Look at us, babe. Lance and Keith, hand in hand,” he says, holding up him and Keith’s entangled hands to admire them.

“I like that a lot better than Lance and Keith, neck and neck.”

Lance laughed, “Yeah, so do I. We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we.”

They sat down next to each other on the top of a hill, sides pressing into one another's. Lance put his arm around Keith’s shoulders as Keith rest his head on Lance’s.

“Do you remember our last night on earth before the war ended?”

Lance paused at the question, looking off into the orange sunset.

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“And how you came and found me on the black lion watching the sunset?”

“Yeah.”

“That was the night I was going to tell you how I felt about you.”

“Wait, you were going to do what?”

“Shiro had told us all, spend the evening with the ones you love. I had gone up to Black with Cosmo to think about it, and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to spend that night with you. And I got to, because you came and found me, but obviously after that I couldn’t tell you how I felt. But it was fine, I was really happy for you.”

“Oh, I… I didn’t know that.”

“No offense, but I even then I had a feeling that we would always end up here anyway. I mean, not necessarily on your family farm watching the sunset, but together. You were always the flame that I was drawn to, that I couldn’t resist. And from the moment I met you in that tent in the desert I had a feeling I was going to be stuck with you forever, I just didn’t realize at the time that forever isn’t enough time for me to spend with you.”

“That’s… that’s exactly how I felt back at the garrison when I first heard of you. Keith Kogane, the pain in my ass who was always one step ahead of me. Keith Kogane, the boy who didn’t even bother to remember my name. Eventually I realized that all that anger I had towards you was just a stupid crush that I thought I would never get over, and to be honest, even when I thought it was gone, it was still there. Just waiting for me to realize that I need you in my life always.”

They stayed there on the ground until the sun set completely, laying down in the grass after that to count the stars. Lance turned on his side, resting his head in his hand to look over at his boyfriend. His face was lit up under the dim light of the moon, his black hair was spread out over the soft grass, and his face was filled with job as he gazed up at the stars above them. He quickly noticed Lance’s staring and turned his head slightly to look up at him.

“What?”

“I just…”

“You just…?”

Lance paused for a moment, looking back up at the stars and then out onto the hills in the distance as they faded into the dark sky. Everything out here was calm, exactly as it should be. He had never been happier in his life than he was in this moment. He thought back to the past several years of his life, the end of the war, starting up the farm with his family, the wedding, Keith. When he first boarded Blue all those years ago, never in a million years would he have thought this is where he would end up. He was so young and full of life and curiosity. Ready for the next adventure to come as the last one passed. But it’s where he is, and it was what he needed. He needed a break from the thrill of life for a moment, where he could be surrounded by what he loves most. He is truly surrounded by everything that he loves, and everything is completely clear now.

“Marry me,” he says quietly, looking back down at Keith now. Keith’s eyes go wide with shock and his mouth falls open. He sits up so that his body is more level with Lance’s.

“W..What? Are you joking?”

“No, I’m completely serious. It’s time for another new adventure and you said it yourself, we are meant to do this together. So, Keith Kogane, marry me, because I have never been so sure of something in my life,” he said taking Keith’s hand in his own and holding it close to them. He said it as a statement rather than a question. Because he knows Keith. Even if he doesn’t get a clear yes right in this moment, he knows one will come soon and no matter what happens that is where they will end up. Keith’s face is still filled with shock, but soon it starts to soften into the look that he saves specifically for moments like this with Lance.

“Of course I’ll marry you,” he says throwing his arms around Lance’s neck, tackling him back onto the ground. Keith’s weight is on top of Lance and he leans down so that their foreheads are touching.

“I don’t have a ring right now, but I’ll get you one. And then we will get married and we can go off and do whatever the hell we want.”

“I love you, Lance, so much.”

“I love you too, Mullet.”

Six years after the war had ended, their lives were really just beginning.

end.

archive of our own- |x|

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

The New Romantics Ch. 17-

Please please please comment, friends! Comments mean a lot to me!!!!!

If the READ MORE link doesn’t show, go to the Original Post!

(If you have songs I can add play to a playlist for this fic please let me know!!)

The New Romantics Playlist Here

And So the Moon Fell for the Sun Here

Sweet Sun the Moon is Yours Playlist Here (an in-progress playlist from Keith to Lance)

Part 1 Here

Part 16 Here

AO3 chapter link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11484630/chapters/40150598

The creamy substance was cold on his face. Long fingers swept against his face in a patterned motion, and Keith clenched his eyes shut and scrunched up his nose.

He heard a soft laugh and felt warm lips on his. “ Mi corazon, stop making that face. You have to relax so I can spread it evenly.”

“It feels weird,” Keith muttered.

“Babe, you’ve had worse things on your face.”

Keith blushed, and he heard Pidge yelp, “Oh, that was unnecessary information!” Keith opened his eyes to glare at Lance who had the decency to look a little embarrassed. “Lance is this edible?”

“Uh, maybe? I never tried… why?”

“Because Hunk keeps sniffing it, and I think he’s two seconds away from tasting it.”

“I got this at an alien store at the Space Mall, so I’d be careful,” Lance said. He turned back to Keith and continued to smear the face cream. “You look cute in a ponytail.”

“ Stop,” Keith groaned, nearly hiding his face in his hands before Lance stopped him with a laugh. Lance gave him another kiss and Keith sighed happily. “Aren’t Allura and Shiro coming too?”

“Yeah, Allura said she was getting Coran, but Shiro said he had a headache and wanted to sleep it off,” Hunk answered. “Lance, this smells like… avocadoes and… cinnamon?”

“Please don’t eat it,” Pidge said with a laugh.

Keith snorted and looked up at Lance as he tilted his face to smear the face cream on him. “You look cute in green,” he said. Lance’s face was perfectly done perfect circles around his eyes and a clean with line of face cream along the outline of his face, his own hair pushed back with a headband. Lance smirked at him and finished up, pulling back and admiring his work- or maybe admiring Keith- and wiped his hands clean.

Pidge had her hair pulled back in two little ponytails that stuck out with a few bobby pins holding back any stray hairs. Hunk’s bandana was doubling as a head band like Lance’s to keep his hair out of his face, but Pidge had also tied his hair back in to a mini-bun.

There were cookies and juice packs in the center and they were spread out along the floor of Keith’s old room which Lance had sort of taken over. He didn’t mind though. Soon, Allura and Coran joined them along with the mice. The mice helped Allura keep her hair back as Lance taught her how to use the cream, and Pidge braided Coran’s hair back as he listened to Lance and copied Allura.

It was a fun sight, really. One Keith never thought he’d be part of. And he could tell how much Lance enjoyed it too. How happy it made him to share something he liked with the others, to see them happy to be part of it. It was the only reason he agreed to getting a face mask. That and the fact that Lance insisted he didn’t need to do his routine since he didn’t want to lose time with Keith, but Keith knew how easily Lance would break out when he skipped his favorite routine. He used to get earfuls of it when they were just friends with benefits and Keith didn’t wait until after his routine.

Pidge had joined because she’d been in the hall when Lance went to go get the face cream and towels, and Hunk joined when Lance went looking for snacks.

After that, they decided it may as well be a group activity.

“Ooh, my face feels all tingly,” Coran said, scrunching his mouth so his moustache wiggled. Allura ate a cookie and laughed.

“How come we’ve never had giant sleepovers before?” Lance wondered.

“Sleepover?” Allura repeated.

“It’s a thing you do with friends. You hang out all together for a night and do fun stuff then all fall asleep in the same room. Hunk, Lance, and I would do it back at the Garrison,” Pidge answered.

“Yeah, and we tell secrets or embarrassing stories or give advice on stuff. In the Garrison, we’d talk about girls, but Pidge was still pretending to be a boy. Jeez, Pidge how’d you put up with us?”

Pidge snorted. “It was all fun and games until you suggested porn once.”

“You what?” Keith yelped.

Even under the face mask, Keith could tell Lance had turned red. “It was one time, and I was freaking out because I thought Samantha McKinney was into me! I felt weird watching alone.”

“So watching with Hunk and Pidge would’ve made it better?” Keith asked, stifling laughter. Allura questioned the porn and Pidge explained it, making both Alteans’ eyes blow wide.

“No! Yes? I don’t know, man, I was fifteen!”

“Why, why did you bring that up?” Hunk groaned, half laughing. “What happened at the sleepovers was supposed to stay at the sleepovers.”

“That just sounds kinky,” Pidge said with a snort. Hunk glared at her and threw a pillow at her face. She blocked it and threw it back. “Stop, you’ll mess up my face mask! Lance!”

“No smudging the face masks, they have to stay for fifteen minutes, stoppit!” He yanked the pillow and fixed them both with a placating finger. “Be-have.”

Keith laughed and helped himself to snacks as Lance gestured everyone to huddle around in a circle. He sat back down beside Keith, and he had to fight the urge to nuzzle into Lance because of the gunk on his face.

“We don’t have to watch the porn, do we?” Allura asked.

“No!” the paladins exclaimed, in varying levels of embarrassment and amusement.

“Well, I don’t know what stories to tell,” Coran said. “I’ve told you all mostly everything about me.”

“Well, not everything,” Lance said with a smile. Keith raised an eyebrow, holding a slight idea of where this was going. “You’ve never told us if there was a Mrs. Coran.” Coran furrowed his eyebrows in question. “Well, I’ve never heard of you being in love with anyone. Everything you tell us is about the war or Zarkon or Alfor or raising Allura. Or your time as a cadet or some other.”

“Relationships. We’re gonna talk about relationships when you and Keith are the only couple here right now?” Pidge asked.

“Actually, yeah I’m kind of curious too, Coran,” Keith said softly. “And it doesn’t have to be about relationships, Pidge.” Keith looked at Coran and tilted his head. “So, has there ever been someone special?”

Coran smiled slightly and sighed. “Why yes, there has been. But we couldn’t be together for a number of reasons.” Keith heard Lance gasp softly. His hand searched for Keith’s and Keith took it, knowing Coran already had him hooked. Allura pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin carefully over interlocked hands, listening. Hunk and Pidge gave in to curiosity and scooted a little closer.

Coran chuckled and shook his head. “We were two of the same. We worked well together. We complimented each other. But I was Alfor’s right hand. I was needed elsewhere. I had other duties that pulled me away.” Lance’s hand tightened in Keith’s, and Keith squeezed back, pressing his knee to Lance’s. “In our youth we were good friends. We were close, and everyone expected us to end up together with a family. But without the time needed for us, we never got a chance. We both had things to do and… before long, I wasn’t quite needed anymore.”

“What?” Hunk asked.

Coran smiled sadly.

“There was someone else,” Pidge whispered.

Coran nodded. “When you love someone, you put their happiness first. I believe that goes for any species. I knew I couldn’t be there for…. I couldn’t bring myself to try and change things. Not after the amount of time that had passed. And once the war began… well, that was a priority. I had to help raise Allura.” Coran looked at her and smiled a genuine smile. “I had to keep you safe, little one.” Allura smiled sadly. “But alas, no one has ever captured my heart the same way before or since. And I think that’s what I like to remember. It’s nicer to think of the happiness that comes from something than to think of the sadness that comes from what might have been.”

Keith longed to ask what made Coran know he was in love. What it felt like to see the person he loved with someone else. But he also didn’t want the others knowing his thoughts, his own insecurities. Even if he had just talked with Lance.

“How did you fall in love?” Allura asked. “Or rather, what made you fall in love with…?”

“Vediran,” Coran supplied. Keith wasn’t sure if that was a guy or a girl name, but somehow that didn’t seem like the most important part of the story. “Well. I suppose it’s what makes anyone fall in love. I was comfortable with Vediran. I felt like I was at peace when we were together. We could talk without talking, be whatever the other needed without question. Vediran knew me better than anyone. And I knew my Vediran better than anyone else. Love is easy with the right person,” he said. “And sometimes you don’t even realize it’s love until well into the emotion. Until one day you look at the person and think, ah yes. That makes sense. They make sense. It can be from one moment to the next, but it builds.”

Coran looked at the expressions on their faces. He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t look so sad, paladins! It’s truly wonderful, and they’re wonderful memories. Vediran will always stay a fond memory and close to my heart. But it’s no need for sadness.”

“But you… got hurt, didn’t you?” Hunk asked.

“Breakups suck,” Lance said. “But you take it so easily.”

“Well, Vediran made me experience love. It hurt not to have lived the rest of our lives together, of course. But without Vediran, I might not have ever known what it was like to love.” Coran turned to Allura. “Except maybe by seeing your parents. They were very much in love as well.” Allura giggled and sighed. “Have you all been in love?” Coran asked.

Keith figured that even Coran had his sadder moods, and this was his way of distracting from them. He wanted to think of the good times only, so to keep from more questions and more sadness, he was turning the conversation to them.

“Love’s a heavy word,” Pidge muttered.

“I don’t know what it would take to fall in love,” Allura mused, laying down to look up at the ceiling. “I’m not entirely sure what I’d look for.”

“I think just someone that fits with you, like Coran and Vediran,” Hunk said.

“Yes, precisely,” Coran agreed. “What would you look for in someone to fit with you?”

“Someone nice and pretty like Shay,” Pidge said with a teasing lilt. Keith and Lance shared a look but otherwise remained silent.

“Well, that’s not all,” Hunk protested. “I think having someone who likes how smart I am would be nice. Someone who’s also smart, and willing to challenge me. Like, in a personality way, I think.”

“What does that mean?” Lance asked.

“Well…. Look, I know I can be scared of a lot of things. I think it’d be cool to have someone who’s not afraid of so much. Someone a little more daring and stuff, who would in turn encourage me, I guess. And also intellectually challenge me. Because I think a relationship should have growth, so you gotta push each other, you know?”

“So Hunk wants someone smart, brave, daring, and encouraging,” Lance summed up.

“And pretty and nice,” Keith added.

“And well, of course someone who makes me feel comfortable. I think everyone wants that. Having someone who feels like home, who feels like someone you can go to for anything, someone that knows you better than anyone.” Hunk shrugged. “Isn’t that kind of universal?”

Coran made a sound, and Keith looked over at him to see him looking genuinely confused. “Well, if that’s what you want, I don’t think you’ve got to look very far. If anyone’s as smart and comfortable for your standards, then Numb-”

“Whoa, hey, I think the fifteen minutes are up!” Keith exclaimed, making a deal about getting up and hauling Lance up. “Doesn’t bad stuff happen if you keep this on too long?”

“Yup!” Lance agreed. “Come on guys! Allura, Coran, you have to keep them on a bit longer because you were last but come with!”

Everyone stood up and Keith noticed Pidge looking unsettled while Hunk looked confused. “Sleepovers are fun,” Allura said. “I feel closer to you all already.” Keith laughed a little at that.

As they made it to the bathrooms, Keith burst into laughter at the sight of all of them in green gunk in the mirrors, all of their hair in different forms of silly updos. He’d been looking at the others, but actually seeing himself, and the whole lot of them as a group just made him lose it completely. He couldn’t stop laughing, and eventually Pidge joined, then Allura and Coran, then Hunk and Lance.

It was honestly a sight he never in a million years would have fathomed a handful of months before. It was funny how quickly things changed. They took turns washing off their masks, if only to prolong time for Allura and Coran.

Pidge walked over to Keith after she washed off and gave him a smile. “Thanks for that. Things would’ve gotten really awkward really fast.”

“No worries, Pidge. If Hunk ever figures out what he may or may not feel for you or what you feel for him, it should be between you two. That’s what you want.”

She smiled and turned her attention to where Hunk was fumbling with his headband near Lance. “Need help?” she called. She and Keith walked over to them, but Lance was hurrying to get a towel to Allura and Coran as they finished washing off.

“I just tied it too tight and can’t get it to come undone,” he said, handing the bandana over to Pidge. “My face feels all fresh and tingly.” Keith laughed. “Hey, what do you think Coran was about to say? He said I didn’t have to look far but then he said numb and I don’t know how being numb relates to the conversation?”

“He was probably trying to say that you had Shay there already,” she said. “She’s pretty daring, right? She let you in against her brother’s wishes, helped you around, she’s smart because she had to survive. And she likes you.”

“Well, yeah, but….” Hunk frowned. “I don’t think Coran has ever actually met Shay. How would he know any of that?”

“Uh….” Pidge shrugged, looking to Keith for back up.

“Hey, I think the Alteans are done, let’s get back and finish those cookies,” he said. “Lance!” God, Lance was better at maneuvering his best friends, he just wanted Lance to help out with the fumbling romance that was sort of but not really there.

Allura kept touching her face and Lance looked smug as they each commented on the softness of their faces. They made their way back to Keith/Lance’s room and sprawled out on the floor again. Only instead of heavy topics like love and relationships, they decided to inform the Alteans about some more Earthly traditions.

Pidge started talking about Hanukah, Hunk told them about Christmas, Keith mentioned Halloween, and Lance brought up Valentine’s day. Despite the conversation, they were all exhausted from the meeting earlier that day, and it wasn’t long before the talking came to a lull. Allura stretched on the floor and yawned.

“I should get to my bed. Today was fun! I hope we can have a sleepover again soon. I’ll see you all in the morning.” She leaned over and nudged Coran awake. He snorted and pulled himself up from the floor, his orange hair all messy.

“Goodnight, paladins!” he said sleepily, following Allura out of the room.

Keith nuzzled closer into Lance and glanced over at Hunk who was sitting against the wall with Pidge’s head in his lap. He kept running his hand through her hair, which was the only reason they knew he wasn’t fully asleep. Before Keith could go to nudge them awake, Lance grabbed his arm and stopped him. He pulled out the holo-phone and snapped a picture before chuckling to himself and nodding at Keith.

“What are you gonna do with that?”

“I just wanted a picture of my best friends,” he said innocently.

“Pidge is gonna kill you,” he whispered. Lance rolled his eyes. Keith moved forward and nudged Hunk gently. “Hey, dude. You guys might wanna get into your beds. Floor isn’t all that cozy.”

Hunk squinted and looked around. “Did Coran and Allura already go?” Keith nodded. “Oh, okay. Hey, what time are you getting picked up tomorrow?” Keith shrugged. “Well, I’ll try and make a big breakfast before you do.”

“Thanks, Hunk,” he said with a smile. He started to reach for Pidge, but Hunk stopped him.

“No, don’t wake her. She’ll get cranky. I can carry her.” Keith smiled and nodded, backing off. Lance was already in the bed, curled up along the edge, but he opened his eyes to see Hunk carefully get up without jostling Pidge too much and then lean down to scoop her into his arms.

“Damn Keith, why don’t you do that for me? Hunk over here being prime boy-”

Keith threw one of the pillows on the floor at him and gave him a warning glare. “Shut up, you sleep like the dead it’s impossible to move you.” Lance grumbled and buried his face in the pillow.

Hunk chuckled and said goodnight before he slipped out of the room. Keith turned back to Lance with a raised eyebrow and Lance grinned sheepishly. “I slipped up because I’m sleepy.” Keith rolled his eyes and joined him on the bed, taking the spot near the wall. “Hey, you know your birthday’s coming up, right?”

“Kolivan mentioned it. It’s why he let me stay. That and… the big Naxzela mission is coming up.” It didn’t have to be said. Even though their plan felt foolproof, they didn’t know what the witch was capable of. Anything could go wrong. Saying it would only make the fear that much worse though, so instead Lance just wrapped an arm around Keith and curled into his chest.

Keith was tired, but he didn’t let himself fall asleep. He kept thinking about what Lance had said earlier that night. About the story Coran told them while they had their face masks. He kept thinking and kept trying to soak in the experience of holding Lance. Of holding his boyfriend.

It was strange not listening to music before bed. That had become a routine aside from video chatting, and now it was just… quiet. The sound of Lance’s slow breaths as he laid his head against Keith’s chest was something Keith easily preferred.

He began to run his hand through his hair, soft brown locks sliding between his fingers. Lance sighed and shifted, hugging Keith tighter and nuzzling closer. It made Keith’s heart soar that even in his sleep, Lance yearned for him. He couldn’t help but think he’d be the luckiest person in the universe if Lance fell in love with him.

With the hand that wasn’t sifting through his hair, Keith began to caress Lance’s face, smiling when Lance relaxed further into him at the touch. Keith began to sing a song under his breath, mostly whispering out the words in a rhythm than being able to hit the right notes with such soft singing. It was a song he’d heard on his iPod that wasn’t on the playlist Lance made for him. But it was a song that made him think of Lance, and now that he had him near, Keith couldn’t help but think of the song.

He kept sort-of singing until suddenly, Lance mumbled, “What song’s that?”

“I thought you were already asleep,” Keith whispered, blushing.

“I was starting to. But I keep waking up because I know you’re here. I heard you singing.” Lance pulled himself up and blinked sleepily at Keith. The action made Keith’s heart clench in adoration. God, Lance was so cute. “What song is it?”

“Just a song that reminds me of you,” Keith said, tilting Lance’s chin slightly before leaning in to kiss him. “Go to sleep. I’m right here.” Lance smiled and took a deep breath before his eyes shut. His breaths evened out and warmth encompassed all of Keith as he held him.

A year ago, Keith never would have thought he’d be in this position. Now, there was no other place he’d rather be.

--

The next morning, Keith woke up to Lance playing with his hand. “Morning,” he muttered, muffled by pillows and Lance’s shoulder.

Lance laughed and intertwined their hands. “Good morning, mi cielo. How’d you sleep?”

A knock on the door interrupted his answer. Hunk’s voice came through, “Are you guys decent? Can we come in?” We?

Lance invited Hunk in, and the door opened. Pidge came through first, followed by Hunk who was holding a large cake. Then everyone else came in, and Keith was suddenly very aware of his bedhead. “What are you guys doing?”

“Lance sent me a text about your birthday coming up, but with the battle around the corner, I thought we should take advantage of you being here to celebrate before you go,” Pidge said. “Happy early birthday!”

“No, Pidge, that’s not how it goes yet, we have to sing,” Hunk said. He turned to Shiro and the Alteans. “Ready guys?” Allura and Coran nodded excitedly, and Shiro just gave Keith an amused smile.

And then everyone was singing happy birthday for him with wide smiles. Keith felt his cheeks begin to ache from smiling so much, felt his smile begin to tremble from exertion. It was an incredible feeling. Pidge jumped over Lance’s legs to give Keith a proper hug, wishing him a happy birthday again. Lance kissed his cheek. Keith pulled himself up on his knees to properly hug Allura, Coran, and Shiro.

Hunk placed the cake in front of him and beamed. “Now make a wish and blow out the candle, buddy.” Keith chuckled and looked at the fire on the candle.

Keith didn’t really have birthday cakes and birthday wishes until he met Shiro. And by then, wishing on birthday candles felt stupid and silly. Now, as his friends and family looked at him with their loving smiles, it didn’t even matter that he was in a war or that he was still looking for his mom. He had so much already within these handful of people, and that was enough.

So as he looked back at his candle, he closed his eyes and thought,

I wish to remember this feeling for the rest of my life.

And then he blew out the candle. Cheers and applause surrounded him before he heard Coran cough anxiously. “My boy, you’re changing colors!”

“Yeah, apparently he does that,” Pidge said, helping Hunk balance the cake so they could cut it. “Are you really happy again?”

Keith nodded, but bit his tongue in pointing out that the first few times this happened, he wasn’t necessarily happy. Lance reached out to touch his ear and hummed. “You did that when you were talking with me the last time you came to see us. But you were frustrated, not happy.”

That’s right. The last time, he’d been trying to get Lance to realize how important his life was. He’d felt aggravated, trying to get the right words, but unsure if it was working.

“You’ve gotten angry before, and that doesn’t happen,” Shiro pointed out, taking a slice of cake before sitting on one edge of the bed. Keith shrugged and tried to hide his clawed hands. “Has it happened with the Blade?”

“Not that I know of. I don’t feel it, it just happens. Someone has to point it out.”

“Oh, maybe it’s like a soulmate thing,” Hunk mused. “Since it’s always happening around Lance.” Keith and Lance both blushed at that.

“It doesn’t matter,” Allura said. “Galra traits or not, he’s still Keith.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, grateful that it didn’t bother her the way it had when she’d found out he was part Galra. “Here, get a slice, it’s your cake,” she said, handing over a slice.

They all either sat on the floor or on the bed, everyone still in sleepwear. The cake was one of the best Keith had ever tasted. And for the first time since he got there, it didn’t feel like everyone was waiting on the moment Keith would have to go back. It felt… normal. It felt calm and peaceful.

But it wasn’t supposed to last forever. A little after they’d finished their cake, the castle communication systems turned on to alert of an incoming spaceship. Allura left to allow Kolivan to land in the hangar, and the others left the room to let Keith change into actual clothes. Lance waited, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at his hands.

Once Keith got dressed, he went over to pull Lance up and gave him a smile. “Thanks for the birthday surprise, baby.”

Lance took a breath and gave him a wide smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course. Last year to be a teen, that’s huge.” Keith scoffed and shook his head. “Hey. This Naxzela battle…. Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I will be. We’re just a distraction. Voltron is the one that should be careful. You guys are gonna be at the target point.” Lance bit his lip and sighed. “Hey. It’ll be okay. We’ve got back up. We’re a step ahead. And when that’s over, we’ll be that much closer to finally taking down Zarkon. And we’ll get to go home to have that first date on the beach in Cuba, right?”

Lance smiled, this one a little more honest. “Yeah.” He leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Can I just… do this thing my mom would do for me anytime I left home?” Keith furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. Lance placed his fingertips on his forehead, then the center of his chest, then each shoulder. Finally he pressed his finger lightly to Keith’s lips. “ Dios te cuide, mi gatito.”

Keith furrowed his eyebrows. “Babe, thank you, but… did you just call me a cat?” Lance laughed and shrugged, kissing his nose lightly.

“Come on, so you can get a chance to say bye to the others.” Keith frowned, not entirely sure how he felt about being called a kitten. Then again, with how often his nails turned into claws around him, he was surprised it hadn’t happened earlier. Though maybe wolf would’ve been a preferred term.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. That wasn’t really a priority at the moment. He followed Lance through the halls, their pace slowing the closer they got to the hangar.

Everyone was already there. Kolivan was eating a slice of cake, talking about some minor details in the Naxzela plan with Allura and Coran. Meanwhile, Keith began the dreaded goodbyes. He was getting swept up into hugs over and over with last minute remarks of-

“Be careful over there.” “We’re gonna miss you.” “We’ll see you soon!” “Don’t forget to call when you get back, okay?”

Until Shiro pulled him aside and brought him into a bone-crunching hug. “I’m really proud of you, Keith.”

Things with Shiro had started to feel a little distant, what with Keith being away. And he hadn’t realized how tense he felt around Shiro until that moment when the tension dissipated. Maybe it was because of the times Lance said he’d been upset or the day he told Lance to go through with a strange alien marriage. Keith never got a chance to talk to him about that or ask what happened. But he didn’t want to spend what little time he got with the paladins arguing with his brother.

At that moment though, Shiro was just Shiro. And Keith was glad he’d been making him proud. “Thanks, Shiro.” He hugged him back tightly, letting go once he saw Kolivan turning back to him.

“Are you ready?”

Honestly, no. “Just about. I’ll be on board in a sec.” Kolivan hummed but turned to the pod with a curt nod at the others. Keith turned to Lance and grabbed his hand. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“In all my blue pixelated glory,” he said in a small voice. He gave Keith a tense smile and nodded. He leaned forward and kissed him softly, before nudging him. “Go. Before Kolivan goes all ‘I-am-your-father’ on you.” Keith snorted and shook his head, pressing a last kiss to his cheek before going to the pod.

He refused to turn around. If he looked back and saw Pidge huddled close to Hunk for comfort or Lance’s sad blue eyes or Shiro’s worried furrow, he wouldn’t be able to keep walking forward. They had a mission, and Keith had to keep moving.

He felt tense the entire ride back to the Blade’s base. But before he parted ways with Kolivan, he turned to him and said, “Thank you, by the way. For letting me spend time with them.”

Kolivan smiled. “Everyone needs some time with family. Go train and be sure to rest up. We head out within six quintants.”

Keith nodded and went to the training deck. He stayed there, pushing himself until he couldn’t feel his limbs from the exertion. Then he went to take a shower and relax in his room, trying not to mull over the upcoming battle too much.

It wasn’t like this was their first. He and Lance had been in several battles together already. Together. Both as part of team Voltron, both always in the same place or often times. This was different. This wasn’t just the Blade or just Voltron. They were going to be fighting together while being in different sectors of a galaxy. Keith would be so… aware that Lance was out there. He’d be distracted, no matter how much he could say he won’t be.

It wasn’t that he underestimated the team. He knew them, he knew how strong they were, how powerful Voltron was, and this plan was well thought out with lots of reinforcements. But caring so much about people, about Lance, made his brain jump to different scenarios, many of which gave him a sudden urge to make Lance sit out. And Pidge. And Shiro. And Hunk. And Allura.

If he was honest… he was afraid.

--

He was tracing the Marmora symbol on his blade when the knock came at his door. Kolivan opened it with a grim expression, hardened now as he prepared for the battle. “Let’s go.”

Keith nodded, feeling his own body tense. He followed Kolivan to the landing strip for the pods battle spacecrafts. A handful of other Galra, including Astriaga were there.

“I know plans have changed considerably since our meeting, but this is a war, and we must be flexible. The Galra base has moved too close to Naxzela for us to create a believable diversion. Our plan now is to take control of the Zaiforge cannon and provide artillery support for Voltron and the rebels. Take down as many as possible and stay focused. There are several other fighters on standby in case the rebels or Voltron need help.” Keith clenched his jaw, reminding himself that Voltron would be fine. It was a quick job. “To your cruisers.” They nodded, left arms at a diagonal across their chest before splitting up and each getting into their respective aircraft, the sound of engines filling the small space.

Kolivan stepped forward and gestured to one of the fighter jets. “This one’s yours.” He regarded him for a second before saying, “Be careful and fight well.” Then Kolivan went to his own jet and started the engine. Keith climbed into his and took a deep breath.

He could do this. He was good at this. He was a fighter pilot. His hands wrapped around the controls, a feeling of power and certainty surging through him. Here, he knew what he had to do. The controls were part of him. They weren’t the red lion, but they were still familiar.

He stayed close to the other six jets, all of them flying in a tight formation. It wasn’t until they reached planet Senfama that they eased up, having to find a blind spot so they wouldn’t be spotted. They had to wait until they got confirmation from Voltron.

Pidge had been working with Ryner to establish an undetected communication system within the Blade, the rebels, Olkarion’s fleet, Voltron, and the leaders for anyone who was ready as backup.

“Blades in position,” Keith said.

“Rebels in position in twenty ticks,” Matt answered, his voice surprisingly clear through the head piece.

“We’re ready for the signal.” Ryner’s voice was calm. “Back ups are present. Has anyone heard from-”

“Voltron checkin’ in!” Keith felt his breath hitch at the sound of Lance’s voice.

“We’ll check back in when we’re closer to Naxzela,” Shiro said. “Everyone in position?”

Three affirmative responses. “Does all of Voltron have comm devices?” Matt asked. The five of them answered in confirmation. “Okay. Pidge? Be careful.”

“Always,” she answered, a fondness Keith had been lucky enough to have been on the receiving end of before lacing her voice. “You too, Matt. I saved your butt for a reason.” There was a chuckle through a few of the comms.

“We’re coming up on Naxzela,” Hunk said, bringing everyone back into their respective roles. “Blades, that’s your cue.”

“Got it,” Keith answered over Kolivan’s acknowledgement. The seven jets spread out and the second alarms started going off, so did their weapons. Keith could hear Matt calling the rebels into action. Heard Ryner setting the reinforcements up. The comms went out once Shiro let them all know they would be landing on Naxzela.

It was up to everyone to stay focused on their own battle, only communicating in case of an emergency. It was a rule set unanimously, everyone knowing that people would be distracted worrying about each other. Particularly Keith and Matt with every member of Voltron.

“Astriaga, Keith, Medris, and Velkra, get ready to land! Orjak, Prexum, stay in the air,” Kolivan commanded. A flurry of responses came as the four of them dipped out of formation, joining Kolivan..

Almost as soon as Keith was out of his fighter jet, his blade was glowing, elongating into a sword, its weight natural in his hands. His senses were heightened, aware of everything and narrowed to instinct.

The first set of sentries were easy enough to take down, done with a series of throwing his blade and managing a forceful kick to the one closest to him to tumble him back against the others. He sliced through another’s chest plate and impaled them against the ones still twitching until their circuits made them shake and go still.

Keith had always been freaked out by how sentient those robots were. He kept moving, feeling his heart rate spike when actual guards started coming out with their guns and blasters. He started running, hoping to be fast enough that they wouldn’t get a clear shot. Then he saw Astriaga running toward them with her own blade, slicing through their weapons at the speed of light. Once Keith joined her, they managed to get through the guards quickly and Astriaga looked over at him, her chest heaving.

“Stay focused, Keith,” she practically barked at him. She kept moving joining the rest as they went in and began spreading out through the hallways.

The corridor Keith took was full of guards and sentries and guns. He hid near the corner of the wall and huffed, letting the others know that the place was heavily surveillanced.

“Then we keep the fight where we have the advantage. We lure them out and attack,” Kolivan ordered. Keith peeked back around and saw that one guard was significantly closer to him. If he attacked one, the others would follow. Back outside where they had air support.

He lunged forward with an angry growl, bringing his blade down. It was met with metallic resistance and Keith could feel his arms quiver with the effort to keep the upper hand. He slid his sword against the guard’s and began to slash quickly, nimbly evading the attacks against him. He moved with quick agility and it frustrated the guard, made him sloppier.

But by then the other guards had noticed and were starting for Keith as well. He looked for a quick way to lure them out without it looking like he was running away, and in his distraction, the other’s blade managed to nick his arm. Keith cried out, but switched the sword to his other hand and fought with renewed vigor, adrenaline coursing through him from the pain of the wound. Just as the others started charging, Keith found an open spot in the guard’s defenses and lodged his sword there, muting out the sound of the impalement with that of the clanking armor coming for him.

He pulled his sword free and bolted, just barely missing one of the blasts from a gun. It made his heart hammer in his chest and he ran quicker. He could almost hear Lance later saying, “Dammit, Mullet, I told you to be careful!” whenever he saw the wound.

Focus, Keith chided himself. His sword shrunk down to a blade and despite not quite being outside, he turned, surprising the guards and used the knife to cause wounds harsh enough to incapacitate them. The blade dug into their thighs, swiped along what would be an artery on human anatomy, sliced clean through the muzzles of their guns.

“Keith, where are you?” he heard in his head piece.

“Kinda busy!” he reported back, flipping his blade up as he ducked from an attack and came back up just in time to catch the hilt, nicking his finger just barely from the grip too close to the blade. He snarled and shoved it between a guard’s shoulders, kicking him away and turning as a sword came down on him.

His reflexes stopped it just as the blade ghosted over his nose. His knife began to elongate into a sword again, giving him better leverage. Then his feet were swept out from under him and he fell back, certain they would have no mercy on him, despite there being a significantly less amount of guards.

But then purple blasts of heated light hit them and forced them back if not to their knees. Keith turned and saw Kolivan with Velkra, both shooting at the guards. Kolivan was shouting something in the head piece and Velkra was bleeding heavily from her side. Keith scrambled to his knees, ducking as he ran to join them.

There were very few opposing Galra left and it was easy to immobilize them. Keith followed Kolivan while Medris stayed watching over the tied up Galra. They went into a control room for the large cannon looming over a cliff, and Keith immediately took to the panel.

“Blades, any news on the cannon?” Shiro asked, the comms for Voltron coming back for a moment.

“Yep. Just took over. Ready when you are,” Keith answered setting the coordinates for the main battle the rebels were in.

“Great. We’re almost done here. I’ll contact when we’re good to go.” The comms went off again and Keith found that the Zaiforge canon had an insane length of range and power. It was no wonder they needed to take this thing to have a chance.

“Keith, we need back up!” he heard Matt shout. “Galra fleets are coming on strong!”

“Give me some coordinates.” A more feminine, robotic voice took over, calm but urgent. Keith locked the cannon in and fired. But just as the fight was getting even, the controls started shutting down. “What’s happening?”

“They must have shut it down remotely. We’re down,” Kolivan said. “At least the Galra can’t use it either.”

Keith cursed and informed Matt about the lack of artillery support now.

There was a pause and then Matt’s voice, frenzied and tired. “The Galra have wiped out a third of the rebel forces. We haven’t heard from the paladins. They’re on Naxzela, but they’re not responding. Their comms are still out. There’s some weird kind of energy field or something, but it doesn’t look natural. And the Galra base has a huge force shield.”

Keith stomach lurched as he ran out of the control room to the light of the jungle-like planet. “Shiro? Lance? Come in! Give us an update.” Nothing. “Lance! Pidge?” Still nothing. Panic seized him. If they realized they would be in trouble, they would’ve turned on their comms and contacted them. But if they were taken by surprise…. “Kolivan, something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re not responding. I need transportation.” His eyes fell to the main cruiser Kolivan brought, about twice the size of the rest, loaded with an extra set of blasters. “That’ll work.”

“Keith,” Kolivan said with a warning.

“Without Voltron, there is no resistance. No coalition. I have to go.” Kolivan regarded him for a few moments. His lack of response gave Keith his green light, and he bounded of to get to the cruiser. As soon as his hands touched the control panel, he started flying as fast as the thing would take him across the galaxy to find his family. He reached Naxzela slower than he would have wanted, but quickly nonetheless.

A full on battle was spread across the stars, explosions and beams of deadly light disturbing what should have been peaceful silence in space. “I’m here,” he announced. “We should focused our attacks on the base.”

“Good to have you, Keith,” Matt answered.

“Guys, guys, it's a fucking bomb! The planet's a bomb!” Hunk shouted into the comm. Keith felt like ice water had just been dunked down his spine.

“What happened? Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, Allura shut down the source long enough for us to escape, but it really drained her,” Pidge answered. “The planet has traces of hexamite. With the pressure the beams across the planet are creating by enhancing the gravitational pull, the planet is a giant bomb, and it'll wipe out anything and everything within ten solar systems!” She was talking so fast, Keith could barely register everything she was saying, but he got the main point. Bomb. Wide range. Death.

“We gotta get through that force field around the base. It's keeping the witch safe, and if we get through it, it'll break the hold she has on that source,” Keith said.

“Rebels are right behind you,” Matt said.

“Me too,” Coran chimed in. Keith had forgotten he was piloting the castle.

“No, Coran,” Allura said. “You need to get as many people as far from here as you can in case we can't these beams off. Take as many people as you can. We're counting on you.”

Keith could hear the hesitance. Coran swore to protect her, and she was sending him away. But there were so many lives at stake. Finally, his broken response came. “Yes, Princess.”

Meanwhile, Keith took the rebels around to shoot at the force field, causing no damage whatsoever.

“How much time have we got?” Keith growled through the comm.

“Based on what Hunk and Pidge said? Less than 20 minutes.” A ripple went through the strange force field around the planet, brightening for a moment before it shrunk into the planet more. “M-maybe less than that,” Matt said, his voice filled with dread.

No matter how many weapons attacked, there was no breach in the force field around the witch. The streams of fuchsia currents and electricity zapping from the base to what looked like the core of Naxzela remained strong.

“There's not enough time to get out of range,” Matt said helplessly. “We can't breach that shield.”

Keith stared, feeling his heart sink.

No. Not after everything. Not after all the work they did, not after all this time they've spent rallying forces and coming together. Not after Keith found a new family. There were too many innocent lives at stake. Too many people who had fought so hard, and if this thing went off all that work would have been for nothing.

His grip tightened around the steering handles. He switched the comm so it only connected with Matt. “Maybe not with our weapons.”

He surged forward, looping his cruiser to hot the force field head on. “Keith,  what are you doing?” Keith clenched his jaw. He couldn't let them die. All those planets. Coran, Allura, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, Lance…. He couldn't let the people he loved die. “ Keith, don't do this!” Keith shut his eyes. The death of one over the death of many. He understood that now. If his life could save the others, then it was a small price. “ Keith!”

The darkness behind his eyelids brightened and he opened his eyes in confusion, only to see an explosion already bringing down the shield. Instinct made him dip down before his cruiser could become part of the destruction, his breaths heaving as he realized he was still alive.

“Keith? Keith!”

“I’m here,” he answered, his voice hoarse and uncertain. He switched the comm back to normal and heard Coran letting everyone know Naxzela was returning to normal. Sure enough, the planet’s eerie purple glow was gone. The beams had powered off.

“Good work, Keith,” Shiro praised.

“It… wasn’t me.” Keith steadied his ship and saw another hovering above and across from where he was. “There’s another ship… I’m not sure-”

Suddenly a soothing voice filled the comms. “Attention paladins of Voltron and rebel fighters. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but… I think it’s time we had a discussion.” The voice sent a chill through Keith, his every instinct telling him not to trust it.

“Is that… Lotor?” Lance asked softly.

--

Everyone was to reconvene on the Castle of Lions. The arrival of Lotor, while appreciated, was met with evident apprehension. The only reason the rebels and Voltron didn’t immediately attack him was because he’d just saved various solar systems. Keith didn’t want to speak up. There was a part of him that felt indebted to Lotor now, despite never having laid eyes on him.

Everyone’s ships were stationed around the Castle, but everyone was mostly crowded onto the ship, murmuring around the wide table they usually ate at. Keith was standing beside Kolivan, his entire body tense. He was hugging himself tightly enough to make his muscles stiff, his jaw clenched so hard it was starting to hurt.

“Keith?” He looked up and saw the paladins filtering in. Lance was looking for him. Keith didn’t even ask Kolivan for permission. He just ran forward and collapsed into Lance’s arms. “Hey, now corazon. It’s alright. We’re okay. I’m here, I’m okay. Everything’s okay.” Except it wasn’t. Because had been so sure he would never again see Lance or Shiro or anyone else. He’d been ready, and now he was terrified. “Keith, baby, you’re shaking,” Lance said worriedly, pulling back to look him in the eyes. “We made it, baby, it’s okay.” He pulled him back in and hugged him tighter. Only then could Keith feel how severely his entire body was trembling.

“Keith.” Matt’s voice made dread tighten Keith’s throat, and he pulled away from Lance. “What-”

“Come with me,” Keith said, his voice small and broken. He yanked Matt away from the crowded room of aliens to the hallway. He turned to him with wide pleading eyes. “Please don’t say anything. They don’t need to know. Especially Lance.”

Matt narrowed his eyes. “You nearly sacrificed yourself, Keith! How can I not tell them that? What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking it was our last hope and I wanted everyone to survive. The Blades can replace me, but the universe needs Voltron. Pidge finally found you, Lance wants to go home, there were countless fleets there, was I supposed to let them die?”

Matt stared at him, a frenzied look in his eyes. “Keith, you can’t….” He sighed and crossed his arms. “You’re right, okay? If Lotor hadn’t showed up, maybe your… sacrificed would’ve saved us. But you have to tell the others-”

“For what? To panic them? To make them think I was being impulsive again?” Matt furrowed his eyebrows and sighed in defeat. “Please don’t tell them, Matt. I’m begging you.”

He stayed quiet for a long time before finally nodding. “Fine. Just… please don’t ever do something like that again.” Suddenly, he pulled Keith into a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Keith allowed himself to break a little in the embrace. Matt was the only one who knew what he’d planned to do. And the result of it had Keith panicked and shaken to his core. He was afraid to be alone, afraid to think about it, afraid of what could have happened. Try as he might, he couldn’t help the tears that fell down his face.

Now, his brain couldn’t stop being hyperaware. Of every touch, whether it was the warmth of Matt’s hug, longer than it should’ve been because he knew Keith needed it, or the feeling of his own clothes on his skin, his hair at his neck. Of every scent, and sound, and color, like he needed to appreciate it all right at that moment or else it would get taken from him.

Finally, Keith pulled away and tried to collect himself. “I’m alright. Thank you, Matt.” Matt only nodded solemnly. They went back into the dining room. Matt went off to join the rebels, some of whom were crying or had an expression of shock on their faces. Keith returned to Lance’s side, taking his hand and holding it tightly.

The rest of the paladins filed in, with Allura last. Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge went to greet Keith, each bringing him into a tight hug. They’d all felt like they needed to suddenly truly appreciate being alive. But Keith had been a split second away from a conscious decision…. It made him feel guilty and alone and even though everyone seemed relieved to be alive after the threat of a giant planetary bomb, he felt like he was suffocating. He felt like he was on a timer all of a sudden. He didn’t feel real.

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, hoping to hide his expression by doing so. He knew Lance could read him like a book, and he didn’t want to explain. Pidge was hugging Matt tightly, pulling away to take his hand while Hunk took her other. Everyone needed something grounding them.

Allura went to the head of the table, and everyone moved so they were facing her.

“Lotor has been permitted into the Castle of Lions-” a flurry of discontented rebuttals began to fill the space, but she raised her voice to speak over them, “and is currently restricted to a small chamber without a way to leave unless I allow it. He is cuffed and has been stripped of any and all weapons.” The people quieted down and Allura looked at everyone with a tired expression. Coran was at her side, watching her carefully. “We must decide what to do with him. He claims he wants to help us, that Zarkon has done him as much wrong as he has any of us. That with a common enemy, we can work together and be stronger. However, it is difficult to trust someone who has caused so much havoc in such a short reign.”

It was quiet for a moment. “He did save us all from getting disintegrated. Maybe we could hear what he has to say.”

“Silver tongues are more numerous than genuine people. He could spin his words whichever way he’d like to convince us,” someone else said.

Dissent began among the aliens. “Why save us if he’s with Zarkon?” “He’s the emperor’s son! He can’t be trusted!” “He’s alone, he wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t mean what he said.”

Keith sighed and leaned further into Lance, feeling his hand rub his back soothingly. After more deliberation, plenty of back and forth debating and disagreement kept calm only by the Alteans insisting on civility, Pidge spoke up. She moved to the other end of the table where she could be seen by everyone without trying to speak over Allura.

“From what I’m understanding, many of us are curious about Lotor’s plans, but we don’t trust him enough to let him free. Right?” Many nodded in agreement. “Then why not keep him prisoner, under surveillance, and see what information he has. If it’s legitimate, it’ll help us, without letting him go. If he really wants to help us, he’d understand. If not, then he’s still caged up anyway.”

“That sounds like the best compromise,” Allura agreed, looking around. “We can do this for some time. Perhaps we can figure out what Lotor wants or if he has any ulterior motives. We will take every precaution necessary.” Everyone seemed to shift uneasily, but no one could think of anything better. Especially when they all knew it was because of Lotor they were still here and the freeing of every planet behind Naxzela had been successful because the witch had fled. “In the meantime, I think we all need time to recuperate and mourn. I thank you all for your cooperation and dedication. If we go on this way, we will see the end of Zarkon’s reign soon.”

With that, the others began to file out of the room. Kolivan stopped near Keith when he saw him, but Keith didn’t acknowledge him. He just stared straight ahead and remained with his arms around Lance.

“The Blades and I will remain near the Castle. We want to keep an eye on developments with Lotor.” Keith nodded. Kolivan stood there a moment longer, but Keith didn’t talk. Didn’t ask permission to stay, didn’t budge under the pressure of knowing he was supposed to go with Kolivan. And Kolivan didn’t tear Keith away. He simply regarded him a moment longer and left.

It wasn’t until it was only the paladins, Coran, and Keith left around the table that Hunk softly murmured he would make some food for everyone to eat and be able to collect themselves. Pidge collapsed into a chair and Shiro remained rigid with his head in his hands. Lance and Keith stayed huddled together near a wall. Coran and Allura were both stone-faced and exhausted.

When the smell of spices and the sound of sizzling food filled the air, a little light returned to the paladins. By the time Hunk was done cooking and came out with the platters of food, everyone seemed to have snapped out of their daze long enough to enjoy the food. Lotor had no way of leaving the small space they’d locked him in, so the others put him out of their mind for a while longer. Praises were given to Hunk and small talk was made, but it was all muffled in Keith’s ears.

He ate his food robotically, aware of how good it was, but unable to really process it because of how messy his head was. By the end of dinner, he was the only one still caught up in a daze. Pidge was helping Hunk clean up. Allura and Coran had gone to tell Lotor of their plans before turning in for the night, and Shiro had gone to bed, claiming he had a migraine.

Lance took Keith’s hand and led him to the room, sitting him down and touching his face gently. “ Mi cielo, say something.”

Keith met his cerulean eyes, reminiscent of a the sky in the early moments after sunrise began. Just like that, he was wrapped around him, holding him tightly, needing his warmth, needing to feel him breathing, needing to feel his heartbeat under his hands. “I thought I was going to lose you,” he whispered brokenly.

Lance hugged him back just as tightly, burrowing his face in the crook of his neck. “I know. I know, I was scared too. But we’re okay. I’m right here. And so are you. We’re with each other, and that’s what’s important right now.” He pulled back and tilted Keith’s face to him. “Can you be here with me, baby? Right here in this moment?”

Keith nodded, surging forward to kiss him. He needed it. Needed Lance. He kissed him without reserve, desperately needing to be aware of every little touch and every little breath.

“I’m here with you,” he whispered, gripping tightly to Lance’s shirt. “Can you… help me get this thing off?” He was still in his Marmora suit, and while it wasn’t uncomfortable, he wanted to feel Lance’s warmth on his own skin rather than through the nylon of a skin suit.

“Yeah.” He unzipped the suit and Keith pulled it from his body, stripping to his boxers. “You want a sweatshirt or something?” Keith nodded and Lance turned to grab one from his clothes stack before returning to Keith. He put it on quickly and pulled Lance toward him to lay on the bed.

Lance followed suit and laid with him, their lips immediately finding each other’s. Keith let his hands roam, trailing the length of Lance’s thigh, back up to feel the warm skin of his torso, then pulling back to touch his face instead, to run through his hair, missing the longer curls that had been there before he cut it. He wanted to feel every bit of skin, wanted to feel the radiating warmth, the smoothness.

He pulled himself over Lance, not breaking their kiss. Lance’s hands came to rest on his hips, just above the waistline of the boxers, under the sweatshirt.

“You said… that you wanted to wait until you knew I wouldn’t be gone the next day,” Keith whispered, panting heavily against Lance’s lips. He opened his eyes to find Lance’s vibrant eyes already on him, filled with affection. “With the stuff happening… I doubt I’ll leave tomorrow or even the next day.”

“Keith. You’re saying that because you thought we were going to… die tonight.” He tucked Keith’s hair back behind his ear. “It’s different now that we’re dating. I don’t want it to just be a fuck-”

“It won’t be,” Keith insisted. “It never will be if I’m with you. Never again.” He leaned in to kiss him, letting the anguish he’d been hiding coat his features. “Yes, I’m saying this now because of… everything that happened today. But isn’t that reasonable? I’ve always been afraid to lose you, but my head only connected that to losing you to Rosa or something.” Lance frowned. “Today I realized I could have lost you in a much more permanent way. And that terrified me, Lance.” His voice betrayed him, breaking before he could finish.

“No llores, mi vida,” Lance murmured, hands at his cheeks, waiting for the first tear to escape. “It scared me too. God Keith, I wish you could understand how much I care about you, how much I need you in my life now-”

“So show me. Be with me, right here, in this moment. Just you and me.” Keith chuckled and shook his head. “Sex or not, I just need to be able to….”

“I know. Me too.” He paused and looked at him with a fond smile. “The purple has been spreading and retreating ever since we sat down for dinner. What are you thinking?”

That I might not have gotten a chance to see you again if Lotor hadn't shown up. “Nothing. Just that I want to be with you.”

Lance pulled him into a kiss again, gentle at first until they were caught up in each other and suddenly acting on pure instinct to savor what they had of each other. Keith couldn’t even be embarrassed when the kiss got messy, a clash of teeth and tongue, biting and tugging and moaning. He could feel Lance’s hands tightening where they held him, digging into his skin.

The closeness had him overheating and he pulled away for a moment to pull the sweatshirt over his head, tossing it to the foot of the bed. Lance took the chance to sit up and turn them over, quickly working to paint Keith’s neck and chest in various hues of purple. Keith lt out a low breath and tugged on Lance’s shirt desperately. Lance hunched over, pulling the shirt off and meeting Keith’s lips as he flung it over the side of the bed.

“You’re still shaking, gatito.”

Keith shook his head. “I’ll be okay.” He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him until Lance’s lips were puffy, unable to tire from the taste of him. “I want you to top this time,” Keith whispered.

Lance froze, staring down at him in surprise. “Are you sure?” Keith nodded. He just needed to know Lance was there. Needed to feel him, needed to put all of him in his hands, because he was barely keeping himself together as it was. “Oh, Keith.” Lance kissed him softly, first on the lips, then pressing soft kisses to his cheeks, his eyes, his nose, his forehead, his neck. Everywhere.

Until Keith felt Lance rutting against him and he gasped softly, biting his lip as Lance licked up the side of his throat, teeth grazing. He was anxious, unsure of where he wanted his hands because he wanted them everywhere. Keith settled for running them over his back, careful of the claws that seemed indecisive, the purple hue of his skin spreading slowly down his arms.

Lance found his way back to his lips, pulling Keith up with a hand at the nape of his neck. “I'm so glad you're here,” Lance whispered. Keith hummed, allowing himself a smile. “You holding back, baby?”

“What do you mean?”

Lance stroked his face, running his hand lightly down Keith's chest. It made Keith shiver. “Your keeping the purple from spreading. You know I don't mind it.” He leaned down, skimming his lips down his chest. “Human or Galra, you're magnificent. And you're mine.”

“In this and every universe,” Keith whispered, feeling like he was baring his entire soul to Lance. Keith shut his eyes as Lance's hand ran down his torso while he met Keith with a kiss. When Lance pulled away, he was smiling a soft, angelic smile.

“There you are.” Keith didn't have to look at himself to know his skin was a soft lilac color, his nails now full length claws, his ears pointier with tufts of fluffy dark purple fur. But his eyes would still be the same. He could see the fondness in Lance's expression, and it made Keith feel safe.

They kissed again, and Keith mumbled incoherently, slotting his thigh between Lance's, making him moan aloud in surprise. “I'm losing my patience.”

Lance laughed and his hand slid down to palm over Keith's boxers. “What happened to patience yields focus?”

“ Please don't quote Shiro in this situation, oh my God.” Lance laughed again and buried his face into Keith's belly, his laughter making Keith laugh despite the way he bit playfully at the soft skin. “Lance!”

“I was missing your smile, corazon.” Keith hummed and ran his hands through Lance's hair. He smiled and shuffled lower, his fingertips teasing the waistband of his boxers as he ran his tongue down Keith's stomach.

Keith let out a shaky breath, arching into the touch impatiently. “ Lance.” Lance shushed him his fingers tracing lightly along his torso. It was such an innocent touch, but Keith was getting desperate, he was getting greedy. He didn't want to be touched softly, he wanted Lance gripping onto him like someone would take Keith away if he didnt. “C’mon, Lance. Please.”

Lance groaned, moving to remove Keith's boxers. “You don't know what that breathy tone does to me.” He hitched Keith's legs up, spreading them and running his hands along the back of his thighs. “Turn over for me, baby.”

Keith shuffled around to move, chiding Lance when he pinched his ass playfully. Lance stuck his tongue out and yanked at his ankles, so Keith collapsed face-down on the mattress. Long fingers squeezed the flesh of his thighs, running up and down them reverently until he finally reached up to his ass and palmed him greedily.

Keith had almost forgotten the obsession Lance had with his ass. Sure enough, Lance leaned over and bit down softly, making Keith tense as he grabbed a pillow to hoist himself up on. Keith had forgotten how much he enjoyed Lance's obsession with his ass.

His claws tipped into the pillow when he felt a tongue prodding at his entrance. Keith felt his limbs weaken and he melted into the sheets arching his back and trying to relieve his hard-on by rutting into the sheets. But Lance gripped his hips and pulled back to bite the flesh a little harder than usual. “No moving,” he chided.

Keith grunted and huffed. “Keep going.” Lance laughed and did as he was told, working his tongue a little more. Soft moans were being pulled from Keith, muffled by the pillow. Lance's hands kneaded his thighs, grasping handfuls of him before letting go and then doing it again.

He pulled back again and with a hoarse voice said, “Lube is between the bed and the bedframe. Hand it to me, please.” Keith fumbled blindly, still moaning and grunting into the pillow which was getting more and more torn by his claws. When his hands brushed along the cold cylindrical container, he pulled it free and looked over his shoulder to give it to Lance.

Lance grabbed it, eyes locking with Keith's, his mouth never stopping. Keith bit his lip and growled out a frustrated, “Fuck.”

He heard the cap come off and waited anxiously to feel the breach of a finger. Instead he felt a hand running up his spine. “Relax, kitten.”

“Keep calling me a kitten and I'm calling you a furry.” Lance laughed at that and pinched him again. “Ah- Lance!”

“Relax,” Lance said again. His voice got softer, the hand at Keith's back reassuring. “You sure you wanna do this? Is this okay?”

Keith let out a slow breath and relaxed his body. “Yeah. I'm sure. Are you?”

He felt a kiss against his lower back, affectionate and gentle. “Yes.” Then Keith felt the intrusion. It was a slow, patient process. Keith still couldn't get over how strange it felt at first. His current pleasure stemmed from the open mouthed kisses Lance was pressing to his back.

Lance pulled out and this time tried adding another finger, slower, moving more to stretch him properly. Keith breathed through his nose steadily. Lance was constantly whispering reassurances, telling Keith to relax.

It wasn't until his fingers began to move in and out smoothly that Keith relished in the feeling of them pushing in and out of him. And then crooked his fingers, barely brushing the bundle of sensitive nerves that had him moaning a little louder. He felt his face heat up and he pushed back, trying to stimulate himself further.

“Easy, tesoro. I'm getting there.” Keith groaned and panted as Lance spread his fingers, stretching him further. “The walls are still soundproof, Keith. Let me hear you.”

He pressed against his prostate a little more accurately and Keith lifted his head, feeling electricity course through his body. “Oh God. Lance, keep going.”

Lance came up on his knees, shifting. The poorly hidden bulge under his sweats pressed against Keith's was and he bit his lip, refraining from begging for Lance to hurry.

He wanted this. He wanted to cherish every second, every moment of Lance's touch. However slow Lance wanted to go, Keith wanted it too.

And then he was being stretched with three fingers, a slight discomfort in the way they pressed in. “More… lube,” Keith huffed.

Lance pulled away and added more lube, warming it between his fingers before pressing into Keith. Lance's long, thin fingers filled him just enough to tease for what Keith was waiting on.

He'd been moving so slowly, so deliberately, that when he flicked his wrist to push back in harder, Keith gasped and tore through the fluff of the pillow, pulling himself up onto his hands and knees. “Fuck, Lance.”

Lance did the same thing again, draping his body over Keith's, to press kisses to the back of his neck, biting gently at the muscles of his shoulder blades. “I'm so lucky to call you mine. So beautiful. So incredible. I can't believe it took me so long to see it.”

“L-Lance,” Keith murmured, trying to think through the haze of pleasure building in his stomach. Lance's mouth was hot on his skin and he felt every nerve become alert to the most miniscule touch. His cheeks reddened with Lance's soft, honest words. “Lemme turn around. Wanna look at you.”

Lance hummer and pulled his fingers away, helping Keith turn over and situating himself between his legs.

“You're so worked up, baby,” Lance noted, pushing his legs up. He pressed his fingers in slowly, resuming his pace.

“That's your fault,” Keith answered, taking a sharp breath and shutting his eyes as Lance thrust his hand in over and over, grazing that magical spot that had him chanting Lance's name desperately. The pleasure was so close, but not quite where it could be and it was driving Keith crazy. “Lance, you gotta… I'm getting too close- oh God.”

“That's the point. Lance pulled his hand free and wrapped it around Keith's length, moving excruciatingly slowly, and Keith yelped, whimpering as he was restrained from pushing his hips up into Lance's hand. “We haven't done this in a long time, I have no idea if I'll last long enough.” Keith could feel his throat drying with how much he was panting, his hands searching for Lance in the haze.

Lance leaned over and kissed him deeply, sucking his bottom lip hard enough for it to feel tingly when he pulled back. Keith was becoming frantic, had a half a mind to turn Lance over so he could strip him down and ride him as fast as he needed.

But when he tried, Lance ran his hand up his chest around his neck lightly. “Let me take care of you, baby.” Keith bit his lip, but stopped trying to shift their position.

“Lance, please, I'll be fine, just, come on, baby.”

“That's not fair, you know I can't say no when you get like this,” he answered, smiling as he pressed kisses to his chest. Lance pulled back getting rid of his pants and briefs to coat himself in lube,  adding a little more to Keith before he lined himself up and teased by pressing forward enough to stretch Keith, but not actually pushing into him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Keith growled. He wrapped his legs around Lance, using his heels to make Lance lean over him again. He grabbed his face and kissed him desperately, his tongue determined to memorized every part of Lance's mouth, teeth biting and tugging his lips. He pushed his hands into Lance's hair and tugged, trying to bring him in, but Lance wasn't budging.

“Hey, hey, look at me, baby.” Keith tried to catch his breath, looking up at Lance. “It's alright. I'm right here. Ready?” He nodded, looking Lance in the eyes. “Okay. Breathe.” Keith nodded again, taking a deep breath, shifting his legs.

Lance began to push in slowly, stretching him further in a way that felt too good to be painful. Keith moaned, his jaw falling open as Lance slowly filled him up. Keith dug his fingers into Lance's back, soft groans escaping his throat until he burrowed his face in the crook of Lance's neck.

“Oh fuck,” Lance murmured under his breath. “Fuck, Keith, you're… oh my God.” Keith bit down and Lance grunted over him. “Fangs, baby.”

“S-Sorry.” Lance shook his head and took a moment to still when he was fully sheathed inside of Keith. He pressed their foreheads together and licked at Keith's lips. A calm look in his ocean eyes steadied Keith. And then the ocean was spilling over, and Keith reached up to wipe his eyes. “Oh, Lance,” he breathed softly. “Kiss me.”

Lance surged forward, the kiss desperate and heated, and it was the first time Keith felt the weakness and terror Lance must have been holding back. He'd been putting up a front for Keith, and he was letting it down now. Keith wrapped his arms around him, pressing kisses to cheeks.

“I've got you, darling.”

Lance sniffed and smiled, nudging his nose against Keith's  cheek. “Darling? I like that.” Keith smiled and bit back a moan as he shifted slightly. Lance gasped and buried his face in Keith's neck. “God I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Keith whispered. He touched his face and kissed him softly, his gasps swallowed by Lance's mouth when he started moving. The shock of being empty mad Keith whine, but Lance was already pushing back into him, without as much resistance, and Keith felt his breath hitch. He could feel everything, like everything was magnified. He wasn't sure if it was the near death or the conscious understanding they wanted each other, liked each other, they were together, but everything felt like more. His entire body was attuned to Lance's.

It wasn't just the physical pleasure that came from Lance's shallow thrusts, or the way the sound of his low grunts in his ear built the warmth in his body. It was the way his lips skimmed along any skin possible to remain close to Keith, the way it was almost unconscious because even without realizing it, he was drawn to Keith. It was the way he was so slow and careful and the look in his eyes, the way he smiled and his hand trembled as he threaded their fingers together. It was the way Keith felt safe and comfortable and certain despite being at his most vulnerable in that moment. That was what made everything so much more intense.

That's what made Keith's vision swim with unshed tears, made his heart pound with euphoria and the pleasure build higher.

He felt his hair sticking to his forehead, felt an almost unbearable heat at his back, and with Lance draped over him, his own body heat curling around him, Keith was panting for breath, but not wanting any of it to stop.

“Fuck, Keith,” Lance gasped. He pulled himself up, a rush of air welcomed between them, cooling their sweaty bodies. The change in angle made the next thrust leave Keith grasping for the sheets, tilting his head back as he cried out.

Lance pulled out and pushed back in slowly, Keith gasping for breath as he was filled. Keith looked up at Lance and marveled at the way his cinnamon skin glistened with a light sheen of sweat, the way his face flushed with exertion. He marveled at the saturated blue of his eyes, the way his puffy lower lip looked between his teeth and his abdomen muscles tightened with his movements.

He couldn't believe that someone so amazing, so beautiful, considerate, and smart and kind could be his boyfriend. Could make him feel the things he did with a smile or a look. He couldn't believe Lance was his.

And he couldn't believe he had been so close to never seeing him again.

He hadn't realized he was crying until he gasped for breath, not a sexual sound, but a broken one this time. It made Lance look at him and his eyes widened in panic.

“I'm okay, I'm okay,” Keith assured, tightening his legs around him.

“ Mi cielo, you're shaking again.” Keith shook his head, wrapping an arm around his torso to pull him closer. “We're okay, baby. I'm with you, and nothing's ever gonna change that.”

Hopelessly naive words, but Keith wanted to believe them nonetheless. “Just kiss me, darling.”

Lance nodded, pressing his lips against Keith's, scooping him into his arms, leaning on his elbows, and holding Keith together. Keith shut his eyes, overwhelmed by the pleasure of Lance's movement and the emotional turmoil in his chest. He couldn't stop the tears, simply letting Lance hold him tighter, letting his hips move faster, bringing them both to a breathless precipice.

“I'm… almost…. Ah- Lance.” Lance shifted his weight to hold himself up better as he sped up, his breaths fast and desperate. Keith's body coiled tight, overwhelmed in so many ways. “Lance, Lance, please , oh fuck, Lan-” he was practically sobbing at this point, reduced to incoherent rambling.

His orgasm washed over him so intensely, he couldn't think about anything but the burst of white hot shock and electric currents making his entire body shake. Lance pulled out and finished himself off in his hand before collapsing against Keith.  

He pulled himself up, his breaths shaky as he looked at Keith. A gentle hand wiped his cheeks and pushed his hair away from his forehead, lazy kisses pressed against his jawline.

Keith's brain was still hazy, barely able to register Lance whispering reassurances. “Still with me, Samurai?” he asked in a tired murmur.

“‘M here.”

“You okay?” Keith nodded. “Was it too much?”

Keith stayed quiet, running his hands through Lance's damp hair. “A little. But not because of you. Just….”

“Yeah. I know.” Lance shifted to lay beside Keith, still slightly draped over him, fingers hovering along Keith's collarbone. “Don't think about it too much, kitten.” Keith gave him a side glance and Lance smiled cheekily. Keith rolled his eyes and turned enough to curl into Lance. Lance tugged the blankets up over them, torn as they were. He leaned his head against Keith's shoulder and yawned, and Keith felt his body finally slow down. His heartbeat, his thoughts, the world around him even.

Then he heard Lance softly singing. “ You’re just too good to be true… can’t take my eyes off of you… you’d be like heaven to touch… ‘wanna hold you so much….” His voice was riddled with sleep, hoarse and slow. But it was soothing, and Keith felt a wave of serenity overcome him. Lance resorted to humming when he was too tired to use words, making the upbeat song a lullaby for Keith.

Lance was fast asleep, his bare body curled around Keith’s. Keith turned to look at him and smiled at how serene his face looked. Slack with sleep, slow breaths, lashes fanned out, and the most subtle pattern of freckles sprinkled along his nose and cheeks.

It was so strange how life unfolded. Keith had piloted a lion, had found out he was part alien, had been in a war and seen various planets and species of aliens. And through it all, what surprised him the most was finding that he could have such strong feelings for Lance, or rather the surprising part was that Lance reciprocated them. Still, in the end, it seemed to be what made the most sense. Like this thing between them had to exist in every possible dimension, every universe, every reality. They made sense together, and Keith couldn’t fathom a lifetime in which they didn’t find each other.

Keith looked at Lance again, taking a deep breath as he allowed the emotions flood his entire being.

Yeah, Keith thought as he looked at him. You make sense, darling.