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Chapter Text

Lance groaned. Everything hurt and all he could hear was static. He thought it was coming from his head but he realised it was his coms. He felt his body pitching to the side and realised Red was offline. He cracked his eyes open to peer out of her eyes to see what looked like a pink valley.

He remembered jumping in front of some new super weapon. Pidge had been in the line of fire, his instincts took over as he pushed her out of the way. He remembers his team yelling for him as he was hit with the weapon. It felt like he was electrocuted, every nerve lighting up and screaming at him. Then he blacked out, and now he was… somewhere.

“Guys?” He asked into his comms.

Only the static answered. That’s fine, he didn’t know how long he was out for, they were probably already looking for him. If only he knew where he was. Maybe he could contact the castle? Coran could probably come pick him up. The dash seemed so far away though

Lance looked back out the window. The alien grass was pink and swaying gently with a breeze. There were creatures that looked amphibian-like with wings switching between hopping and floating through the grass, it looked strangely peaceful and Lance felt his eyes start to drift closed again before he felt red brush up against his mind.

No, she said clearly exhausted but more worried about him, her interior lit up weakly as the sentient robot cat shifted until she had her paws under her. No sleep, hurt.

“Hurt?” Lance said, giving himself a once over.

He had a couple of scraps and bruises, nothing seems that bad, breathing hurt a bit but that’s all. Maybe she meant herself?

Red sent him reassurance in his mind. Pidge had explained the lion's abilities well enough to Lance that he understood she could heal herself after restoring her Quintessence with rest. She sent him some discontentment and Lance got the hint, standing from his pilot seat, before immediately collapsing. His ankle hurt.

Hurt, Red agreed in his head

He grimaced as he rolled his ankle experimentally. Wincing as pain shot up his leg and back. That will wake you up. Hopefully just sprained, he needed it to be nothing worse than a sprain. He pulled himself up on the pilot's seat. He limped over to the dash. He tried hailing the castle, but all he got was an error message.

‘Castle of Lions’ is not in range, please try again.

“Not in range?” Lance asked out loud to Red.

She sent him a wave of reassurance, before she shut down. Emergency lights flickering on, so she was still there just in the lion’s equivalent of sleep.

Lance sighed, he would try again once the systems were back up. It’s probably just a glitch or the atmosphere. He would try again once Red was back online. For now it was exploring time. He switched off his comms, the static was getting annoying. And pulled up an analysis of the planet's atmosphere. It was breathable, he smiled. This was a pretty planet, they don’t get to visit a lot of those and he was going to make the most of his time if he was stuck here.

He limped his way outside and took a breath of the fresh air. It smelt oddly sweet. He climbed Red to sit on her muzzle with his back between her eyes. He slid down gingerly, his ankle didn’t like climbing onto the robot. He sighed, taking in the view.

The flying frogs sounded like earth frogs and if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine he was back home. The dirt looked like it was tinged blue. There were trees off in the distance with huge red leaves instead of branches. Lance tilted his head back and dozed.

Red had come to a stop in a valley between two mountains. By the time he opened his eyes again it was the end of the day cycle on this planet and the sun was starting to set off to Lance's left. He watched as the sky turned brilliant reds, blues, pinks, and purples as the sun went down. Everything became tinged blue as the sun went behind the mountain.

Lance sighed, he should probably go back inside Red. He didn’t know what kind of predators were lurking out here, especially at night where he couldn’t see and he was injured. He could already imagine the scolding Shiro would give him.

He stood to climb off of Red when he heard what sounded like a blaster charging in the sky. He quickly pulled out his bayard, scanning his surroundings before seeing a light in the sky. White electricity crackled in the sky around an area before a bolt lit up the sky, frying one of those frog things. With the light Lance could make out a flying fox/cat thing. It was about the size of a cat with dark blue feathers covering it. They brighten into orange around its wings, face, tail and paws. The creature gracefully snatched up the fried frog and flew off.

Lance stared after it in awe. He saw multiple lightning hovering in the field around him now that it is dark. It looked like a pack of these cats were hunting. They made victory yips as they caught their prey, and were howling as they flew through the field.

He climbed down the lion listening to these creatures, and limped as fast as he could into the lion. After hearing a deep angry growl he decided he did not want to know where it came from. Red was still offline and he sighed. Guess he will try to contact his team tomorrow.

The lions had beds tucked into the interior of the lions. They were about the size of an earth sized double mattress. The altean mattresses had somehow managed not to deteriorate in the 10,000 years they were unused. He had a collection of blanket’s he's been given on many planet’s on the bed. As well as a lot of decorative pillows he collected, he kept meaning to bring them into his room but he always forgot. There were a bunch of gifts like plushies, drawings, weird clothing, some electronics he hadn’t figured out how to use and a bunch of other things stored in cupboards. He didn’t have the heart to throw out anything he was given, especially when they were given as a gift. He knew Keith gave everything he was given to Coran to do who knows what with. Well, he used to.

Lance frowned, ignoring the sting of remembering Keith leaving and grabbing a soft looking shirt and shorts. The shorts were way too large for him but thankfully had a drawstring so he could tie them around his waist. It took some manoeuvring with his ankle to take off his armour and the body suit underneath it with his ankle throbbing, but he managed. Tucking it into a cupboard neatly, he sighed, closing the doors, he brought his helmet to bed with him. Throwing his extra pillows and a couple blankets onto the floor and placing his helmet on the pillow next to him. In case someone tried to contact him. He flicked the comms back on to static.

He sighed. Closing his eyes and curling up. Drifting into a restless sleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance groaned as he woke up. He may have underestimated how uninjured he was the day before. Besides his ankle, his ribs hurt where he had been laying on them, and his back ached.

He let out a deep sigh seeing Red’s emergency lights were still on, meaning she was still healing and he had no chance of sending or receiving a message from her to the castle. He debated laying in his bed for a while longer. There was nothing else to do right? But his stomach had other plans and let out a growl.

“Whyyyy.” He whined.

Crawling out of bed wincing as he landed on his ankle. The lion’s had their own version of a food goo machine, in case something like this happened Lance assumed. It was kind of like a vending machine only the size of a microwave and you had two options, goo or water. Lance hit the button for goo and a package of food goo dropped out of the dispenser. It was the size of a capri sun. The food goo in the lions was more like slime than the castle. You drank it instead of eating it. Lance ripped off a corner and started drinking it. Making a face at the taste, as he wandered into Red’s cockpit again.

He tapped the dash that was off to the side holding the maps. Might as well try to figure out how far away he was from planet Thiago. He guessed he was at least a couple galaxies away from his last known location if he couldn’t send a message to the castle. His hope diminished as Red didn’t have enough energy to load the maps.

He sighed and limped back out of the cockpit into the hall. Tossing the used packet into the slot underneath the dispenser. He was pretty sure they were re-used but couldn’t remember for sure. His bed was just outside of the cockpit, just an open hallway with the bed in the wall, similar to the castle in the way it was placed in the wall. There was a bathroom further down the hall where Lance was headed. It was small and reminded him of when he went camping in a trailer once with his family. Super cramped with a tiny shower toilet sink and mirror. Thankfully there was a soap dispenser, though it was body wash and shampoo and conditioner and toothpaste. It didn’t taste that bad, but the idea of it grossed him out.

He looked in the mirror to find a couple of bruises and a gash on his face. Nothing that bad, the cut went through his eyebrow, it was going to make him look badass if it scared. Lance grinned at his reflection. He then lifted his shirt to look at his side, because he realised breathing hurt. To see a giant bruise. He winced a little, it was a deep purple and went from his waist almost to his armpit. He tentatively pressed on it and hissed at the pain.

“Pidge said there was a medical kit around here somewhere…” He mumbled glancing around the small bathroom.

He couldn’t find a cupboard. He kept his toothbrush in a mug on the sink, because of dental hygiene. But the sink stood out from the wall and there were no cupboards. He curiously grabbed the mirror, making a triumphant sound as it pulled away from the wall. He only found something that could pass as a hair brush and some towels. Helpful to know, but not what he was looking for. He left the tiny bathroom and opened the large cupboard next to it.

“Bingo.” He said, grinning.

Medical kit was an understatement. The cupboard had a dispenser similar to his food goo machine but it dispensed a salve in a small container, or some kind of pain med, depending on what button you pushed. Pidge hand thankfully changed the labels to english. There were bins full of gauze and bandages, just things to help with small bumps and bruises, but good enough for now. There were some more things that Lance would ask Pidge about when he got back to the castle.

He dispensed the salve and smeared it on his side with minimal difficulty. He then put some on his ankle, figuring at least it wouldn’t hurt, and applied it to the cuts and bruises on his face, then he grabbed some pain meds because his ankle still hurt. The pain immediately disappeared and Lance internally thanked Alfor for his foresight in what to put in the lions.

He sighed sitting on his bed. What to do, what to do. Red was lying on her stomach so taking the skimmer out to scout is out of the question. He supposed he could wander around outside, but he would need to change back into his paladin suit. They had the only shoes he had at the moment.

He decided it wouldn’t hurt and carefully put his paladin suit back on. He decided against the armour, besides his boots, helmet, and gloves. The armour weighed him down, with his ankle he would be best to be as fast as he can. He wouldn’t be gone for that long anyway, he reasoned with himself. He could see Shiro’s disapproving dad stare in his mind.

He cautiously stepped outside, looking around him until he deemed the only thing he could see was those flying frogs. He decided to head towards the trees on the side of the valley. Maybe they had a type of fruit, or plant he could eat?

“Worth a shot.” He said to himself as he cautiously headed to the trees.

Once he reached the tree line he wandered carefully into the trees. His bayard was held as a blaster, as he stayed near the front of the trees. There was some fruit on a bush in front of him that looked delicious. It was a deep purple, as seemed to be the colour scheme on this planet, and looked like a star fruit. The put his blaster in his right and as he used his wrist scanner, to find that the fruit was non-toxic, and had protein?

Grinning at his find he looked around again before taking off his helmet and putting his bayard under his arm. He was able to fit about eight into his helmet, figuring anything would be better than food goo, and cautiously limped back to Red.

Once he was back inside his lion he found a basket he was gifted and piled the majority of the fruit into it. He left one out that he was going to try, before looking around for something to cut up the fruit with. He opened up the drawers under the bed and froze. It looked like Keith forgot to clear out Red completely before he left.

There was a pair of gloves (of course), a tablet, a knife (of course but Lance was thankful for it at the moment), and a black t-shirt. There was also a group photo. Lance had no idea how Keith got it printed out but he remembered taking it. It was a selfie he had taken before Keith had left for the Blade. They had gotten Shiro back and everyone was in a good mood. They were in the lounge. Lance had wrapped an arm around Keith’s neck and pulled him towards the camera. Behind the two of them Coran was passionately telling Shiro and Allura a story about when he was young and had gotten captured. Pidge and Hunk were passed out leaning against each other on the couch. Pidges glasses looked like they were about to fall off and Hunk appeared to be snoring, the mice resting on his shoulders. Keith looked annoyed at him, of course, but oddly… happy, and he himself was grinning at the camera. He felt himself smiling as he gently placed the photo back into the drawer. Keeping the knife out as he wanted to try his new fruit.

He sat on his bed and cut a piece of the fruit off. Examining the insides he could now see were bright blue. He tentatively placed the fruit in his mouth and was pleasantly surprised. It had the consistency of Dragon fruit, but it tasted similar to raspberries. He quickly ate the rest. He couldn’t wait to show these to Hunk. Maybe he could stock up on them and give some to everyone once he got back to the castle.

With nothing better to do, Red was still offline, he made the trek back to the fruit with a net remembered being given from a planet known for its fishing. The net was like a mesh and was light blue. Alien’s really liked sticking to the colour schemes of the paladins when it came to gift giving. He filled up the net and felt like Santa with his bag of presents as he limped back to his lion again. His basket was now filled and he grabbed a second one to eat sitting on his bed.

What should he do now? He guessed he could sit back outside. Or he could finally figure out what was in all the cupboards in Red. Why were there so many anyway? Or he could figure out what was on Keith’s tablet. Potential black mail is always fun.

He was contemplating his options as Red came back online.

“Red!” Lance said gleefully, and limped up to the cockpit.

The pain meds worked wonders but he was worried about aggravating his ankle even more. Red sent him a wave of concern as he entered. He just smiled.

“Don’t worry darling,” Lance said. “I will go into a healing pod as soon as we get back to the castle.”

Red’s concern didn’t leave as he walked over to what he had dubbed the map table. He clicked it open.

“Now where are we-” Lance cut himself off as his blood ran cold.

Red’s map’s showed the entire universe. All of the charted territory discovered by countless races over thousands of years. And he was at the edge. He was at the end of the map, some galaxy called Aoife, there were no known Galra activity or allies or any forms of life.

“Red…” Left him in an exhale.

What was he supposed to do?

His legs collapsed under him. He could feel his breath quicken. He was alone. The castle didn’t even show up on the map. He felt a panic attack coming on and tried to slow his breathing. He couldn’t afford to freak out, he just needed a plan. That’s right, a game plan. Red tried to soothe his mind. She wasn’t as calming as blue, she was all fire and heat. But it reminded him he wasn’t really alone and that helped him calm down.

“Heh. I am ok girl.”

He couldn’t bring himself to look at the map for a good few more minutes. Finally standing up he took a deep breath before looking at the map again.

“Ok.” He shrunk the map until he could find Thiago. “So we were here, and we got blasted? Wormholed? Into this sector. It looks like there is something surrounding the sector we are currently in, which would explain why it shows no inhabited planets. It doesn’t mean there is nothing alive out here, just that we don’t know. That also explains why we can’t see the castle or anyone else. I think our best bet would be to head here, whatever is blocking us seems thinner.”

He sighed. This was all a guess, he wasn’t Hunk or Pidge. They would be sure of where they are, Shiro would have a better plan and Keith would never have gotten hit. Red grumbled in his head at this thought.

“So if we were to head directly to this point it would take us a… decapheob and a half.” Lance felt himself being start trembling. “Since we need to stop for food and water for me, following what planet’s are able to provide things that won’t kill me, it will take us about… two decapheob’s, which is two and a half years.”

He took a shaky breath. Two and a half years, that's… he will be almost twenty by the time he reaches his friends. That’s going to be more than a tenth of his life by himself. Lance can’t remember the last time he was alone for a day.

Red purred in his head. Ok so he won’t be totally alone, he can do this. He has to do this.

“Ok,” Lance plotted his course.

With the scanner Pidge had installed he could examine the planet’s projected plant’s and inhabitation compatibility. Meaning he could safely assume there was food and water on the planet’s surface. Taking into account the percent of planet’s that Red would be unlikely to turn the plant’s into food goo, he charted his course.

“Ok baby girl. The first planet we will be headed to looks like it is called Siobhan. It is going to be a five day’s journey. Are you up for it?” Red purred her determination. “Thought so, let’s go.”

He took a seat in the pilot's chair as Red started up her engines. Blasting out of the atmosphere. He got on course, and looked around there were significantly less stars here than anywhere else he has been. It seemed extremely eerie he felt uncomfortable. There was just so little of anything. There were three moons he was planning to stop on to rest. On planet’s that held no life. The first was about six hours away, he sighed this was going to be fun.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Twenty-three bottles of soda on the wall…” Lance was in his tenth rendition of the song.

He started about three hours in after realising he was bored out of his mind. God this was going to be horrible. He sighed stopping the song, he needed something else to sing, or to do. As he was debating between singing fergalicious and trying to teach Red spanish. He heard something.

“Brrrt?”

He thought he was losing his mind at first.

“Red?” He asked tentatively, maybe she gained the ability to make noises?

She did not respond as she was a giant robot. Lance glanced around the cockpit before his eyes landed on the source of the noise. It looked like a baby one of those cat things had snuck onto Red at some point. It was the size of a kitten and was staring at him from across where it was perched at his map table.

“Aww, hey little guy.” Lance said, getting up from his controls, Red continued on the course he had set to the first moon as he walked over to the cat. “Are you friendly?”

He extended a hand towards the cat before it hissed at him and swiped a paw at him.

“Ow! That hurt!” The cat just ran out of the cockpit into the depths of Red.

Lance groaned. His hand was now bleeding and he should probably do something before he smeared blood over Red’s cockpit. She grumbled her approval at the thought as went to grab some gauze. He sat back down on his seat and wrapped his hand.

“Great,” He told Red, “I just kidnapped an angry baby cat. What am I supposed to do with it?”

He slouched in his seat. At least now he had more company, he thought.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Um, hello. This is Lance McLain, paladin of the Red Lion, most dashing person in team Voltron,” He gave the camera a wink, “And this is log one. It’s been two days since I was separated from the rest of my team, hi guys if you see this, and…” He trailed off, it's going to be years before he sees his friends again. “...it’s going to be a long time before I see them again. Currently I am in a space sector that doesn’t have a name Red knows, right on the edge of the universe. I woke up on a planet that was really pretty, everything was shades of pink and red. There were these flying frog things, and these flying cats? One snuck aboard actually, it's around here somewhere. It’s small and very angry. Kinda reminds me of Keith to be honest. Anyway, I am heading to a planet called Siobhan, hopefully there is some form of civilization? I hope there is at least food. Oh Hunk! Hang on!”

Lance quickly limped out of the cockpit into the back to grab one of the fruits he gathered before rushing back.

“I found these fruits!” He showed it proudly. “Don’t worry, I used Pidge’s scanner and it's safe. It is super yummy and tastes kinda like raspberries you have to try it-”

He stopped. He frowned at the camera. They would be bad a long time before he sees Hunk again. They… they can’t see him through whatever surrounds this sector. They might even think he is dead.

“...um, I just mean they are really good. Anyway, I am supposed to land on Siobhan in just over two days. I, um, will see you later? Lance out.”

He did a salut as he hit the end button. He had landed on the moon he and red were aiming for. She had put up her shields once they were sure the moon was secure. Not that there was anything anywhere near him.

Red brushed up against his mind in comfort before powering down. He supposed eight hours non-stop would do that to you. Her backup lights came on as Lanced sliced up the fruit he was holding and ate it. He had a quick shower and brushed his teeth. Mourning his skincare routine and his regular shampoo as he saw his hair curl in the mirror. He snatched a water and a food goo package as he headed to bed. He hesitated before grabbing one more of each, cutting a rectangle out of each one and placing it on the floor below the machine. He changed back into the soft clothing he wore the night before. He downed them both quickly, before crawling into bed. He was slightly concerned about the cat clawing him in his sleep, but decided not to worry about it as he drifted off.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance wasn’t sure how the auto pilot worked in the lions. He was grateful for it though as he would lose his mind sitting in one spot for eight hours non-stop. Though, today was an eight hour trip, and tomorrow will be six. Lance would set a course for the next planet, Red would follow the course, Lance didn’t question it. Lance would sit in the cockpit until he got bored then he would figure out what was hiding around the lion. He found a small decontamination chamber that worked as a dishwasher, and a washer/dryer combination. It would probably prove to be useful. He also found a shute, where he could drop food to be turned into food goo. He mourned the loss of his fruit, keeping a few as he figured he would eat them before they turned bad. There was also, weirdly enough, a conference room. It was a bit bigger than his bedroom in the castle. With eight of those altean chairs surrounding a round table. It was nice to have another place to hangout in.

He also found a program to leave the cockpit door open unless engaged in battle. He figured out the cat was waiting outside the cockpit, it hissed at him when he got close. So he left the doors open in case the cat got curious about him. But he was able to find a couple small wooden bowls he was gifted at one point and emptied food goo into one, after he was able to scan the cat and confirm the food goo was ok for it to eat, he also found out the cat was female, and a water package into the other. He didn’t see the cat eat anything, but the food and water were disappearing so he called that a win.

He was also able to sort through the clothing he had been gifted. There were two long sleeve turtlenecks in black and blue, along with matching short sleeve ones, and a lot of sleeveless ones. He guessed the planet was really hot and gave it to them, though he didn’t understand the turtlenecks then. There was also a cream sweater that was huge, but ridiculously soft. There were a couple of tunics, in various shades of blue, a couple in red and something that looked like a bomber jacket. It was black and sung on his torso, but loose on his arms, but it covered his arms and was comfortable. There were gloves that were made of a strange material. They were fingerless gloves but unlike Keith’s they went from his fingers to his mid forearm. He thought they were pieces of armour until he put them on. Hard to the touch but moved with his wrists. There were also various pants, they were all black and brown and beige, with some alien accents on the sides. He wondered if the lines and the way they crossed formed some kind of word in their language on the sides, and they were quite loose. Cuffed at the bottom varying from just above his knee to down over his feet. There was also a belt that had some sort of bag on it. It was made of light and expanded to accommodate whatever he put into it.

He wore a pair of the shorts and the comfy sweater the second day. Spending most of it dozing in Red’s chair as he watched the limited stars go by. He was just trying not to freak right the hell out. Anxiety was a knot in his stomach and he kinda felt like throwing up. It was just going to be him and Red for the next two and a half years. And the lightning cat.

He was slicing up another one of the fruits as he heard the familiar angry hiss behind him.

“Ah, hello again.” Lance turned to see the cat perched on his map table.

It seemed angry he was in the cockpit. Which was rude because the cat snuck aboard his lion. Not the other way around.

“Maybe we should give you a name hmm?” The cat narrowed her eyes at him. “Or I could just call you princessa?”

The cat hissed again at the name.

“Or maybe not,” Lance thought about it for a moment. “What about…Benita?” The cat growled again at the name.

“Ok, Blanca?”

“Catalina?”

“Ignatia?”

“Safia?”

“Charo?”

He kept going, the cat growling or hissing at all of the names. He was about to accept that the cat just didn’t like his voice. When he realised she didn’t get angry at the last name he had thrown out.

“Zelia?” the cat tilted her head at him. “Do you like Zelia?”

The cat didn’t growl or hiss at him. He was calling this a win.

“Yes!” Lance cheered, “Zelia! Oh we are going to become good friends I can tell!”

Lance realised they were approaching the moon they were going to be spending the night on. He grabbed the controls and gently touched down. Red was tired and sent him a wave of comfort, before putting up her shields and powering down.

Lance sighed, rising from his chair and limping towards the food goo machine. He grabbed two food goo’s and waters.

“Zelia dinner!” He limped back to where he had placed her bowls. “Zelia?”

She had disappeared again. He sighed, dispensing the two packages and standing up. One day he would find out where she went.

He changed back into the loose clothing he has decided will be his pyjamas and did his nighttime routine. He put the clothing he wore into the decontaminator, hoping it wouldn’t ruin the cosy sweater including smearing some of the healing salve on his ribs and ankle. The bruise had healed dramatically since yesterday, it looked a week old rather than two days. And his ankle hurt less, though he still wasn’t a huge fan of putting weight on it. Routine was important if he was going to remain sane.

He unmade his bed and sighed. Mentally going over what he could do tomorrow. He felt himself start to tear up. There was just nothing, he could potentially not hear another voice for years.

He didn’t sleep that night.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sighed. There was no time in space. So was it really night? Did it even matter? He rolled out of the bed. Might as well get a start on his ‘day’.

He first checked the decontaminator. Cheering as the sweater and shorts he had put in were not destroyed. He carefully pulled them out and folded them into the cupboard by his feet on the bed he has deemed his closet.

He sighed as he saw his paladin armour on the bottom shelf. He should probably wear that today, who knows what he is going to see on this planet. Red woke up as he strolled into the cockpit. Lighting up the interior, and sending some displeasure about the lack of rest he allowed the two of them to have.

“I am sorry gorgeous,” He said sitting in his seat. “Wouldn’t you rather get a head start on the day?”

She lowered her shields. Lance laughed and took off from the moon. He pulled up the map and set a course to Siobhan. They were supposed to get there later today. Hopefully there was some civilization he could find that would know about Voltron, and could get a message to his team.

He turned on the camera.

“This is Lance McLain, pilot of the red lion log two. It’s been five days since I was separated from the rest of my team. Today I will be landing on Siobhan, hopefully there is someone there that understands this section of space it’s so…” He trailed off looking out Red’s eyes. “...empty. There are hardly any stars, it's pretty lonely. Except for you of course Red.” He patted the dash. “Anyway, it has been two days since my last entry. Four days since I saw my team. Hi guys, if you see this, if anyone ever sees this…”

He trailed off frowning as he looked back out the window. What if he dies out here. He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to go down that rabbit hole right now. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard a growl behind him.

“Zelia?” He called, she was sitting at the door staring at him pointedly. “Did I wake you? Are you mad that the lights are on? Oh, Zelia is the cat I was telling you about last time.” He said, turning back to the camera.

“She is pretty feisty.” He said gazing back at her. “I don’t know what she wants though.”

She was sitting just outside the cockpit, her tail flicking back and forth. Her wings were folded to her side and she let out another grumble as he continued to look at him. What did she-

“Oh!” Lance said, jumping from his chair hissing as he landed on his hurt ankle. “Breakfast! I haven’t eaten yet. Thanks for reminding me Zelia. Lance out.”

He turned off the camera and limped towards the food dispenser. Turning back and yelping as Zelia was flying eye level with him.

“I get it!” He said walking around her and emptying her packet into her bowl. “I’m sorry! Here you go eat up.”

She glared at him, before diving down to her food after he had backed away. He laughed as she downed it extremely fast. Opening his own package and sitting in the pilot’s seat. He realised Zelia had joined him in the cockpit, perched on his map table again. She didn’t growl at him when she came in so he was calling today a win in winning her over.

There were hours of nothing as they flew, almost peaceful. Until the planet they were looking for came into view.

“Woo!” Lance cheered, as the green blob grew closer.

It looked like it was mostly made up of land. As he got closer he could see bodies of water like large lakes. He made Red do a scan as he entered the atmosphere. There was not enough oxygen for him to breathe comfortably for an extended period of time, and there was too much nitrogen for Zelia to breathe. The air was mostly carbon dioxide, which led to the planet’s plants overtaking it.

Lance was disappointed he couldn’t go swimming, as he landed next to one of the lakes. The trees of this planet were huge. Reaching high above Red’s head. They went right up next to the water. Lance stared out the window in awe.

It looked like a jungle, but if he were an ant. Everything was supersized. He felt like an ant. He giggled at the thought, before walking as fast as he could out of Red. He passed too close to Zelia and she jumped but didn’t swipe or hiss at him. Progress.

“Zelia, stay.” He held out a hand, she tilted her head as she was an alien cat and didn’t understand him.

“Red make sure she stays inside ok?” He said as he made his way out slipping on the helmet.

He felt Red send him confirmation as she leaned low to the ground to let him out. He had put on the belt with the pocket earlier in case he found some food, or anything he wanted to keep. The tree’s were the size of skyscrapers, and the underbush was the size of regular trees. He felt ridiculously small.

He wandered cautiously into the bush. Bayard out, he could hear some animals making noises. They sounded almost like sheep. It was a distinctive little call, but he couldn’t see them yet. He had wandered about 20 minutes from red when he first saw one.

The creature was green, blending into the leaves. It was the size of a squirrel but was hair less and had horns jutting out from its cheeks. He scanned it and found, while he didn’t know the creature's name, it was compatible for both him and Zelia to eat.

He hesitated, not really wanting to kill this thing, but he should probably switch up his diet. He didn’t want to mess up his digestive system by living off of food goo. Plus giving Zelia some meat might win him her favour. He switched his bayard to a sniper and tracked the creature. Killing with a single shot to the head. He made a face as he picked it up and placed it in his pocket.

The blue light held the creature as Lance continued further. He must have wandered into where they lived because he caught six more within the next few minutes. His pocket was getting a little heavier and he decided not to push his luck by going any further into the forest. He followed the pull he got from Red and found her right where he left her.

He grabbed the Altean lighter and built a small fire on the edge of the body of water. The fire wasn’t too strong because of the lack of oxygen, but it cast a bit of warmth he could almost feel through his armour.

He made quick work of gutting and cleaning the small animals. His big brother Luis taught him how when they used to go camping. He silently thanked his younger self for actually paying attention as he carefully cooked the meat. He used a stick he made sure was nontoxic as he tediously cooked a few thin pieces of meat. He laid the others on the rocks surrounding the fire to become jerky. He sighed, setting a timer for a few varga as he sat closer to the water. Watching the waves and wishing he had a swimsuit on Red, and the planet was more oxygen rich.

The planet started to get dark as the day cycle ended. He checked his timer to find he had another hour before he wanted to grab the meat. As he was checking his wrist he caught a flash of light. It looked like a bunch of fireflies, but they were avoiding a specific area between them. Leaving a triangle spaced gap between them. They came closer as the space between them lit up and oh.

They weren’t fireflies they looked like tiny fish and they followed a creature that looked like a flying stingray. He guessed they were invisible in the daytime, because once the planet reached a certain level of darkness they all lit up. There were countless creatures in the air around him. He felt his heart flutter as he looked up.

There were hundreds of these glowing creatures in the air above him. They all looked similar to ocean creatures. He saw stingray’s, seahorses, angelfish, jellyfish, and so many more, all looking to be the opposite size they would be on earth. All in varying shades of neon colours. He quickly limped back into red and grabbed the tablet in Keith’s drawer. He startled Zelia where she was sleeping on his bed, apologising quickly, and leaving her one of the cooked pieces of meat, before he limped back outside.

He flipped through it and finally found the record setting propping the camera against Red’s paw and hitting record.

“Hey guys!” He said excitedly, adjusting the camera so it was straight. “I made it to Siobhan and look!”

He backed away from the camera and gestured to the sky behind him. A swarm of the golden fish chose this moment to swarm around his arm. He jumped as they twirled down his arm and around his torso before flying away. He laughed and turned to grin at the camera.

“It’s so cool! Hunk you would love this place. Everything is huge though the Trees are the size of skyscrapers. I feel like an ant-wait correction, I feel like Pidge.”

He grinned looking as something looking like a whale glowing pink flew a couple feet above his head. He laughed again feeling giddy.

“This place is so cool. I wish you guys were here.” He smiled sadly coming back to the camera picking it up. “I miss you guys… anyway Lance McLain, the most beautiful paladin of Voltron, out.”

He finished the video. Putting the tablet on Red’s paw and wandering back to the fire. He carefully put it out and watched the glowing creatures as he waited for the meat to cool down. It was memorising, he felt he was in a dream. When he felt a wave of tiredness wash over him he put all the meat into his pocket and grabbed the tablet before heading back inside Red.

He changed into his pyjamas, did his nightly routine and stood over his bed. Zelia was curled up on it and wasn’t showing any sign of moving. She had her eyes open in small slits of blue peering at him. He hesitantly put his hand on the bed and she growled at him. He sighed, snatching one of his decorative pillows and extra blankets and going into the cockpit.

He had never been more thankful the seats reclined than he was today. Red purred in his brain as he curled over so he could see out the front. The neon creatures were still floating around outside soothing him as he drifted off.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance sighed, not opening his eyes. He felt weirdly well rested even though his body ached a bit from sitting on the chair. He didn’t open his eyes, he was still exhausted and didn’t know why he woke up. He sighed curling his legs up closer to himself and he bumped something.

A growl emitted from where he hit and he opened his eyes shot open, to see familiar navy and orange feathers.

“Zelia?”

The cat had crawled into the seat with him sometime during the night. She had her back curled against his stomach wings tucked against her sides. Lance hesitantly lowered his hand to her back. She growled as his hand got too close.

“Ok,” He said, bringing his arm back up to tuck under his cheek. “I see how it is. You can leach my body heat but I can’t see how soft you are.”

She raised her head to look back at him in his voice. Her eyes were huge, she had two black pupils in each eye, narrow like a cat but going horizontally. Her irises took up most of her eye; they were just a bright blue, with darker blue mingling in between, where earth animals would have whites in their eyes there was black. What he had thought was fur is actually just extremely thin feathers. He bet she would be pretty light if he picked her up, she was the size of a six month old cat. Her paws were too big for her, she must just be a baby.

“I am sorry I accidentally kidnapped you.” He said before realisation donned on him “Oh my god I am an alien to you, you were abducted by an alien. I am an alien abductor.”

He felt Red purr in amusement at his realisation. He dozed for a while longer, he wanted to observe the floating creatures more tonight so he stayed half asleep. He appreciated her warmth, even if it was just a little bit. He carefully declined his seat and sat up, manoeuvring carefully to avoid Zelia’s wrath and sliding his pillow where his stomach was against Zelia’s back. She watched him the whole time closing her eyes after the pillow was tucked behind her.

He finished the meat he cooked yesterday and only had the jerky. He had a neat little pile of the jerky which he was storing in a cupboard he was pretty sure was a fridge. It looked identical to the other ones on the wall, except it sealed tight and was significantly colder than the rest of the lion. He also grabbed a water pouch he was keeping in the fridge, replacing it with a fresh one when he grabbed water for Zelia and food goo for himself. He was going to win over the heart of this goddamn cat and she seemed to like the meat.

Today he decided he was going to find something sturdy to make Zelia a cat bed. He noticed there was a plant that looked like rubber yesterday. It looked like grass but didn’t tear, he figured he could use it to attempt to weave a cat bed. He figured he could find it again.

He changed back into his paladin armour, strapping the belt around his waist. He checked on Zelia as he secured his helmet. She was fast asleep but her ears twitched when he looked over the chair at her. She had snuggled up to the pillow, and Lance cautiously adjusted the blanket over her.

“Don’t let her out please darling.” He said heading towards the exit, Red purring her agreement in his head.

He set out in the opposite direction he went yesterday. Might as well see all he could while he was here.

He was seven minutes into his walk when he found one of the bushes he was looking for. They were a pretty green blue colour. He grabbed what he deemed to be more than enough cutting through them all with the knife Keith had hidden on Red.

He deemed he had a ridiculous amount and headed back to Red. He dropped them at the foot of Red and decided to wander around the lake. It was ridiculously pretty, the sound of the waves hitting the shore making him homesick. Once he was opposite the red lion he stopped. She looked small, the trees towered over her and with the distance she looked like a toy.

She grumbled her discontentment in his head, not liking being called small. She is one of the Voltron lions. Defender of the universe, she is not small.

He smiled. She reminded him so much of Keith sometimes, it’s no wonder she chose him. He was the perfect match for her. God, he needed to get her back to him.

No. she said in his head, making him jump. The lion’s rarely use actual words. You are my paladin. My choice.

“Only cause you had to.” He said out loud sadly.

No you-

There was a snap in the bushes behind him and he quickly turned around. Red stopped whatever she was trying to say as Lance quickly scanned around him. He heard a huff of breath and levelled his gun that changed into his sniper without him realising, and watched as a creature walked up to the water and started drinking about ten feet away from him

It looked like a combination of a deer and a rabbit. About the size of a medium dog. It was brown and had fluffy long ears, horns closer to its head and drank delicately from the lake. Lance felt a breath of air leave him when it looked up at him. Its eyes narrowed when it saw him and it suddenly hissed revealing rows of pointy teeth and charged at him, screeching. He shot it between the eyes and watched as it crumpled. Heart pounding as he tried to even his breaths.

“Sweet baby cheese.” He said, raising his arm to his head and taking a step back. “I thought that was going to be my Disney princess moment.”

He sighed. His heart started to calm down as he scanned the animal. It was deemed safe to eat for Zelia but not him. He sighed, deciding to lug it back, he could always use more bribes for the grumpy cat. Plus, with his next charted course it was going to be a movement before he landed on the next planet with life. About a week and a half. He was set on food goo and Red was going to refill her water from this lake before they left. It wasn’t empty but better to top it off when he has the chance.

He hesitantly poked the animal with his foot. Shuddering as it didn’t move, he crouched down and slung it over his shoulders, stumbling a little as he stood back up. This thing was heavier than he expected. He slowly made his way back around the lake to Red. Dumping the animal by his campfire from last night and snatching his reeds he had dumped earlier. He carried them into Red, putting them on the table in the conference room, as he didn’t know where else to put them, and grabbing Keith’s knife before heading back outside.

He gathered enough firewood for the night and lit it. He made quick work of cleaning the animal and laying the meat on the rocks around it. He also made an impromptu rack to hang some of the bigger pieces on. Patting himself on the back for not quitting boy scouts when he was nine.

It was starting to get dark as Lance set his timer for a few Varga’s and turned to face Red.

“Hey beautiful,” He said, giving her his best smile. “I was hoping I could go onto your head and watch the creatures. Could you let me up?”

There was a long pause before Red lowered her head. Lance cheered, clamouring onto her head and laying on his back once he got up. He waited giddily as the creatures started appearing. It felt like he was dreaming, all the bright colours and the fact they looked like aquatic creatures made it seem surreal. He tried to memorise the details until his timer went off and he reluctantly made his way to collect Zelia’s jerky.

Once he had put Zelia’s food away, leaving some for her in her bowl and grabbed some of the jerky from the day before for himself, he went through his nightly routine. Pulling his pyjamas from the decontaminator and placing his uniform in. He made quick work of showering and doing his teeth. He applied the healing salve to his ankle and ribs, though they were almost gone. He found Zelia in his bed again and sighed as he made his way to the pilot chair, thankful he had left his pillow and blanket there earlier. Some fights were just not worth fighting.

He enjoyed looking out the window anyway, the creatures acted as a nightlight and before he knew it he was drifting off.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He woke up again to find Zelia had joined him again in the night. Curled up against him again. He sighed.

“You don’t let me sleep in my bed, then you join me on the chair?” He said. “Make up your mind.”

Red purred in his mind. He was pretty sure she liked the temperamental cat.

“Ok Red,” He said as he carefully manoeuvred around Zelia. “We should head out soon.”

He brushes his teeth and debates on what to wear for the day. He wishes he had socks or shoes or anything other than his paladin boots. He decides on one of the pants that goes below his knees, one of the many sleeveless shirts and the cream sweater that was quickly becoming a favourite.

“Zelia beautiful,” He sang, grabbing some of her deer jerky from the fridge. “Breakfast!”

She shot up with a yip from where she was still laying on his pilot seat and flew over to where he was putting his breakfast in her dish. She was hovering closer to him than she had been in the days before hovering about a foot behind him and diving towards her bowl before he had stood up properly. He laughed as she wolfed down the meat, tail flicking happily.

He grabbed his pillow from the front and put it on his bed. Petting the mattress fondly and hoping Zelia won’t kick him out of his own bed tonight. He decided to leave the blanket at his seat to chase away Red’s chill. She was the lion of fire, but she was still made of metal. He put in on his lap as Red hovered over the lake to fill up her water. She could sense they were leaving soon. He sighed, this place was beautiful he hates to leave it, but he really needs to get Red back to Voltron.

Get us back, Red corrected in his head brushing sadness across his mind.

“Yeah, us.” Lance said, giving her a small smile.

She took off out of the atmosphere heading towards the moon they would be spending the night on. It was about eight hours away. The next planet they were heading towards was call Haralssox, it was a movement and a half away, about two weeks. This one was actually a part of a solar system and looked more promising to Lance. There were multiple inhabitable planets in this system so higher chances of finding someone who would understand the sector he was currently in. He got comfortable, Red was best to fly in the middle of the day when Lance took a break for Lunch. As long as they were just flying in a straight line, she could manage. She alerted him if there was anything he needed to be concerned about.

He flew in silence before he felt something brush the side of his head.

“Eh!” he jumped, turning to look.

Zelia was lounging on the back of the chair. She looked like a typical cat lounging on the back of the chair, blinking slowly at him.

“Hello,” He raised his hand back to her face cautiously.

Instead of swiping at it like he was expecting she stretched out her neck and sniffed it intently. He held his breath as she examined his hand, rotating it as she moved along it. Once she finished she relaxed back into her earlier spot and started cleaning her paws.

“Are we becoming friends now?” He asked, lowering his hand.

He didn’t want to risk petting her, she seemed to tolerate him and he didn’t want to set them back. Her tail tickled his neck every once in a while as she flicked it. He trusted her not to claw at him, and he hasn’t seen her do her freaky lightning thing yet. Plus she seemed to be seeking him out now. That’s a good thing, right?

He continued for a couple more hours before he got hungry.

“Can you take over sweetheart?” Lance asked Red, already standing as she shifted into autopilot. “Thank you Hermosa.”

He grabbed some food and water. Smiling as Zelia zoomed over to get her lunch. He chose jerky for himself, and headed into the conference room to grab some of the grasses he had collected. He stopped in the doorway. It looked like some of the golden fish had somehow gotten aboard Red. There were about five lazily floating in the far corner.

“Woah,” He breathed, watching them.

They were ridiculously pretty, more yellow than gold. He could only see them since the lights hadn’t turned on in the conference room. It was dimly lit from the hall and Lance grabbed about five of the reeds from off the table before leaving them in peace. He closed the door because he didn’t know if Zelia would eat them, and he liked them.

He snatched Keith’s knife from the cupboard on his way back to the front. Taking a seat he set most of the palms down except one. They were super thin and about the width of his palm and as long as he was tall, they felt like a leaf soft and a little rubbery but sturdy, like a thin piece of wood. He found from the scan that the plants didn’t need a root system to live as they cycled moisture in the air. So they were technically still alive.

He slowly slid the knife down the side, leaving him with a piece the width of a thin piece of yarn. It was much more flexible once it was separated from the bigger piece. Zelia chirped from behind him. She eyed the piece she was holding hungrily.

“Uh uh.” Lance said, laying it across his lap. “Not a toy.”

She was still staring as Lance cut off three more pieces. Tying them together and braiding them. He repeated this process, each palm gave him about four of the braided pieces, so he now had a decent amount of his homemade rope. He dumped them in the basket he kept by his bed as he went to grab more of the reeds.

“Well Zee,” He said, taking his seat again. “I am going to make you a bed so you stop taking mine.”

He called on all the artistic ability in his body to make the bed. It took him hours, a lot of cursing and he gave up about fifteen times, but he did it. He only accidentally cut his fingers a couple of times and it ended up being weirdly misshapen but he called it a win.

“Done!” He announced proudly, holding it out in front of him for Red to see, even though she knew she could see it from wherever he was. “Do you like it?”

Red purred her approval, and Lance held it to Zelia. She sniffed it and cautiously stepped into it. Walking around until she deemed it comfortable and laid down.

“Yessss,” Lance said, carefully moving the basket onto his lap.

Red informed him that it was time for him to take over. He manoeuvred them for the next couple of hours. Zelia watched out the window intently from her spot in his lap. When he finally landed on the designated moon he was tired. Red bid him good night before going into her nighttime mode.

He slowly picked up Zelia in her bed and lowered her onto the ground. Stretching as he stood up and doing his nighttime routine. He had his dinner before giving Zelia her’s so he could claim his bed for himself. He put one of his pillows that almost resembled a circle into her bed, tucking a blanket over it to make it cosy. He watched Zelia wander into the room and over to her bed, she sniffed it and cautiously laid down. She stared at him from where she was lying, before Lance drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Nice no scratching Kitty.” Lance said, reaching a hand out to Zelia from where he was criss-cross applesauce on the floor.

She had decided to become nice in the past couple days but Lance wasn’t going to risk it. He knew she was scared and wasn’t going to push her. She sniffed his hand before laying on the ground a couple feet away from him. He sighed and got comfy on the floor. He flipped on the map projector he was leaning against and spun it. The map showed his current location surrounded by the blurry zone that was keeping his signals from everyone.

A cautious paw landed on his leg and it took everything in Lance to ignore it and continue with zooming in on solar systems and the planets they could land on. He felt Zelia slowly crawl into his lap and curl into a ball. He chanced a look down at her to see her eyes were staring back at him. Caught, he slowly lowered a hand to her face for her to smell. She sniffed him before tucking her head to complete the donut position she was in.

He took this as her not being scared of his hand and gently pet her back between her wings. A musical note filled the room along with a rumbling from her chest and Lance realised she was purring.

“That’s so cute.” He said softly, worried if he moved too fast or spoke too loud she would leave. “I think we are going to become good friends Zee.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is Lance Mclain, log 4, day… 16? Since I got separated from my team. We are one movement into our trip to Haralssox.” Lance said, he was sitting with his legs crossed on the pilot seat.

He was wearing the gloves he discovered that moulded to his wrists. One of the short sleeve turtle necks and pants that went to his mid calf. He had one arm propped on the arm rest holding his head up and Zelia was sitting in his lap.

“As you can see me and Zelia have officially become friends.” He ran a hand over one of her wings and she stretched it out purring.

“I made this bed for her,” He gestured to the bed hanging over his left shoulder.

He had found a strong magnetic hook that easily held both the bed and Zelia. She liked to switch between being in his lap and in her bed. Depending on whether he was controlling Red or not.

“These gloves,” He said, holding up the arm he was petting Zelia with, before lowering back down after she stared at him. “Are hella cool, I am pretty sure they are a type of armour, but they need intent? For example.”

He held up Keith’s knife and sliced it. It made a metallic ringing noise, but didn’t give. Then he slipped it up and the armour made a sheath for it. Lance grinned.

“Oh Keith if you see this I have been using your knife. Sorry about that but you know desperate times.”

He paused looking at the camera, he smiled softly.

“Halassox has a breathable atmosphere for both me and Zelia. I think she knows her name, and she definitely knows D-I-N-N-E-R. So I am not extremely worried about losing her.”

He scratched up under her chin and she gently kneaded his calf.

“...Maybe a little. I just don’t want to be alone-you know what I mean Red.” He pointed at the front screen as Red grumbled in his head. “Something alive, not that you aren’t-ugh-you are in my head you know what I mean.”

He laughed as Zelia angrily huffed and pushed into his leg.

“Umm… What else? Oh! Some of those glowy yellow fish things snuck onto Red” He held up his hand and did a stage whisper. “I think she is letting things in on purpose. Anyway, I was able to scan them and they are basically all clones of one another? They have already multiplied and this Reinita is eating them as they die. Which is just lovely. They are not toxic for her, found that out after I saw her chowing down on one and had a freak out. Safe for me too, but I have grown too attached. Also! I remembered Pidge uploaded songs into the lion’s, thank you for that, so I have not been completely losing my mind.”

He grinned at the camera. “Lance out.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lance!” Pidge yelled as he pushed her out of the way of a beam.

All she could hear was him screaming before it abruptly cut off.

“Lance! Are you ok?”

“Pidge! Is Lance ok?”

“Lance, come in!”

All Pidge could do was stare at the space where the Red lion should be. Where it was just a second ago.

“He’s, he’s gone!” She said into her com’s, panic clear in her voice. “Lance and Red! They are both gone!”

“What do you mean gone?” Allura’s voice came through the line. “Were they captured?”

“No! He pushed me out of the way of that beam and now they are gone!” She yelled back.

“That’s the last of them.” She heard Shiro say “Have you got ahold of Lance?”

“He’s gone!” Pidge could hear how she sounded like crying, surprised when she felt the tears on her face. “I… I think the beam…”

She trailed off. She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t even think it.

“Paladins?” Coran’s voice came over the line. “It appears the Red lion has gone offline. As well as Lance's suit, is everything ok?”

“Lance is offline?” She heard Hunk ask.

Shiro quietly explained as Pidge continued to stare at where she last saw Lance. She couldn’t process what was happening.

“Pidge?” Allura said quietly.

She and Blue had come up next to her slowly.

“Pidge, we need to head back to the castle. Zarkon’s fleet knows we are here, they will be coming this way.”

“No.” She said sharply. “We can’t just- we can’t just leave. What about Lance?”

“Pidge,” Shiro said calmly, “Let’s just regroup at the castle.”

“But-but Lance-”

“I know,” He said kindly. “I wanna know exactly what happened. Can you tell me when we get back to the castle?”

“He was right here I…” She trailed off. “I don’t…”

“Allura,” She heard Shiro say. “Can you bring back Green and Pidge.”

Allura must have agreed because the next thing Pidge registered was Shiro’s hand on her shoulder.

“Pidge…” He said, coming around and crouching in front of her. “It’s not your fault.”

She continued staring out the front of her lion. She thought she was shaking, and Shiro continued talking.

“Let’s get you out of the Lion and change out of your paladin armour. Coran has made dinner it doesn’t seem as bad as it could be-”

“He told me to move.” She cut him off. “I thought I had enough time. He-I ignored him-I thought he was wrong-Oh my god I told him to shut up-the last thing I told him was to shut up-”

She cut herself off with a sob and Shiro engulfed her in a hug. She doesn’t know how long she cried for. Only that Shiro let her cry her eyes out until she was exhausted.

“Ok, let’s go to bed. It’s ok.” He gently picked her up.

“It’s not Shiro… Lance,” She cut herself off again with a sob. “Lance is gone.”

Shiro was silent as he carried her through the halls.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No Zee you are supposed to come to me when I whistle, don’t you want the jerky?” Lance said.

He was in the conference room. Trying to teach Zelia some basic commands. She figured out to perch on his shoulder when he tapped it, but was having trouble with a noise as a command. Which he found concerning as he wanted her to be able to hear him if they got separated.

He tried again, giving her the hand sign to stay. He walked across the room to where he had put the rest of the reeds into his basket and looked back to see her tracing the floating fish in the space between them.

“Zelia.” He said and her eyes snapped to him.

He tried the same whistle and she tilted her head before slowly flying and landing on his shoulder.

“Good girl!” He fed her a piece of jerky.

She munched happily, purring and rubbing her face up against his head. He reached up and scratched the bottom of her chin. She slowly leaned forward until he let her slide into his arms. Holding her like a baby as she stretched, brushing her wings against his face. She had grown a bit, no longer such a baby but had all the lanky awkward limbs.

“Let’s try again.” He placed her on the table and went to the other side of the room.

After about an hour Lance deemed it good enough, she was coming when he called and he didn’t even need to use the jerky at the end. He decided to try to keep doing it a couple times a day so she would remember. He wondered what her range was for hearing. She had seen her ears twitching around at all the noises Red made.

“Ok,” He said as he yawned. “I think it’s time we call it a night. We will reach Haralssox tomorrow. It will only be… six vargas.”

He did his regular nighttime routine, Zelia circling his feet as he emptied a food goo and water packet into her dishes. She curled her tail around his calf in what he thought was thanks before digging in. He wandered into the cockpit and pat the dash. He had taken to bidding Red goodnight.

“Goodnight Carino.” He smiled as Red purred in his head. “Watch over us, yeah?”

She purred her confirmation and Lance gave her a final pat before stretching and heading to bed. Zelia was off doing god knows what, she always comes to sleep with him at some point in the night. She is particularly fond of laying on his face at the moment, not a fun way to wake up, a habit he was trying to break. He snuggled under his blankets, he had never been more grateful for his own laziness, so he could have all these blankets and pillows. He wrapped his arms around a longer one and snuggled into it as he fell asleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance woke up and he had trouble breathing. He always ended up sleeping on his back, no matter how he fell asleep. He could taste Zelia’s feathers, what was with cats?

“Zelia,” His voice was muffled. “Why?”

He pushed her off his face and she let out a startled “Brrt.”

He rolled out of bed, did his morning routine quickly and headed into the cockpit. He put his under armour suit, attaching all the pieces of armour except his chest plate, he could do that later, he wanted to be prepared for whatever he found on the planet he was landing on today.

“Morning Hermosa.” He patted the dash affectionately, Red purred in his head.

She had started to wait until he greeted her to power up in the morning. Lance found it cute, she waited until he woke her in a sense.

She powered up as Lance took a seat and took off into the atmosphere. Lance fiddled with the controls, setting their course and taking off. Once they had officially left the moon, Lance brought up the music selection Pidge had uploaded.

He had to beg Pidge to upload his music. He had a very diverse music taste he will admit. Country, musicals, pop, classics and a lot more. He decided to play his ‘background music’ playlist. Just a bunch of catchy slow pop songs. He had it play pretty low, he just hated the silence.

Zelia flew in and landed on his lap. Attempting to knead his armour to get comfortable. At the lack of give she hissed at his leg before flying over to her bed. Lance laughed at her reaction.

“Sorry Zee,” He said “The armour doesn’t really give like my clothes do.”

They flew quietly for a couple of hours. Lance hummed along to the songs as they came on. Zelia apparently liked Lukas Graham; she made a happy sound whenever he came on.

After a couple of hours Lance let Red take control and he brought Zelia into the conference room to practise her commands. He was pleasantly surprised she remembered her recall so he wouldn’t have to worry too much about losing her. He also tried to get her to land with a simple hand gesture. She picked that up quickly, as she did with the hand gestures. They practised for another couple hours until Red informed him they were approaching the planet.

He got Zelia to land on his shoulder as they entered the solar system. The planet they were aiming for was more of a desert than the ones they had been on before. It looked like there were civilizations on it and-

Galra.

How had they entered this sector? There were strangely no large ships Lance passed in space, though now that he was closer to the planet he could see the unmistakable purple of their vehicles, and buildings. Lance landed thankfully without being seen. Hiding Red in a cave he found.

“Ok,” He said, “Ok this is fine. We'll just have to take this planet on our own. We can do that right, Red?”

He put on his chest plate and left his lion, deciding to scout to see what he could find out. Zelia had perched on his shoulder and landed back on him whenever he removed her. He took the loss and left with her.

“You have to be careful ok?” He told her.

She just rubbed her face against his visor purring, and he sighed. The desert wasn’t as conspicuous as he would have liked, especially with his brightly coloured armour. He walked for about half a varga before he came across a village. It reminded him of Tatooine from Star Wars, the buildings looked like they were made of clay and there were vendors everywhere. There was also Galra everywhere, Lance did his best to avoid them. Having to duck around a corner sharply at one point, Zelia hissing at the sudden movement.

He jogged down the alley until he heard a grunt. He stopped and walked cautiously towards the sound, stopping when he saw the source of the noise. Two Galra officers had cornered a boy about his age. The larger one had grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back, while the other was threatening him with a knife.

“Once you fall in line, all of the others will too.” The bigger Galra said, Lance’s translator picked up the language as he got closer. The smaller one laid the knife on the boy's cheek pointing it towards his eye.

The boy looked bored for his part. He was pale with black scales that reminded Lance of fish scales under his eyes. His hair was messy, going in a million different directions and faded from white to black. He had two longer strands of it hanging down by his ears in pony tails. His eyes were big and his pupils were red. He sighed rolling his eyes, not seeming bothered that he was clearly going to lose this fight. Lance crept closer.

“Do your worst.” He said, levelling his eyes on the smaller Galra.

This only seemed to aggravate the smaller Galra as he dug the blade harder into the boy’s cheek harder drawing blood.

“Hm brave.” He said, drawing the blade away from the boy's face. “Let’s find out if you are more cooperative after I remove your eye.”

The boy finally seemed to panic a bit at this. Struggling in the bigger Galra’s arms as the smaller one laughed, grabbing the boy's face. Lance couldn’t watch any more and fired two stunning shots at the Galra. They both dropped and Lance ran over.

“Hey are you ok-” He was cut off as the boy grabbed a dagger from seemingly nowhere and pushed Lance into a wall.

Zelia let out an outraged noise and flew behind the boy. The electricity Lance was getting convinced he had dreamed of, crackled as she made the charging noise behind the boy.

“Woah, woah,” Lance said, raising his hands. “Friendly! I am friendly! Zee stop!”

The boy continued to glare at him, holding the dagger to his throat. He didn’t seem overly concerned about the murder cat behind him, who was still crackling with electricity but thankfully hadn’t fired on him yet.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The boy said, pressing the blade harder into Lance's neck.

Up close he could see the boy also had ears like Allura, though he had multiple piercings. Lance definitely didn’t find that hot. Not at all.

“My name is Lance and I am a paladin of Voltron.” The boy scoffed.

“Voltron is a myth. Try again.” He narrowed his eyes.

“No really!” Lance said, gesturing to Zelia to calm down.

He was flattered she was so protective of him, but he really needed her to not hurt a potential ally.

“I pilot the Red lion!” He said. “She is here, I can prove it!”

“Why are you in blue armour then?” The boy relaxed his grip a little bit.

“I used to pilot the Blue lion, then we switched. Well really our leader went missing, but then we found him! Then Keith, our Red paladin, went to join the Blade of-” The boy stepped away and Lance stopped abruptly.

Zelia flew in between them. Hissing at the boy and landing on her designated spot on Lance’s shoulder glaring at him.

“Ok.” He said sheathing his dagger.

“I promise-Wait you believe me?” Lance asked dumbfounded.

“I don’t know. But you did save me and this xariom likes you.” He gestured to Zelia. “They are good judges of character. So even if you are lying, which I think you might be, I think you are on the right side of this.”

“Xariom?” Lance asked, rubbing his neck.

“Your pet. She is a xariom. They are sacred.” The boy said, walking away from him. “Let’s get somewhere safe.”

Zelia eyed the boy warily as Lance jogged to catch up.

“Have you seen one of these before?” Lance asked as he caught up.

“An xariom? They are creatures of legend.” The boy said ducking through the alley’s.

“Didn’t you say Voltron was some kind of legend?” Lance asked, continuing to jog.

The boy was maybe two inches shorter than him, but he walked hella fast.

“That is why I almost believe you.” He said before coming to a stop in front of a metal door.

He knocked five times before a slot opened and bright green eyes peered at them. It closed just as fast and the door opened.

“In here.” The boy said ducking into the building.

Lance hesitated for a moment. He came this far, and he followed the boy. As soon as he opened the door there were about ten guns trained on him. He pointed his bayard at the person closest to him, Zelia made her charging noise again from his shoulder.

“Umm… guy?” Lance said.

The boy he followed turned to look at him giving him a once over before. Lance suddenly considered he could be too trustworthy following this boy to an unknown location by himself before the boy spoke.

“Lower them.” He said already walking away. “He is with me.”

Lance sighed as the guns lowered before quickly following the boy deeper into the house, happy to leave the room with people with guns. He wove through the building before punching the code into a room and entering. Lance ducked in behind him.

“What is this place?” Lance asked as the boy started digging through the closet of the room the two had entered.

Zelia flew off his shoulder and towards the opposite side of the room. There was a bed next to the closet, and an old carpet in the middle of the room. She perched on the desk and watched the boy rummage through his closet, tossing the odd thing onto his bed.

“This is one of the main places of the rebellion.” The boy said, tossing something else onto the bed.

“The rebellion?” Lance asked as the boy bent over to start rummaging on a lower shelf.

Lance gave the boy a once over. Ok maybe he lingered. He checked him out, sue him. The boy was cute. He was wearing what must be this planet’s equivalent of day to day clothing. A grey shirt that appeared to be made of a stiff cotton, loose brown pants, but Lance could see he was all muscle. He wasn’t as thin as Lance but he was pretty small, and lean. The boy chose that moment to turn around and Lance quickly adjusted his gaze, he could feel his face heating up and the boy smirked at him.

“Yes,” He said, walking over to the bed, “The rebellion. Against the Galra? You must know who they are Mr. Paladin.”

“Yes I am familiar with the Galra but-” He choked on his breath as the boy took off his shirt.

Lance wasn’t prepared. Six pack, all muscle, sharp V line, he had some more of the scales that were on his face on his shoulders and his hips. Lance silently thanked whoever allowed humanoid aliens to exist.

“What are you doing?” He wheezed.

“Changing,” the boy said, grabbing what Lance now realised was a black sleeveless shirt. “What are you doing in this sector?”

“I don’t know honestly,” Lance squeaked and turned around as the boy started to take off his pants.

The boy laughed behind him. Lance chose to ignore it and continue.

“I was in the middle of a battle of the Galra. I pushed my friend Pidge, she is the pilot of the Green lion, out of the way of this scary looking beam. It hit me instead. The next thing I remember was waking up on the planet where I found Zelia.”

“She is your xariom?” The boy asked, Lance still would not turn around and look at him for fear of how naked the boy was.

“Yeah,” He looked down at his hands. “She somehow got aboard Red and I decided to keep her.”

“She let you?” He asked, Lance could hear some fabric rustling behind him and tried not to let his imagination run wild.

“We became friends after a while.” Lance said.

“You can turn around.” He said.

The boy had now changed into some armour. His shirt now had a piece of brown armour on top of it and loose black pants, he had leather boots that went almost up to his knees, a belt around his waist that had a sheath for his knife, he was wearing gloves with black sleeves that went around his forearms with the brown armour strapped on. He also had a black bandana tied around his neck, and Lance noticed that he was smirking at him.

“Like what you see?” The boy asked, Lance just stuttered. “The Galra have not taken complete control of my planet. They have tried to slowly take over by killing all that disagree with them. I am a general in the rebellion and they know killing me outright would cost them a couple dozen of their officers. Whether or not you are a Paladin of Voltron, you were able to shoot two of them without either noticing, and you snuck up on me without me noticing. This tells me you have field experience, I am hoping you will be willing to help us take over a base. We do not have enough people who are good shots.”

Lance nodded eagerly. “Of course! I am my team’s sharpshooter. I’m not the best, but I can point and shoot. I can totally help take over a base.”

The boy nodded, then gestured to the bed. “You will need to change. That,” He gestured to his armour, “Is not conspicuous at all.”

Lance looked down at his armour. He had a point.

“Ok,” Lance said. The boy nodded and made to leave the room.

“You seem modest so I will leave you to change.” He said opening the door. “I will be back in five dobashes.”

“Wait!” Lance cried as the boy made to leave, “What is your name?”

The boy smiled. “Strom. Now change. I will be back soon.”

Lance looked at the clothes on the bed. Strom had left him an outfit similar to his own. The shirt and pants were a dark blue and the armour was black, there was also a mask that would cover the bottom half of his face made of the same leather the armour was made from. He put on the outfit, leaving the mask off and putting it next to his paladin armour. He was left with a belt that had some type of slot in it and an extra piece of leather with four straps hanging off of it.

He heard a knock on the door and Strom entered a second later.

“I don’t know what to do with these.” Lance said, holding up the two extra pieces.

“Xia guoh mi frionx quaimf grabds xyt?” Strom said.

Lance thought he was having a stroke before he realised he had taken off his helmet and thus his translator. He went to grab it but Strom grabbed his arm.

“Hfa xewqu una deyia.” He said holding up a small black piece of metal shaped like a thick ring but it was split open.

“Yeah, no idea dude.” Lance said, turning and reaching for his helmet again.

He turned around and there was suddenly a sharp pain at the top helix of his ear. He jumped and grabbed at it to find Strom had pierced his ear.

“Ow! What the hell?!” Lance said, looking at Strom. “What was that for?!”

“It’s a translator.” Strom said, this time Lance understood. “It recognizes the intent of my words and changes it into recognized language spoken to you. It gets a bit weird when one word is used for multiple meanings, but it is generally reliable. It knows all registered languages in this sector.”

He gestured to his own ear, where there was a similar one but in gold.

“This way you don’t need that horribly obvious helmet. Plus I think yours is broken. It said your name was a type of weapon.”

“What Lance?” He said and Strom sighed.

“This one is too, it says your name is a type of spear.” He went to take out the earring but Lance stepped away.

“No, no,” He said, covering his ear where Strom was eyeing it. “Lance is a nickname, my actual name is Alejandro. Everyone calls me Lance.”

“Everyone calls you a weapon?” Strom cocked his head to the right. “Shouldn’t they call you gun? Isn’t that what you use?”

“Lance is an actual earth name.” He explained. “But it is also a type of weapon.”

“Why don’t people call you by your name?” Strom asked. “That seems disrespectful.”

“It’s common for people to be called by a different name than their name. Lance is easier for people to say.”

“Odd.” Strom said, then grabbed another piece of metal from a pocket on his belt. “This is a tracker I will also need to place on you.”

“Can’t I just carry it?” Lance whined, reaching for his already newly pierced ear.

Strom shook his head. “It needs to be the ear, you could lose it in a pocket and it tells us if you are alive. It is also our comm system.”

Lance groaned, putting his head in his hands. He had a point, and he didn’t even know where the base was.

“Ok, do it.” Lance said, dropping his hands.

Strom wasted no time and quickly attached the cuff to his ear. Lance hissed and grabbed at it again. They were pretty close together at the top of his ear. Strom moved his hand away muttering about germs.

“Good.” Strom said.

He then walked around to the bed grabbing the things Lance didn’t know what to do with.

“This one is a strap to carry your dagger around your waist.” Strom handed it to Lance.

“I don’t have a dagger.” Lance said, “I am a gun guy.”

“You will be given one.” Strom crossed his arms. “What do you do in close range combat?”

“Uh… shoot them?” Lance shrugged.

“What if you are captured?” Strom argued. “You wouldn’t fight back?”

“I have a gun.” Lance said.

“A blade is more efficient.”

“What do you mean mo-”

“Nevertheless,” Strom cut him off. “You will be given one as a precaution.”

“So,” Lance asked, changing their conversation since they were close to bickering. “What is the name of this sector?”

“Its formal name has been lost to us.” Strom said examining his armour to make sure he was wearing it correctly. “We just call it the sector. Or Kana’s end.”

“What does everyone call it that’s not in the sector?” Lance asked.

“The Galra control the only way out of the sector, so we have no contact with anyone from outside. Before you of course.” Strom explained. “Plus with the time warp no one would ever want to come here anyway.”

“Time warp?” Lance asked, feeling nervous.

“Yes the gravitational pull of this section is stronger than most of the galaxy, except for the smaller time pockets of course.” Strom explained. “It creates pocket’s of space time where time moves at a different pace then the rest of the universe. I learnt when I was growing up that the equivalent of one varga is 1.73 quintet.”

Lance felt his blood run cold. He didn’t think that cloudy thing at the end of the sector could be this. Which makes sense because he is the dumbest one in the group. So if 33.978 quintet divided by… that would make 1 hour of time in the rest of the universe just over a day here. He hasn’t even been here for 24 day’s yet. Not even a day has passed for Voltron? Were they still engaged in the battle that he was hit in about three weeks ago? It hurt his brain to think about. At least him being gone for two of his years would only be a few weeks for them he supposed.

“I don’t-” He took a deep breath. “So, it hasn’t even been a day since I was blasted away? I have been here for weeks and they might not even have noticed I am gone yet?”

“I suppose.” Strom said. “But, having known you for about half a varga, I can confidently say I would notice if you disappeared.”

Lance shook his head. It’s so strange to think about.

“Ok.” He said softly, choosing to store this information at the back of his mind. Nothing he can do about it now.

“This,” Strom said, grabbing the piece of armour with the straps. “Is typically for a cannon blaster. For recoil and rubbing. However, I thought it would allow your Zelia to be on your shoulder with little to no claws.”

He placed the armour on Lance's shoulder and it immediately moulded up and over his shoulder. Lance blushed as Strom smoothed the straps over his chest. They wrapped over top of his armour, and seemed secure as Lance moved his arm to test its stability. Lance tapped his shoulder and a second later Zelia was perched on it, still glaring at Strom.

“I don’t think she likes me.” Strom commented.

He sounded sad about the sacred cat not liking him. Lance grabbed his hand. It was really soft. He would have to see if they would allow him to stock up on their moisturiser.

“I think she just doesn’t like that you drew a knife on me.” He said pulling the boy closer to him by the hand he had grabbed.

He brought it up to Zelia for her to sniff, she growled and Strom hesitated pulling his hand back a little. Lance giggled.

“Trust me.” He said, and Strom hesitated for another second before letting Lance guide his hand to Zelia.

She sniffed it carefully and thoroughly. Deemed him acceptable and allowed it when Lance lowered Strom’s hand onto her head. She purred as Strom gently stroked her head. Red pupils wide and filled with awe. This close he could see his eyes were more of a pink than a red. Lance blushed again when he realised how close their faces had gotten.

Lance cleared his throat and stepped back.

“Shouldn’t we uh,” He scratched the back of his neck. “Get in the know about the mission.”

“We have a meeting in half a varga,” Strom said, walking to his desk and pulling out the chair and flipping it around and sitting on it. “Giving me more than enough time to find out if you are telling the truth.”

“Ok,” Lance sat on the bed, Zelia climbing down into his lap and flopping onto her side.

Her gaze was still trained on Strom. But she was dozing in his lap, purring as he stroked her back and wings.

“How can I prove it?” Lance asked.

“Tell me how you became a paladin.” Strom said, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees.

“Ok sure. It all started when I got accepted into-'' Lance launched into his story. Using hand gestures, he made even Strom laugh a couple of times. He was immensely proud of himself for that. He got off track and was telling Strom about when Hunk accidentally broke the food goo machine, it took them days to clean it out of all the nooks and crannies.

“-once we finally scraped all of the goo from the seals where the floor came together. Coran asked us why we didn’t just use the self cleaning function! I spent day’s cleaning that kitchen.”

Strom was holding his stomach laughing. Lance admitted to himself it was a nice noise.

“So,” Lance said, calming down his own giggles. “Do you believe me?”

“Yes I do.” Strom said, still giggling a little bit. “I would like to see the Red lion before you leave us. But stealth is the best option for the plan we have.”

“I would love to introduce the two of you.” Lance said. “So how about you, if you don't mind me asking, how did the Galra get here? And how did you become a part of the rebellion?”

Strom’s smile fell. Lance was about to apologise for asking but he surprised him by talking.

“It’s… different in this sector than how you described.” Strom said, looking at the wall behind Lance. “The Galra have always been here. It has been hundreds of thousands of years of Galra control. They control everything and kill anyone that steps out of line. My planet is not considered important enough for a lot of Galra. We have no major exports, everyone is starving trying to feed the extra mouths. It has gotten worse during my lifetime. That is when the rebellion was formed. People have gotten tired of being pushed around and murdered by the Galra. I have been trained since I was a young, my parents were a part of the rebellion before they were killed. They were ranked very highly and were well respected. I have tried my best to live up to their legacies.”

“I am sorry.” Lance said. “About your parents.”

“Why? It’s not your fault.” Strom said. “Anyway, that is why we need the Galra gone. They only want to see us suffer. Our meeting is going to be soon. We should get going.”

“After you.” Lance said and followed him to the door Zelia flying to his shoulder.

Chapter Text

Strom headed to the door. Lance stood, Zelia flying to her perch on his shoulder, and followed. He led them to the end of the corridor and into some kind of elevator. Lance yelped and fell over as it plunged downwards, Zelia digging her claws into the leather. Strom laughed at him before helping him up. By the time Lance stood the elevator had slowed and come to a stop.

The doors slid open to reveal what Lance imagined a war room would look like. There was a large octangular shaped table in the middle that had a hologram of a mountain in it. Except the mountain was showing rooms on the inside of it. The base was huge. The Galra had hollowed out the mountain and turned it into a base.

Around the table there were more aliens. They all looked similar to Strom, pale with dark scales on their face and pointed ears. They all also had alot of piercings, two cuffs like the ones Lance got surprised pierced with, and various others. The one who seemed in charge had the most, which made Lance wonder if they were a status symbol.

“Strom,” The alien said. “Who have you brought to us?”

She was as tall as Lance and looked older. Her hair was white fading into a dark purple. Her eyes looked to be a similar shade to Strom’s but a little more purple.

“Flaxa,” Strom greeted walking up to the table, Lance following hesitantly. “This is Alejandro McLain-”

“Lance, call me Lance.” Lance interrupted.

“Is his translator broken?” One of the other alien’s says around the table.

“He goes by the name of a weapon?” Another asks.

“It is a ‘nickname.’” Strom explains, “His friends can’t say his name, so he goes by a different one.”

“That seems disrespectful.” Flaxa says, “Wouldn’t they try to say your name instead of calling you by the name of the weapon?”

“It’s a common name where I am from.” Lance explains, exasperated. “Anyway that’s not important-”

“Is that a xariom?” Flaxa asks, looking in awe at Zelia.

Zelia is looking around the room slowly. She hissed at Flaxa as she reached an arm out towards her.

“Incredible.” Flaxa says, walking around Lance in a circle.

Lance moves to face her, but Strom elbowed him in the side. He didn’t like her standing behind him, but Zelia was watching her carefully.

“What did you do to gain the trust of a xariom?” She asked, coming to a stop in front of him.

“Um… I fed her?” He asked, not liking the way Flaxa was staring so intently at him.

“Interesting,” She murmured, then shifted her gaze to Strom. “Is that why you would like to bring him on the mission?”

“He says he is a paladin of Voltron.” Strom said, Lance noticed the other aliens in the room roll their eyes when he said this. “I believe him.”

There was a laugh off to Lance’s right and a oof. Strom had shoved the alien that laughed.

“I am the pilot of the Red lion.” Lance stated, he straightened his posture as he said so.

“Hmm…” Flaxa hummed, tilting her head.

“I didn’t believe him either.” Strom said. “If you don’t, you should know he snuck up on two Galra who were going to take out my eye, even I did not hear him approach, and shot them dead centre in both of their heads. He is Voltron’s sharpshooter, and you know we need more guns for this.”

“Psh. I am a decent shot, you don’t have to say Voltron’s sharpshooter like a title or anything.”

“That’s impressive.” Flaxa said. “I will take the xariom and Strom’s vouching for you spear-”

“It’s Lance.”

“-and I will allow you to join us on our mission.” She then turned to the table.

“Let’s get this meeting started.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“-Strom, and Ragnar will descend to the lower levels. Spear will provide support from the raptor’s here.” Falxa pointed to a spot on the map. “The three of you will then take control of the command centre, shutting down all droids and the Galra will fall into place. Any questions?”

No one said anything and Flaxa concluded the meeting. The aliens started milling out of the room, Zelia hissing at the ones that got too close. Lance turned to Strom, he was still examining the map and talking to the alien beside him.

“What do you think?” He asked leaning in to examine the map.

Zelia jumped off his shoulder and laid down in the centre of the hologram. Unbothered by the light’s now surrounding her.

“I should be asking you Alejandro.” Strom said seriously, Lance sighed. “You are the paladin, what do you think?”

“I think it is a good plan.” Lance said examining the map. “I am just wondering how this will help take back your planet? Why can’t I just blow it up with Red?”

“This is the main base of the Galra.” Strom explained, “Once we take it out, we can disable the rest of the stations on the planet. Without all of the fire power to back them up the Galra will be easy to overwhelm. It will also give us more access to ships and weapons, and we will be able to prevent more Galra from coming onto the planet once we gain control of their shields.. And we will be able to gain more resources from our neighbouring planets, after running out their Galra of course.”

The Alien next to Strom was poking his arm rapidly. Eyes darting between Lance and Zelia. His hair faded from white to a deep red and his eyes were blue. Strom kept batting his hand away during his explanation before glaring at him once he finished.

“What are you doing Ragnar?” He hissed.

“That’s a paladin of Voltron.” Ragnar, Lance assumed, whispered. “How are you not freaking out?”

“Ragnar right?” Lance said, extending his hand for him to shake. “Please call me Lance.”

The alien looked at his hand in confusion and awe, Lance let it drop back down to his side. Alien customs. Right.

“We are going on the mission tomorrow together right?” Ragnar’s eyes widened.

Lance noticed he had a data pad clutched in his right hand. He was probably the one who would be shutting down the system tomorrow.

“He knows my name.” Ragnar whispered to Strom who rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Yeah I just said it.” He snapped. Lance smiled.

“You know your species is exceptionally beautiful.” Lance said to Ragnar.

Sue him, they all had wide eyes and gorgeous hair. Ragnar didn’t have the same pony tails as Strom, and he seemed more slender than him. But with the wide admiring eyes and the way he blushed at Lance’s comment he couldn’t help but flirt a little.

“These scales,” Lance reached over to lightly touch the boy's cheek. “Are very intricate and pretty. And your eyes are fascinating. People from my planet’s eyes are usually not that vibrant. I am especially interested in your ear piercings. Are they a symbol of rank?”

His eyes were drawn to the boy's earrings. He had the same bar Strom had in his left ear. Along with a couple of the cuffs Lance had, his matched his hair as a deep red. Along with a few studs. Lance gently touched the shell of Rangar’s ear, it turned red with his blush.

“I-um-I-.” He stuttered, blushing very red.

“Alejandro quit teasing him.” Strom said, Lance caught him rolling his eyes. “He needs to be functional for our mission tomorrow.”

“Why?” Lance asked, turning to him with a quirk in his eyebrow. “He is really cute, or are you jealous?”

“I am not-!” Strom cut himself off. “You are one to talk. I saw you checking me out multiple times.”

Lance felt himself blush. Yeah ok. Rangar was cute. But Strom was hot. He turned away from Ragnar reluctantly. Hearing the boy whisper, “He thinks I am cute. Oh my stars, a paladin of Voltron thinks I am cute.”

“You have no proof!” He stuck a finger in his face. “You cannot prove I was checking you out! And so what if I-”

Lance put both hands over his mouth. Stopping himself from saying anything else that would incriminate himself more. Strom smirked at him, crossing his arms.

“Heh…” Lance dropped his hands and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about a change in subject. “Do you guys have anywhere to eat?”

Strom accepted his change in topic. “We have a cafeteria. It’s back up the lift. Follow me.”

Lance whistled and Zelia flew to his shoulder. He did a victory dance in his head. She was finally following his commands by noise. He followed Strom up the lift and through a couple of hallways until they made it to the cafeteria. It looked similar to an earthen one, except the tables were the same octangular shape as the one in the war room. They put their food on triangular tray’s, no plates oddly, and grabbed a knife and a spork. The food looked like dried meat and some sort of fried vegetables. Lance held Zelia under his arm as she tried to gobble up the meat.

“Um, could we go get my armour?” Lance asked. “I need to make sure these are ok for me and Zelia to eat. I have a scanner in it.”

“Of course,” Strom said.

He led them through the halls back to his room. Lance was proud of himself for not dropping his food. Zelia was squirming and flapping her wings and he had the tray balanced on the other hand. When they finally opened the door Lance placed his tray on the desk, Strom sat on the chair that was still turned around. Lance grabbed the piece of armour and scanned the food. Thankfully it was all safe for the two of them to eat. Lance set Zelia’s food to the side and set her down next to it. She let out an excited yip and dug into it.

“I think she likes it.” Strom commented, stabbing one of the veggies with the knife and placing it in this mouth.

“Yeah,” Lance said, taking a seat on the bed and taking a bite. “I think she just likes actual food. We have to eat food goo on the lion, it's ok. Nothing like this though, this is delicious. My friend Hunk would go crazy over these.”

“Hunk is the pilot of the yellow lion?” Strom asks, tilting his head.

“Yeah, he is an amazing cook,” Lance says, smiling down at his food. “He is also crazy smart. Him and Pidge are actual geniuses. They can make anything, and are able to figure out how everything on these crazy spaceships work.”

Strom looked curious. Watching Lance eat for a moment before asking.

“Why don’t you talk about yourself like that?”

Lance choked on his vegetable. It was almost a carrot, he would have to ask for some to put in Red. Zelia had finished her dinner and flew over to where he was on the bed. Nuzzling him concerned as he coughed.

“Like what?” He asked confused, patting Zelia in reassurance.

“You say the Yellow and Green paladins are extremely smart. The Green one being the smartest person you have ever met, and the Yellow being the kindest and the best chef. You say the Black Paladin is extremely brave, an amazing leader, and an inspiration to everyone who meets him. You say the Red Paladin is a prodigy, the best pilot and fighter you have ever met. You say the princess is the best strategist you know, and her advisor an incredible mechanic. Yet you have said nothing about your skills. When I have complemented your skills as a gunsman you tell me there are better. Why is this?”

Lance froze. Wow. Strom really hit the nail on the head with that one. Playing on his insecurities like that. He hasn’t even known the guy for a day.

“I guess because… theirs is true.” Lance said looking at his food, god he was really going to spill his guts to this alien. Well maybe he could consider him a friend now. “I am just the team goofball, the seventh wheel. They call me the dumb one.”

“Didn’t you say you are the one who found the Blue lion?” Strom asked. “Aren’t you the whole reason Voltron was able to form?”

Lance shrugged. “I guess but Blue accepted Allura. At some point she would have been called to her.”

“Do you really believe that?” Strom asked. Lance hesitated before he nodded.

“I don’t.” Strom said firmly. “The legends of Voltron have been passed down for generations, and do you know what they say about the Blue lion? The Blue lion provides what is needed for the team. The only reason she would have chosen you would have been if the team needed you. You were also chosen by the Red lion! That’s more than most of your team! And she is supposed to be the most picky temperamental lion of Voltron. If anything, your team should be thanking their gods they met you.”

Lance sat there. He didn’t know that’s what the Blue lion was known for. He had cut off Allura when she gave the explanation, trying to impress her.

“What if Blue just needed me to bring her to Allura?” Lance asked, “I am just a place filler.”

“Then why would the Blue lion not have chosen your Red paladin?” Strom argued. “He found her first, she could have brought your Red paladin to your Princess herself. Or anyone of the other paladins when your first came across her. You have been chosen Ale-... Lance. I believe you are special, from the sounds of your team. They would be helpful on this mission, but they would not be what we need. Frak them if they think you are a seventh wheel. They don’t understand your capacity.”

“Thank you, Strom.” Lance said. “You are kind.”

Lance was staring at his plate. It was nice of Strom to think he was important, but he hadn't met the rest of Voltron. He wouldn’t say these things if he had. Lance cleared his throat.

“Anyway,” Lance changed the topic, “Do you have anywhere for me and Zelia to sleep tonight?”

“Of course.” Strom said, eating another vegetable. “You will be given one of our rooms.”

“...ok?” Lance asked, he was kind of expecting Strom to show him the room. “Will you show me where the room is?”

“The one next to mine is free.” Strom said, “You will be sleeping there.”

“Awesome.” Lance stood, “Will you be a dear and show me?”

“Will I be a what?” Strom asked, confused.

“A dear,” Lance explained, “A darling, a sweetheart, it's a pet name.”

“I thought Zelia was your pet’s name?”

“No, well yes, but-” Lance sighed.

He wondered if this was an alien language thing, or a Strom thing.

“It’s nice,” Lance said “It’s a nice thing to call someone.”

“If you say so.” Strom said, finishing his dinner.

He motioned for Lance’s tray and Lance handed it to him. He placed them both on the desk then headed for the door.

“This way,” He said.

Lance stood and Zelia took her place on his shoulder. He gathered his armour quickly and went out the door. Strom had walked down the hall and was punching the code into the next room. The door slid open and Lance followed him in. The room looked like a mirror image of Strom’s. The bed and desk on opposite sides.

“This is the washroom,” Strom gestured to the door on the wall. “You should find everything you need in there. I will bring back a change of clothes for you in a little bit, I am going to talk with Ragnar.”

“Lucky,” Lance smirked. “Can I come? I would like to discuss a couple of things with the pretty boy.”

Strom rolled his eyes. “I actually need him to function when I talk to him so no. I will be back soon.”

Strom left the room with a swoop of the door. Zelia yipped when he left and flew over to the bed rolling around on the blanket. Lance smiled at her antics and went into the washroom. It looked oddly like a human washroom, everything was just a little off, like when you dream and you know it’s not right. His attention was drawn to all of the products around the room. Lance laughed, giddy.

His skincare routines were the one thing he felt connected him to his family. His big sister Veronica was having a bad day once when he was little. She had always asked him to face masks with him and he never wanted to. But when he saw his sister that upset he grabbed her products and brought them out to her.

She had laughed, and her mood greatly improved as she showed them all the products and what they did. They had laughed and gossiped and it became a monthly thing, then a weekly thing. Everyone else slowly joined them for a weekly spa night. When he became a teenager he had a deeper appreciation for the products keeping his skin acne free and smooth and started a twice a day routine, on top of the weekly spa nights. When he moved to the Garrison, he would sneak into Veronica’s room once a week, his Tio would usually also join them, and they would call their family.

Lance excitedly scanned them all to find out if they were safe to use, and what they did. He learned only one would give him a negative reaction and set it aside. He took a long time in the shower, appreciating the shampoo and conditioner. Before he used all the cleansers, serums, oils, moisturisers he was given. He was half way through putting a product on his face that would ‘make it as it’s meant to be’ when he heard Zelia give a snarl from his room.

“Zee?” He asked, walking out of the bathroom, “What’s wrong?”

Strom had returned. Holding a blue material that looked soft, he stood in the hall with the doors open. Looking hesitantly at Zelia from where she laid on the bed.

“Oh! You’re back.” Lance said, suddenly aware he only had a towel wrapped around his waist. “Are those my pyjamas?”

“Uh… Yes.” Strom said.

Lance realised he was blushing. Oh, Lance thought, cute alien thinks I’m cute. Lance smirked at him.

“Like what you see?” He echoed his words from earlier.

Strom shrugged, walking into the room. Zelia had calmed down once Lance walked out of the bathroom.

“She didn’t try to fry me.” He commented, setting the clothing on the desk.

“I think she recognized you.” Lance told him, going to Zelia and scratching her head. “She just didn’t like someone near my only exit point without my knowledge.”

“Oh you speak xiariom now?” Strom sassed at him.

He looked at his face. “I didn’t realise you also had face markings.”

“That I have what?” Lace asked, touching his face.

“Face markings,” Strom gestured to his own nose, “A lot lighter than most species. Also with a lot more, is that normal? I think they have appeared since I saw you last.”

Lance hurried to the washroom.

“Oh, come on.” Lance said frustrated.

The moisturiser had brought out his freckles. They usually only showed up after summer vacation. Spending ten hours a day surfing and out in the sun made them show up. Apparently so did this moisturiser. He actually looked alot more like he did at home than he ever had at the castle. With his freckles showing up and his hair getting its natural texture back he looked like what Rachel dubbed her ‘summer brother’.

“Is it a reaction to something?” Strom asked, coming to the bathroom door. “Should I get a medic?”

“No, it’s a human thing.” Lance sighed. “They are freckles, and usually only come out in the sun.”

“Human’s have marks that appear in the sun?” Strom asked, “That’s fascinating.”

“Yeah,” Lance said, sighing. “I guess. I thought I got rid of them, by avoiding the sun.”

“You do not like them?” Strom asked, now leaning on the door frame.

“Not really,” Lance said, rubbing his cheek to see if they would rub off.

“I think they are nice.” Strom commented, Lance felt his face grow warm.

“Oh I meant to ask you,” Lance said “Could I stock up on these products? I don’t have anything like this on Red.”

“Of course,” Strom said, walking back towards the door. “How about we discuss what you will be taking with you after the mission next rotation. I am going to get some rest. I suggest you do the same.”

“Ok, Goodnight Strom.” Lance said.

Strom looked back at him, tilting his head. “Have a good dark cycle Lance.”

The doors slid closed. Lance stared at them for a moment smiling.

“Brrt?” Came from the bed.

“Oh, shut up.” Lance said, walking over to the desk.

He gently picked up the pyjamas. They were surprisingly cold, the room was very warm so they felt nice. The texture was extremely silky, almost like holding water. He quickly changed into them. It was a matching shirt and pants combo. They were both loose, and he had to check he was wearing clothes once he had changed. They were extremely light weight. The neck was huge on the shirt exposing his collar bones. But they were comfy. He crawled into bed. The thin mattress was stiffer than the bed in Red, and the blankets were thin. The pillow was extremely fluffy and he snuggled into it. Zelia nuzzled insistently at his arm until he lifted it and let her snuggle up against his chest. The pyjamas warmed up once Lance felt they were too cold for him, he wondered if they were self regulating? He would have to ask Strom in the morning, and if he could keep them. Zelia started purring and Lance quickly fell asleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He woke up to Zelia kneading his chest. She wasn’t using her claws, she was just flexing and closing her paws. He looked down to see her pupils wide and staring directly into his soul.

“Morning Guapa.” He said then yawned.

He raised one arm to rub his forehead, and the other to pet her. She arched into his hand stretching her wings out happily and purred. He got out of bed, excited he could do a morning skin care routine. He was half way through all of the products he wanted to use when he heard Zelia growl.

“Lance?” He heard Strom ask hesitantly.

Lance opened the door and waved at him. Giving Zelia her stay motion, and she stopped her growling. Strom was standing in the door frame moving some clothes under one arm and two trays of food, one in either hand.

“Geez man.” Lance said, leaving the door open and finishing his face quickly. “Don’t you knock?”

“Knock?” Strom asked, confused.

“... Nevermind.” Lance said, Alien’s and their weird customs. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

“Minute?” Strom asked again.

“Short while.” Lance corrected.

Lance quickly finished up his skincare and went into his room. Strom had taken a seat at the desk. He was leaning away from Zelia where she was behind him sniffing. Surprisingly she hadn’t dove at the food yet.

“I brought you breakfast, it’s made from the same food as last night’s dinner.” He said holding out of the trays. “I noticed you grabbed meat for Zelia. But she won’t touch it.”

“That’s odd.” Lance said, grabbing the food. “Her stomach is basically endless.”

He offered the meat to Zelia and she dove in.

“She still doesn’t trust me.” Strom’s shoulders sagged.

“Well you said they were hard to gain the trust of right?” He asked. “It took me a couple weeks, um varga’s, before we got here.”

He stroked under Zelia’s wings and she started purring happily as she ate.

“I guess.” He still sounded dejected. “Anyway, we leave in a couple hours. You mentioned you are not as skilled with a blade as you are a gun. I was hoping we could get a bit of practice in before we left?”

“Sure.” Lance said munching on one of the same vegetables he had last night.

Strom smiled. “Awesome.” He had finished his breakfast and stood. “I have brought you another undersuit for today. Do you remember how to put on the armour?”

“Yeah I think I got it.” Lance said, handing Strom his tray with a thanks. “Where will we be training?”

“Just meet at my room when you are ready.”

“Will do beautiful.” Strom rolls his eyes as the doors close.

Lance laughs. He inspects the clothing Strom had brought him to find it is exactly the same as he was given yesterday. Just clean. Which he was ok with. He actually really liked the armour they gave him, it makes him feel badass. Like an assassin. He went into the washroom to change, he felt awkward changing in front of Zelia. He put it on along with the mask he was given yesterday. It moulded over the bottom half of his face perfectly, it seemed to be made of something adhesive, he took it off and back on again surprised it didn’t peel off of his face painfully. He gave himself finger guns in the mirror in the washroom, and winked at his reflection. He laughed. It was ridiculous.

“What do you think darling?” He asked Zelia walking back into his room.

He flew back to the shoulder pad he had placed back on and nuzzled against his mask. He attached his bayard to his belt on his right side. He attached the scanner from his paladin armour to his wrist. Over his gloves, it was thankfully black so it didn’t stand out like the rest of his paladin armour. He headed over to Strom’s room, knocking on the door and taking off his mask, putting it into a pocket on his hip as he waited. He knocked again after the boy didn’t answer the door for a while, and eventually opened the door.

“Were you going to answer the door?” Lance asked, seeing Strom sitting at his desk reading from a tablet.

“Why would I answer the door?” He asked, looking over at him. “It doesn’t speak.”

“I was knocking.” Lance said exasperated.

“That’s what the noise was.” Strom nodded his head.

He put the tablet away and stretched. He had changed into his armour. Wearing the same black undersuit, and dark red armour.

“Come,” He said moving past Lance out the door, “Let’s see what you can do with a blade.”

Their training room was dramatically smaller than the castles. Which was to be expected for an underground rebellion. It was about the size of the war room, with higher walls and some cubbies on one wall. Zelia flew to the cubby and settled on top. The floor and walls were covered in mats and there was an alien looking punching bag in the corner.

“Do you not have any form of targets for practice?” Lance asked, looking around.

“We are not really people of guns,” Strom said walking over to the cubbies. “But we do have these.”

He had grabbed a small metal box and placed it in the centre of the room. “It is more for knife throwing, but I suppose it could work with a gun, with a few modifications.”

He pressed a button on the side and multiple glowing orbs appeared from it. There was one in each colour of the rainbow.

“Woah.” Lance said, as the orbs zoomed around the room. “They are like live targets.”

“Yeah, do you want to try it?” Strom asked, as Lance tracked a blue orb as it flew quickly around the room.

“Sure.” Lance eagerly responded. “How do you use it?”

“It is a knife throwing practice.” Strom stated, fiddlinging with one of the buttons. A blue light suddenly shot from it and it scanned Lance. He jumped and Strom snorted. “It’s just giving you digital knives, look.”

He pointed at Lance's thigh. There was a band made of blue light wrapped around his thigh. Attached to it were a couple of blades that reminded him of something he saw in a Batman comic once.

“You grab those and throw them at the huzium’s.” Strom said.

“The floaty light things?” Lance asked.

“Yeah,” Strom nodded. “The blades and orbs are made of light and will just dissolve once they are hit or hit something. Wanna give it a go?”

“Sure,” Lance said, counting his blade then the orbs around the room. Eight and Eight. “Do I just do it? It seems like they are hardly moving.”

“You haven’t done this before.” Strom said. “Plus even I struggle with this level.”

“Think a bit highly of yourself there bud.” Lance said, smirking and crossing his arms. “After all I am Voltron's sharpshooter, you said it yourself. I have impeccable aim.”

“That’s for gun’s not-you know what? Fine.” He twirled a dial on the box. “Have at it.”

Strom walked to the side of the room where Zelia was as the orbs went into a formation. Lance grabbed one of the light knives, surprised when he could actually feel something. He couldn't feel any solid shape to it, but it definitely held a weight. The orbs made a ding and started moving quickly around the room.

Lance grinned. He tracked the blue one for a moment before nailing it with the blade he was holding, quickly grabbing another for the pink one flying wickedly through the room. He threw the knife and got that one also, quickly followed by him nailing the rest. Once he had hit the final yellow one he turned to Strom grinning.

“This thing is awesome! Could I buy one here? I could use it for training on Red, I might have to clean out the-” He stopped his rambling when he noticed Strom staring at him with his mouth agape. “What?”

“...That was… incredible Lance.” He was staring at him with awe.

It made Lance feel awkward. He liked when people complimented him, but no one ever said anything about his skills. Keith was always the best in combat, with Shiro, and Hunk and Pidge were solving any problems they came across. So Lance was always somewhere in the middle skill wise. Not good enough to pay attention to.

“Haha thanks man.” Lance said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He could feel his face flushing. “It’s nothing. Weren’t you going to show me how to use a blade?”

“Yeah but…” Strom said, still looking awestruck. “I think you could use some throwing knives. We have a similar contraption as the holder, but the light is solid enough to do damage.”

“That’s super cool.” Lance said interest peaked. “Making something solid out of light? Could someone explain to me how that works? That’s not something we can do on my planet, or any that I have been to actually.”

“Yeah Ragnar knows how they work and he would love to talk to you.” He said. “First let's see what you can do with a blade.”

“Awesome.” Lance said, bounding over to him. “I still don’t see why I have to bring a blade.”

“After that display,” Strom said, gesturing to the box with his head. “I actually believe you. Always good to learn though.”

“I guess.” Lance sighed.

“Now,” He opened one of the larger lockers to show a couple dozen blades. “Let’s get you a blade. Let’s try this one.”

He handed Lance a huge sword that was heavy. Lance struggled under the weight and huffed out a “Are you sure?”

“Maybe not, what about this one.” He gave Lance a blade that was longer and thinner. I was a lot lighter too.

“Mmm. I think you need something for closer combat.” Strom said, taking it back. “Something shorter. Ah. here.”

This blade was black with the accent’s standing out.

“It’s pretty.” Lance said, grabbing it.

It was a good size for him. Easy to manoeuvre and fit in the sheath Strom gave him easily.

“Can you show me how to use it?” He asked.

“Of course.” He said grabbing his own blade and flipping it in the air so he could get a proper grip on it.

“Which is your dominant hand?” He asked.

“Both.” Lance responded.

“Is that a skill your species has?” Strom asked, surprised.

“Nah,” Lance shrugged. “It’s not uncommon though. It’s called being ambidextrous. Keith, the Red paladin, is also ambidextrous. That actually might be an alien thing now that I think of it.”

“He is the half Galra?” Strom asked.

“Yup.” Lance stabbed the air with the sword he was holding. “He is good at everything so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just a him thing.”

“Most Galra are able to use both hands.” Strom told him.

“That’s pretty cool.” Lance told him. “What about you? Which is your dominant hand?”

“Left,” Strom said, switching the blade to his right hand. “I try to train with both hands. You never know when it could be useful. Ok let’s start with some defensive close up stances.”

Strom showed him some defensive moves. He was able to work through them decently and they even spared for a while. Of course Strom was going easy on him, and using his nondominant hand, and still won. But he said Lance had picked it up quickly. Lance preened under the praise.

“So I am an amazing, sword fighting prodigy, is what I am hearing?” Lance said, resting a hand on his hip and holding the sword loosely in his left hand.

“You did ok is what I said.” Strom placed his sword back in the cubby. Lance tried to hand his back but he just shook his head. “No, you keep that one. It suits you.”

“Of course it does.” Lance said, sheathing it again. “It’s as pretty as me. Seriously, thank you for the tips.”

“No problem.” Strom said, as they left through the door Zelia ran ahead of them before flying back to Lance when people entered the hall from one of the rooms. “We should be leaving shortly. It will take us twenty dobashes to get to the rendezvous point, then we have another twenty five dobashes before everyone else will be in their designated spot. I have some food bars I am going to bring. Would you like to come make sure you can eat them?”

Lance smiled softly. He was really considerate when it came to him having a different digestive system. Though there hadn’t been anything they haven’t been able to eat yet.

“That would be awesome.” He gave him a grin. “Thank you.”

They headed towards Strom’s room. Zelia took her perch on the desk after entering the room, as Strom pulled a box out from under the bed.

“Here.” He tossed one to Lance. “See if they are ok for you two to eat.”

Lance opened the wax material wrapped around the bar. It looked similar to a protein bar from earth. It looked like there were nuts and some sort of paste holding it together. He scanned it and frowned.

“Awe.” He said, sighing and handing it back to Strom. “It’s toxic for me. You can try feeding it to Zelia. Lot’s of protein in it for her, she will love it.”

Strom looked disappointed he couldn’t eat it. Hesitating before grabbing a second bin under the bed and tossing him another granola bar.

“Check this one.” He turned to Zelia and placed the bar close to her, but a safe enough distance that he wouldn’t get swiped at.

Lance unwrapped it and scanned the bar. This one he could eat! The scanner even had a happy Pidge face on it, meaning it would presumably taste like peanut butter. A modification Pidge added.

“Awesome!” Lance said, taking a bite. It tasted like peanut butter and banana with a hint of toast? It was delicious. Lance moaned and took another huge bite. “Dude this is amazing! Definitely the best thing I have eaten since coming to space. Don’t tell Hunk.”

Lance felt his heart clench at the mention of Hunk. Strom will never meet him, but Strom just laughed and it lightened him a little bit.

“I am glad you like them,” He smiled as Zelia started delicately sniffing the bar he offered her. “Grab a couple, you have pocket’s on your pants.”

Lance grabbed two more and happily munched on the first. He lay flat on his back on Strom’s bed and sighed.

“You know.” Lance took another bite. “I kinda thought I would be by myself for two decapheobs.”

“Why did you think that?” Strom asked, looking at him concerned as Zelia sniffed his hand.

“This sector isn’t documented in Red.” He shrugged. “I thought I would be by myself until I found a way out of it, which I am still not sure how to do.”

“I can have Ragnar show you where the exit from this sector is when we get back from the mission, though it is a couple decapheob’s away.” He said.

He grinned as Zelia rubbed her face against his hand, and let him stroke her back.

“I am just happy to know I am not so by myself.” Lance sighed, closing his eyes as he finished the bar. “This sector is so… empty. There are so few star’s and they are so far apart I genuinely thought I wouldn’t meet an intelligent friendly species for two Decapheobs.”

“Really?” Strom asked. “You didn’t think there would be anyone you could speak with?”

“I was thinking about the worst case scenario.” Lance said, eyes still closed. “Anyway that’s not what I am trying to say.”

He opened his eyes and turned to look at Strom. He was grinning stupidly as Zelia started purring as he stroked her back. He looked over at him when he paused his sentence.

“Thank you for not stabbing me.” Lance said with a serious face.

Strom barked out a laugh. “I thought you were going to be a lot deeper than that! Of course, anytime.”

Lance smiled. Strom didn’t understand what he ment, but that was ok. Strom showed him there are aliens who are kind in this sector, and want to fight the Galra. But his laugh was too nice for Lance to correct him.

Lance found himself dozing for a little as Strom continued to pet Zelia. He seemed thrilled he could finally touch her, it was a lot faster than she allowed Lance to pet her that was for sure, but he seemed like a pretty genuine person. Lance could imagine the lecture Shiro would be giving him right now. He hasn’t known Strom for a full day, and here he was, trusting him completely and laying in his bed, with his eyes closed. Pidge would be off finding out as much as she could about their technology, Shiro and Allura would be discussing the battle strategy with Flaxa, Hunk would be stocking up on the food they have, Keith would probably be training and here he was, lying on some alien’s bed. He couldn’t bring himself to feel that bad though.

One of the consequences of growing up in a big house was feeling comfortable sleeping in front of people. He and his siblings would have movie nights and pass out on the couch, or fall asleep on the beach, or in the car. He was used to sleeping with people around him. He found that when he was able to wrangle everyone on the castle into a movie night, he always passed out on the couch, and slept like the dead. He liked knowing someone was by him.

“Lance?” He heard a voice softly call to him and felt a hand on his head. “Lance, are you asleep? We need to go.”

Lance grunted and turned away from the hand. Mumbling as he snuggled into the pillow. He heard a soft laugh before someone was shaking him.

“Lance the mission, come on.”

“Mmm, how important is it again?” He asked, still not turning over.

Zelia had flown over to him and was trying to go under his head to lift it up.

“Extremely,” Strom grabbed his arm pulling him up to his feet, Lance went reluctantly. “Now come on we are meeting Ragnar in a couple Dobash.”

“Ok,” He blinked the tiredness out of his eyes. Zelia had already taken her perch on his shoulder. “Where are we meeting him?”

“In the loading bay. We have a shuttle we need to get on.” He followed Strom out the door, raising a hand to pet Zelia as they headed down the hall.

The loading bay was close to where they had entered the complex. Once they got there Lance saw a couple of people milling around a Galra looking transport. It was purple and looked like a cargo transport.

“Hey guys!” Ragnar waved at them from where he was holding a holopad by the transport. “Are you ready?”

“Absolutely,” Lance said walking up to him, “Let’s get this party started!”

“Party?” Ragnar looked confused as he approached him.

“I think his species has a strange way of speaking.” Strom said from behind Lance “Just smile and encourage him.”

“Ok,” Ragnar nodded, then gave Lance a grin. “Let the celebration begin.”

“Yeah!” Lance cheered, startling Zelia.

Ragnar steered them to the back of the cargo hold. They were going to sneak into the docking bay in this container. Ragnar had programmed it so they could open it from the inside of the Galra hold. He explained this as he led them to the seats in the back. There were four two on each side. He and Zelia sat on the left and Strom and Ragnar sat across from them.

“So,” Lance said, smiling at Ragnar who’s face immediately turned bright red. “Strom told me you could explain how you turn light into a solid material?”

“Oh, of course.” He brightened, seeming more confident as he began to explain. “We have these crystal’s similar to those of a Balmera. Do you know what a Balmera is? Good, anyway if you can find one that is made of condensed quintessence-"

Ragnar started a spell about the science side of it. Lance tried his best to follow but there were some terms he didn't know what they meant. He ended up smiling and nodded as the boy continued his explanation with his hands going wild and almost hitting Strom in the face. The vehicle they were in slowed to a stop and Strom gently cut him off.

“Ragnar,” Strom cut him off. “I would genuinely like to hear this, and to find his colours but seriously we need to get into position. Later?”

Ragnar didn’t seem unhappy at being cut off and nodded eagerly. Lance could see his mind still racing as he unbuckled and basically skipped to his holopad. Lance smiled, Strom shut him up in a really nice way.

“You are just a softy aren’t you?” Lance asked Strom, as they stood.

Lance attached his mask again, Strom doing the same, his a black mask. Zelia climbed onto his shoulder. Strom looked at him confused.

“I am soft?” He asked.

“Yeah, nice, friendly, kind.” Lance listed as they headed to the back.

“What makes you say that?” He asked.

“You know.” Lance shrugged, “You let Ragnar babble, and asked him to continue later instead of to be quiet. And you let me have a nap on your bed earlier, after giving me a private training lesson.”

He gave him a teasing smile behind his mask. His eyes are hopefully portraying his intent. Strom just looked sadly at him. Which made Lance’s smile drop, concern schooling his features.

“Sorry did I offend you-?”

“Does your team not do that?” He asked.

“I mean… I am usually the one talking, and it’s pretty much alway’s nonsense. Everyone else is usually too busy to be listening to me ramble, or have a nap.”

“I am… so sorry Lance.” Strom said, giving his shoulder Zelia was not on, a squeeze. “They shouldn’t treat you like that.”

“Woah, woah!” Lance backed out of his grip. “They don’t treat me badly at all! I am always rambling about nothing, and we are the defenders of the Universe! Of course there is no time for naps!”

Strom still looked sad but didn’t comment. They sat near the door of the cargo container. They had about a half hour before everything was in position. Zelia climbed into his lap and was wearily staring at Ragnar who was fiddling around on his tablet, muttering something every so often. Strom was tossing a knife he pulled out from who knows where. Lance pulled out one of the bars Strom had given him, pulling off his mask and taking a bite. Ragnar looked up at the sound of paper unwrapping and his eyes widened.

“How did you get that?” He asked, looking at the bar.

“Um…” Lance said around a mouthful. “Strom gave it to me? Do you want one?”

Lance grabbed his second one out of his pocket and offered it to the boy. He took it and flashed a grin at Strom. Who he now realised was glaring at Ragnar.

“Wow,” He said, unwrapping it. “You are so kind sharing these with us, Strom.”

“Did I miss something?” Lance asked, looking between the two of them.

“No.” Strom replied, still glaring at Ragnar as he quickly pulled off his own mask and took a big bite. “Nothing.”

Lance shrugged and continued eating. He gave Zelia the last piece, which she ate quickly. He mentally went over the plan, putting his mask back in its place. Once they were given the signal he would have to head straight for the maintenance ladder on the right side of the room. It would be hidden in the shadows enough he should be able to climb it without being spotted, and get into the vents. He then had to find his way to a room north about three hundred metres. (took a lot of questions to figure that one out). There he would climb into the rafters that were conveniently in the room. Then he would be sniping anyone that came into said room while Strom and Ragnar entered a side room where the main control room was, while Flaxa and everyone else hopefully did a good enough distraction up stairs. Seemed simple enough, but he could tell he was petting Zelia to shake out his nerves.

There was suddenly a beep from Ragnar’s holopad.

“That’s the signal.” He said tucking it into a bag on his side and standing. “Let’s go.”

The door’s to the container opened slowly as Strom and Lance stood. Lance formed his blaster just in case as the doors opened. Ragnar didn’t say any words but his eyes widened in awe at his bayard. Strom looked pretty impressed as it formed, he just unsheathed his sword and stepped in front of them.

Strom stepped out first, ducked low as he scanned the room. He motioned for the two to follow him as he stood behind a tall crate. They did so and moved quietly through the large room. They ducked as a patrol passed around the corner of the crate they were hiding behind. Thankfully they were facing the opposite way and did not spot them. Ragnar tapped his arm and pointed to the ladder about fifthteen feet away from them. That’s where Lance needed to go.

He made eye contact and nodded with him, before making his way towards it, Strom joined him and Ragnar headed silently to the door he was going to crack open. He made his blaster dematerialize and reattached it to his belt. Still crouching low and he gave Strom a pat on the shoulder. Strom tore his eyes away from the Galra on the opposite side of the room reading the contaminants of a crate.

“See you soon?” Lance whispered.

Strom nodded. “Be careful, the sniper is always left vulnerable.”

Lance grinned, hoping it made it to his eyes. “Baby I am always careful.” He whispered and gave him a wink.

Strom was clearly confused but decided to let it slide and nodded. He pat Lance's shoulder and let Zelia sniff his hand quickly before he snuck back to where Ragnar was still cracking the door. Lance looked up and wow, this vent was like three stories up. Why was there a ladder also? They really needed a new interior designer. Nevertheless there was a small platform at the top, which Lance motioned to Zelia to fly to. She shot up silently and Lance made quick work of following her.

He didn’t look back until he was safely on the ledge. Ragnar had just cracked the door, and gave Lance the hand signal to head into the next room. That meant he had seven dobashes to gain access to the room and set up a quick sniper’s nest. He took off the vent and Zelia headed in before him.

It was weirdly tall, he could easily crawl through it and he was not a short person. Zelia was on edge so the electric charge around her lit up the vent. She knew where she was going because she was the best cat ever.

They finally reached the end and Lance reached for Zelia to calm her as he glanced through the vent. He could see many senteries and Galra milling about away below him. Zelia dropped her electrical current and Lance stroked her back. He slipped open the vent and climbed onto the raptor Zelia slipped out behind him and strode confidently towards the centre of the room.

There were about eight bars crisscrossing in the middle of the room. They were each wide enough for Lance to comfortably kneel on, but he was still high enough that he was thankful for taking ballet when he was younger. He carefully walked towards the middle of the room, he found a place he could see both where Ragnar and Strom were going to enter the room and where they were heading.

Lance knelt, taking a deep breath and willing his bayard into his sniper rifle. It shifted and Lance held his eye to the scope. He felt less exposed than he usually did oddly, even without his team. Usually he was the one watching everyone’s back, including his own, and Shiro and Allura didn’t listen to him when he asked to move positions, claiming they knew where his best perch would be. This usually left him with only one entrance or exit, and no one to watch it for him, making sure it is clear. This has led to him being pushed off his perch, shot, or stabbed, on more missions than he could count. At least Keith acknowledged he knew less about sniper nests when he was leader, but Allura always insisted she knew the best spot for him.

Flaxa had asked what he had thought of his perch, and when he suggested moving it to the rafters, entering it from a different room, agreed and made sure he had at least five different exit strategies. Including a grappling hook and a stabilising jetpack. She had also wanted to send someone else up into the rafters with him because there would be no one watching his back. He had kindly refused and at her insistence told her Zelia would alert him if anyone snuck up on him. He wasn’t 100% sure she would, but he didn’t want to be a pain.

Zelia, for her part, was jumping from each of the bars. Giving a silent flap of her wings to cross the distance, before placing herself next to Lance, looking down at the floor. Her ear’s flicked as the Galra started silently murmuring

Lance patted her head before levelling his rifle again. He took a deep breath, trusting Zelia to snap him out of his head if anyone surprised him up here and focused through his scope. The door’s opened and Strom basically flew through the opening. He slashed and stabbed, it looked like he was dancing. Ragnar had managed to slink behind him, going stealthily along the wall, silently taking out the droids as he came across them. Lance took the senteries quickly, there were not too many. Strom was like a tornado and Ragnar like a ninja, they hardly needed his help.

Ragnar had reached the door and pulled out his holopad. He began furiously typing away at it. A sentry saw him kneeling by the door with his back turned and ran towards him drawing his blade. Lance shot through the droid's hand, and then its head. It dropped to the floor sliding until it was a foot away from Ragnar. The boy jumped as it clanged to the floor, only giving it a glance before continuing his work.

He took out three more that tried to approach Ragnar, as well as stunned a Glara who snuck up on Strom, before the fighting ceased and Ragnar slipped into the control room. Strom looked up into the raptors finding Lance. He gave the pink eyed boy a wave as he saw his eyes lock on him through his scope. He nodded at him and disappeared into the room with Ragnar. Lance took a deep breath, his main goal was now to stop anyone who came into the room that was not with the rebellion.

The alarms suddenly started blaring. Flaxa had made her appearance. Hopefully this would distract the base from the fact Ragnar was hacking it. He said he needed five dobashes. Lance was the first line stopping them from getting into the room and Strom was the second. He would be damned if he let anyone get into the small room with no exits and his new friends.

“Spear, how is the control room?” A female voice asked.

Lance jumped looking to his right and seeing no one.

“Spear respond.” Said the same voice, along with the sounds of battle sounding faintly behind her.

Lance realised the voice was Flaxa coming through their comms system. How did Ragnar explain it worked again?

“Everything is good here, General.” Lance said, hoping he was correct about how they worked. “It’s quiet.”

“Good.” Flaxa said, Lance needed to get used to this intent based technology. “Let us know when Ragnar has finished.”

“Understood.” Lance said, still looking at the door through his scope.

A squad of twelve droids entered the room, but Lance shot them down before they made it halfway across the room. Then the alarm stopped. The door’s to the control room opened and Strom exited.

“All the droids have been shut down. All that is left will be the Galra, and I assume they will surrender once they realise they are outnumbered.” He said, Lance heard him through the comm. “Ready to come down?”

“Anything for you, Beyonce.” Lance said, then said. “Flaxa Ragnar is done in the control room.”

“Copy that Spear.”

He could feel Strom’s confused look and hear Ragnar giggling faintly through the comms. Lance thinks he has realised he was using as much human slang as possible. He deactivated his Bayard and looked over to Zelia. She must have gotten nervous because of the gun fire because she was all electric and flying next to him.

“It’s ok Zee,” Lance put his bayard on his hip and reached for her. “We are all done-”

“Lance!” He heard Strom in his comms. “Behind you!”

Lance whipped around to see a Galra standing between him and the vent. He had a gun and Lance watched in slow motion as the Galra aimed the gun at him. He heard Strom yell and wished he had a quicker reaction time when he heard a charging noise from Zelia. He instinctively tilted his head. Zelia shot her electricity at the Galra who looked stunned at her presence. He screamed and dropped his gun, shaking from the electric current’s before going limp as Lance assumed his heart gave out and falling off the rafters onto the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Lance, are you ok?!” He heard Ragnar’s voice and shook his head to clear it.

“I am fine,” He said, still staring at where the Galra was a minute before. “I will be down in a tick.”

Zelia landed on his shoulder and nuzzled into his face. He raised a hand to pet her.

“Thank you Zee.” He said as he tilted his head towards her and closed his eyes.

That was close. Too close. If he died on this random alien planet, no one would know. Not Voltron, his family, his mama…

He took a couple of minutes to calm down before making his way down the ladder. He was immediately engulfed in a pair of arms, despite Zelia hissing at the person.

“Lance!” He recognized Ragnar’s voice as the arms released him and spun him around. “That was too close! Are you ok?!”

The boy was frantically looking him over, nervously eyeing the angry cat on his shoulder. But determined enough to make sure he was ok that he was ignoring her. Zelia was growling at the poor boy as he scanned Lance to make sure he had no injuries. He had removed his face mask at some point, and had some blood covering his face in a splatter.

“I am ok.” He reassured him, raising a hand to calm down Zelia. “What about you, you were all up close and personal with the droids?”

“I am fine,” He said, taking a step back and Lance motioned to his face. “You have a little something…”

He touched where Lance motioned and pulled it away. Making a face at the blood on his fingers.

“Gross.” He said, pulling out a cloth from his bag and walking back towards the main room.

Lance noticed Strom stalking around the room, mask off. He kicked at one of the fallen droids and let out what Lance assumed was a stream of curses as he hurt his foot. Lance felt his mouth smirk, he really did remind him of a certain hot head. He made his way over to the boy, Zelia took off from his shoulder and started inspecting his room as he did so, taking off his mask.

“You doing ok man?” Lance asked when he got close enough to him.

“Fine.” He said sharply, glaring at a droid and stabbing it for good measure.

“We won, you know.” Lance told him.

“I know.” He said.

“Then why are you still kicking the droids when they are down?”

“Because I hate them.”

“Ok…” Lance watched as he hacked off another droid's arm.

He seemed to deem this one finished and moved to the one next to it. He raised his arm to slice off its head, when Lance grabbed his arm.

“Let go of me-”

“You’re bleeding.” Lance said, and watched as Strom followed his gaze to his bicep.

“It’s just a scratch.” He jerked his arm away.

“No,” Lance said, crossing his arms. “You are dripping blood on the floor.”

He turned so his arm was hidden from view and fixed him with a look.

“I told you. I am fine-”

“Strom!” A female voice called from the door.

Flaxa had entered the room with a couple more rebels. Ragnar was standing next to her chatting excitedly with a blue haired alien who looked confused but was nodding along with whatever he was saying.

“Spear! Come over here for debrief.”

“Right away.” Strom said and headed towards her before Lance grabbed his arm.

Strom hissed as Lance put tension on his cut when he grabbed him. Lance let go quickly but pulled on his shoulder to turn him around. Strom met his eyes with a steely look.

“Something is bothering you-don’t say it’s nothing!” Lance pointed a finger at him when he opened his mouth, looking like he was going to argue. “And you will tell me what it is later, capeesh?”

“Ca-?”

“Understand?”

Strom was still glaring but finally said “Yes.”

“Good.”

Lance released his shoulder and Strom didn’t waste a second before spinning around and heading towards Flaxa. Lance sighed, whistling for Zelia and feeling her settle onto his shoulder.

“How do I always end up as everyone's impulse control?” He asks her.

She just nuzzles against his face, happy his mask is off. He sighed and scratched under her chin, as she purred.

“I know, I know.” He sighed before heading towards the rebels.

Chapter Text

Lance knocked angrily on Strom’s door. He had been avoiding Lance for hours. The briefing was long, Flaxa cornered Lance afterwards they had a surprisingly pleasant talk, her asking if he was ok after hearing what happened in his sniper's perch, and apologising she didn’t prepare for it. When Lance tried to catch his eye before he took off he all but ran away to some unknown location in the newly acquired base. He had taken a different transport back to the base and Lance assumed he went directly to his room. Now he was pissed, why was he avoiding him, what did he do?

Lance had gotten introduced to a couple of their other gunsmen, they had wanted tips from a paladin of Voltron. It didn’t help that Ragnar was bragging about his accuracy, and how he would have definitely not survived had Lance not been there. Ragnar had thankfully helped Lance get into a shuttle and back to the base. The excited alien was all but buzzing at the prospect of the new technology the base can show him. Lance didn’t think he was going to be getting a lot of sleep.

“Strom!” Lance said, getting a couple of odd looks from the alien’s passing in the hall.

He had already dropped off Zelia in his designated room. She had snuggled into his blanket with a chirp.

“Open your door!” He said, continuing to pound on the door. “I have four older siblings! I think you are underestimating how long I will stand here for-!”

The door opened with a swoosh. Lance started and jumped away. Strom was glaring at him. His hair was damp and he had changed into loose sleepwear.

“I was trying,” He started “To sleep. What do you want?”

“Something was bothering you.” Lance crossed his arms. “You agreed to talk about it.”

“I didn’t agree to anything. You told me-”

“Did you have anyone look at your arm?” Lance cut him off, knowing the answer.

He had the decency to avert his gaze to the floor as he said. “...yes.”

“Strom.” Lance sighed pushing his way into the room. “I swear you are as bad as Keith. Where is your medical kit?”

“You don’t need to-”

“Where?”

Lance liked to think he had mastered the disappointed mom look. He used it with his little cousins and nieces and nephews, even Hunk, Pidge and Keith. So he knew Strom was going for the med kit as he sighed and pulled the kit out from a desk drawer dropping it on the bed.

“Good now, sit.”

Lance took a seat next to the kit, forcing Strom to sit within arms reach. Lance rolled up his sleeve to see he had already slapped a bandage on it. Lance pulled it off and Strom flinched as he did. The cut was deep and he should probably need stitches, did aliens have stitches?

Lance carefully wiped away the excess blood and cleaned it with what Strom showed him was an antiseptic cleaner. He then smeared a cream on it that would ‘assist the process’ confusing wording but he accepted it. He finished by wrapping some alien gauze around his bicep. As he tied the knot he tried to look Strom in the eye.

“So…” He said, securing the gauze. “Why did you slice and dice the dead robots?”

“I hate them.” Strom repeated from earlier. “Draxiot scum.”

“Was that all?” Strom nodded clearly, not meeting his eyes.

Lance sighed. Something was troubling him, even though he had known the alien for about a day he couldn’t leave his new friend like this.

“Do you know what a face mask is?”

Twenty minutes later Lance had Strom giggling as he explained when his twin sister Rachel somehow managed to get trapped on the roof of their childhood home.

“-she swears the ladder fell, BUT it was still in the shed. I still have no idea how she did that.”

Strom laughed, he and Lance were sitting cross legged on the bed facing each other. Lance had found a piece of fabric and tied back Strom’s hair with it. He had shown him the proper way to use the cleanser’s that this place provided. Lance was horrified to find Strom didn’t even use moisturiser. Lance had used the coms to ask Ragnar, he was pleasantly surprised that the alien knew exactly what he was looking for, and directed him to a cupboard where he found some face masks.

“Ok,” Lance scooped the purple goop onto a couple fingers. “Close your eyes.”

“Why.” He was still smiling but tilted his head in a confused way.

“You don’t want to get this in your eyes.” Lance raised his hand to his face. “Close.”

Strom shut his eyes, still smiling. Lance gently swiped the goop over his face. He started at his forehead then down over the rest of his face. Strom flinched violently when Lance gently touched the scales beneath his eyes.

“Sorry!” Lance moved his hand as Strom opened his eyes.

“S’okay.” He blinked looking with wide eyes. “My scales are just… sensitive. The mask is cold.”

“...Can I keep going?” Lance asked hesitantly.

“Yeah.” Strom closed his eyes again.

Lance slowly put the rest of the mask on. Strom tensed when he spread it on the other side of his face, but didn’t flinch.

“Sorry.” Lance said quietly finishing the last swipe of the goo across his scales gently, Strom just hummed. “Done.”

Strom opened his eyes slowly. He raised a hand to touch the mask, but Lance swatted it away.

“You have to leave it, don’t touch it.” Lance swatted his hand again as it reached up. “It has to take affect-stop.”

Strom giggled, and Lance sighed exasperatedly. “All right, now it's your turn to do me.” Lance handed him the container. “Just the face and avoid my eyes.”

Lance closed his eyes. He could feel Strom hesitate for a moment before cool fingers touched his face. He hesitantly swiped to goo over Lance's face. Lance smiled, his smooth strokes were like he was painting.

“Ok.” Strom pulled back and Lance opened his eyes to look at him. “I think I am done.”

“Awesome.” Lance said then flopped down onto Strom’s bed on his back with a sigh. “Now we have to wait a bit before we wash them off.”

“Ok.” Strom said, moving to lean against the wall.

Lance slung his legs over the boy's lap. Strom tensed before sighing and looking at Lance with an exaggerated look.

“Really?” It was more of a statement than a question.

Lance grinned at him and closed his eyes. He felt content just lying in the boy’s bed. He really should have done this with his team more often, it gave him an odd sense of nostalgia and comfort. It had seemed to relax Strom too. The boy had been tense since they had come back from their mission. They sat there in silence for a bit, Lance dozing a little. It startled him when Strom started talking.

“Droids helped kill my parent’s.” Strom said quietly, Lance cracked open his eyes to see the boy staring down at his hands. He was nervously wringing them where he had rested them on Lance’s shin’s. “That’s why I was hacking them apart. They came to my house one day, my mom hid me in a vent. I could see-”

His voice cracked and Lance could see tears build up in his eyes.

“I could see everything. My dad fought them, he was trying to protect me and my mom, and they just kept hitting him. My mom jumped in front of one of them to try and, I don’t know, distract them? And it just-threw her. It broke her neck, I think, there was a really loud crack when she hit the wall. My dad-I think they broke his legs- he tried to crawl over to her. They must have hurt his ribs or something because he was making a horrible sound when he breathed. Blood followed him over to where he dragged himself to my mom. He just cried over her until a Galra came inside. The Galra didn’t even say anything, just shot him in the back of his head. I don’t- I don’t know how long-”

Strom’s voice broke and he seemed to be trying to glare his tears away. Lance sat up and grabbed his hands.

“Hey,” Strom raised his eyes to meet him, “I am so sorry you had to go through that.”

“I-I-” Lance could see the moment the dam broke and pulled Strom into a hug.

Lance could feel Strom’s face mask rubbing onto his shirt, but didn’t care as the boy started sobbing. He clung onto Lance like he was the only thing holding him together as he buried his face in Lance’s chest. He couldn’t tell what was face mask and what was tears but it didn’t matter. His own heart clenched as Strom continued to cry and shake in his arms. Lance rubbed his back, hoping it was soothing for the alien.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that the boy had cried his eyes out a while ago and was now occasionally trembling in his arms. Lance had started to hum at some point and Strom had relaxed more into him so he continued. Strom had loosened the death grip he had on Lance’s shirt once he had started to pet his head. They sat there for a while longer until Strom pulled himself away from him.

“I’m sorry.” He said his voice was hoarse. “I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”

“Don’t be.” Lance said, giving him a soft smile. “That’s what friends are for. Anyway, let’s get these face mask’s off and get some sleep, yeah?”

Strom nodded and followed Lance into the washroom. They washed off both of their masks, and Strom left the room as Lance continued with his routine. He returned holding up a change of pyjamas.

“For umm…” He looked down at Lance’s shirt that still had a face mask and tears smeared on it.

“Thanks.” Lance accepted the pyjamas.

They were as soft as the one’s he had been given before. Though these one’s were a deep red. Lance changed quickly before heading back into Strom’s bedroom. Strom looked like he had been pacing before Lance came back, he still had the fabric tied around his head. He put his hands behind his back and rocked back onto his feet nervously. Cute Lance thought.

“I am glad we did this.” Lance smiled at the boy. “I am tuckered. I think I will head to bed… you will-um-I mean- If you-you know like-need anything- or anyone-not that I think you-you know-need anything-”

“I know.” Strom seemed to relax a little at Lance’s stammering.

“Ok.” Lance breathed a sigh of relief of the boy interpreting his stammering.

“I am just gonna-yup.” Lance pivoted and headed towards the door. It opened and Lance quickly walked through. Only pausing when he heard Strom call his name.

“Lance,” Strom had moved closer to the door, his arms were now crossed in front of him and was giving him a smile. “Thank you. I haven’t told anyone about… that. I don’t really know why I trust you so much.”

Lance felt his stomach do something funny when he said this.

“But I am glad I do, you are… really special. I hope you understand that.”

Lance felt his face flush at that comment. “Oh baby,” He smirked playfully. “You don’t know how special I can be.” He finished with a wink.

Strom smiled softly. “Sleep well Lance.”

“Goodnight.” Lance let the door close between them.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Do you want to meet Red?” Lace asked Strom.

It was the next morning. Lance had met Strom after a kind pink haired alien showed him where the cafeteria was, he was wandering for almost an hour before he caved and asked someone. Strom looked surprised at this question. His spork clattering back onto his plate.

“The Red lion of Voltron?” He asked, eyes wide and awed.

“Yeah,” Lance smiled. “She is getting irritated at not helping, I think a short flight would appease her.”

“How do you know?” Strom asked, looking starstruck. “That she is getting irritated?”

“It’s,” Lance wracked his brain for an explanation, absently petting Zelia where she lay next to him. “A mind link? It’s kind of complicated to explain if you haven't experienced it. She is always in my brain, I have just tuned her out unless I am looking for her, kinda like background noise ya know? Unless she wants to tell me something, she is rarely able to form actual words; it's mostly just emotions. I honestly don’t know how she sends words or when she learnt English now that I think about it.”

“That’s so cool.” Strom breathed. “I would be honoured to meet the Red Lion.”

They quickly finished their breakfast and Strom secured a ride for them. It looked like a bike, but the wheels were using some sort of magnets to stay hovering away from the frame, and it was about the size of the motorbike his brother had. It was a tan and would blend in with the sand if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

“So I am supposed to drive this thing?” Lance asked, arms crossed and looking at the bike wearily.

“You are literally a paladin of Voltron.” Strom gave him a deadpan look. “You have piloted two of the lions of Voltron. You will be fine on a bike, now come on.”

Lance stepped closer to the bike. The seat was just big enough for the two of them. Zelia was going to have to rest in front of him.

“Gas,” Strom pointed to the right handle then the left, “Break. It goes the direction you move the handles, and leaning helps on sharp corners.”

Lance hesitated still. Strom pushed him towards the bike and he reluctantly got on. He couldn’t read any of the labels or understand the symbols. He supposed it didn’t matter since Strom was going to be there with him. He rested his hand on the gas, revving it was supposed to start the bike. He did, there was a disappointing lack of noise in the garage, but the bike started to vibrate as the power came on. He was wearing the armour Strom had lent him but grabbed his paladin helmet. He had the rest of his paladin armour in a satchel Strom had attached onto the side of the bike. He was going to leave it in Red, for the rest of his stay. He felt a phantom pain at leaving his new friends to be alone again, but he had to get back.

He whistled for Zelia from where she was flying around the garage and she flew down to where Lance motioned on the bike. Once she landed Strom slung his leg over the bike. Lance could feel himself blush when he felt the boy against his back, hands resting on his shoulders.

Lance cleared his throat. “Ok back there?”

“Yeah.” Strom said leaning more on Lance to look over his shoulder at the dials on the bike. “It looks good, let's get going.”

Lance hesitantly turned the right handle. The bike inched forwards and Strom directed him to the door. Once they exited the Garage, to a thankfully quiet street. Strom gave him directions to get out of town.

“You have to speed up.” Strom said, grumpily. “A baby moves faster.”

Lance rolled his eyes but sped up a bit going at a decent pace. Safe for the city, there were buildings around, he couldn’t go too fast.

“Come on.” Strom whined as they reached the last street, the desert ahead of him. “This isn’t what I signed up for.”

“Fine,” Lance said, and immediately put the bike as fast as it could go.

Zelia hissed at him for making her slide around. But it was worth it for Strom’s yelp as his arms quickly wrapped around his waist. Lance laughed into the wind. It was similar to the motorbike his brother taught him; he just needed to get used to it. He immediately loved it. The wind in his face, the adrenaline from the speed, a cute boy behind him. He has had worse days. Lance went in the general direction he remembered Red being. She was getting impatient sitting in a cave for the past couple days and Lance could feel her calling to him, he just followed the feeling. Zelia had shot up off the bike at some point, and was flying around them. Lance was honestly impressed she seemed to be easily keeping up.

The cave finally came into view. Red purred in his mind when she sensed his proximity. Lance slowed the bike as they got closer to her. Zelia seemed to remember Red and flew into her barrier. She hissed as she bounced off seeming offended. Lance laughed as he brought the bike to a stop.

“Hola, hermosa.” He said as he pulled off his helmet.

Red glowed yellow at his words. She dropped her barrier and lowered her head, she settled her jaw a couple metres ahead of them. Zelia wasted no time and landed on the walkway, trotting happily into the lion. Lance swung his legs off the bike.

“Red this is my new friend Strom, Strom meet- are you ok?”

Strom’s eyes were huge, his arms were still held in front of him from where he was holding onto Lance as he looked at the Lion.

“Dude you good?” Lance asked, hesitantly poking his friends shoulder.

“I… that’s the Red lion of Voltron.” He said, dropping his hands. Lance doesn’t think he has blinked since they arrived.

“I know.” Lance took a moment to admire Red. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Red purred in his mind at his admiration. Strom didn’t respond, but his awed look was answer enough.

“C’mon.” Lance grabbed his arm and started dragging the boy into Red. “I will give you the grand tour.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“-and last but certainly not least is the cockpit!” Lance excitedly gestured to the room. “This is a little bed I made for Zelia. I am quite proud of it honestly.”

Strom had been silent most of the time. Looking in awe around Red. He gently touched the bed Lance had made his Cat and smiled.

“I am not surprised you made her a bed.”

“She is my baby.” Lance said, mock offended and put a hand on his chest. “She deserves nothing but the best.”

Zelia had disappeared somewhere into Red. Probably eating the dead flying fish somewhere, or the live ones. Gross and dark, but he supposed she kept the population under control?

“Ok we are going to go for a joy ride but first let’s make a vlog.” Lance had already started setting up the system.

“A…log?” Strom asked, leaning over to see what Lance was typing up.

“Yeah like a video?” Strom nodded. “But you document? You say who you are and what has happened since last time. Actually it’s more like a diary I guess.”

Lance flicked on the camera. He stood so he was blocking Strom from view.

“This is Lance Mclain, pilot of the Red lion. Log 5 it has been…” Lance counted on his fingers. “20 Days since I was separated from Voltron. I have successfully secured Haralssox from the Galra, with help from the rebellion, of course.” Lance Stepped to the side to reveal Strom. He threw an arm over his shoulder and leaned on the boy to make him stumble. “This is Strom. He tried to kill me but we are friends now. Say hi Strom.”

Strom’s arms were crossed and he was looking at Lance like he was crazy. “... you know there is no one there right?”

“It’s a vlog.”

“You say that as if it should mean something to me.”

“I literally just explained it.”

“Clearly not well enough.”

“He says hi.” Lance said, grinning at the camera. He held up a hand to fake whisper to the camera. “He is a little bit dense.”

“You just say weird things.” Strom stepped out of Lance’s reach.

“I do not.”

“Do too.”

“Anyway. I was just showing him around Red, and figured I should show you guys I can handle diplomatic relations just fine on my own.”

Zelia chose now to fly into the room with a chirp. She brushed against Strom’s hand when he reached for her with a purr before flying straight into Lance’s chest. He laughed and pulled his arm’s up to hold her like a baby. She exposed her belly and started purring. Lance gently started petting her and smiled at the camera.

“Zelia is doing well clearly. She is loving the food on this planet so far, and I think she likes being able to zoom around in the sky. Speaking of, I am going to take Strom out for a joy ride. Lance out.”

Lance reached over and turned off the camera. Zelia nuzzled into him insistently as he paused his petting.

“I know Zee.” Lance scratched under her chin and she closed her eyes, purring like a lawn mower, before taking a seat in his pilot chair.

She obediently flew into her hanging bed after Lance sat.

“You better hang onto something before we take off.” Lance twisted around to look at him.

He grabbed onto the pilot’s seat and smiled like Lance’s nephew on Christmas. Lance gave a laugh and shot Red out of the cave. She really had been cooped up for too long, Lance could feel her relief as they ran along the desert for a minute before flying into the air. He heard Strom intake a sharp breath as they quickly broke through the atmosphere.

“Have you ever been in space before?” Lance craned his neck to look at Strom.

His look of awe hadn’t left. He was looking out into space, eyes flicking to one the moon’s of the planet they passed.

“No…” Strom said, seeming distracted by everything.

There was a planet in this system that had rings like smoke and stone Lance passed on his way here. He flew over to it in a minute and swooped in and out of it, showing off his skills a little bit as he flew and spun and dove through the asteroids. He was recounting one of his many tales of going through the asteroid fields with Voltron, Strom hanging onto his seat and his every word.

Lance eventually brought Red to a stop where they could see Strom’s planet.

“Woah.” Strom breathed out. “Is that Hassax?”

“Yeah,” Lance said, reclining his seat a little, “pretty cool isn’t it?”

“Incredible.” Strom was leaning over his seat to get a better view of his planet.

“Here.” Lance stood and dragged the boy so he was sitting in the pilot's seat.

Taking over Strom’s spot behind the seat and draping himself over it. Strom traced his fingers over the arm rests of the pilot’s seat. The planet was really pretty. Though it is mostly desert the mountains and valleys created a pattern that reminded Lance of veins. The planet looked alive from space, with its own distinct colours and patterns making it unique from even the similar planets Lance has seen.

“This is so cool.” Strom said, looking up over his shoulder and grinning at Lance. “I am not sure this isn’t a dream.”

Lance pinched his shoulder. “Hey!” Strom jumped, and rubbed his shoulder “What was that for?!”

“It’s a human thing.” Lance said, “In dreams you can’t feel pain, so you pinch someone to show them they are awake.”

“Strange,” Strom considered it for a moment. “But effective.”

They both turned their attention back to the planet in front of them. Zelia flew back to the back of the seat, Lance stroked her absently. Her purrs were the only sound in the cockpit.

This is what Lance wanted when he first came into space. The ability to appreciate the beauty of a planet that was right in front of him. The openness of space, and the fact no human has ever been here, and honestly no human may ever be here again. The thought thrilled him as much as it scared him. God he missed this. No one in Voltron ever just appreciates the beauty of a newly freed planet. The shadow of the planet was starting to swallow it when the two decided it was time to go back.

Lance decided to land Red just outside the city this time. Strom assured him the bike has a recall that will tell it to come back to its docking station, which was sick. They walked back through the town, passing a bunch of food vendors. They all offered him free food as a thank you for saving their planet. Lance grabbed as much as he could. Insisting he would scan it when he got back and making Strom carry equally as much.

They stumbled into the base with arms overflowing with individually wrapped food and laughing. Strom stopped short ahead of Lance causing him to run into him and drop a wrapped food.

“Hey! Why would you-” Lance complained before he stopped.

Flaxa was waiting in the base with a stern yet tired expression. She reminds him a little of Shiro.

“Do you two know how long you have been gone for?” She asked.

“Umm…” Strom started, then shrugged giving her a sheepish smile.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead with her thumb and index finger. Lance was kinda surprised it was a universal thing to do.

“Just…” She sighed. “Let someone know next time. Please?”

Strom nodded before taking off quickly down the hall. Lance followed, giving Flaxa a wave as he passed.

“I would be in so much trouble if you weren’t a paladin of Voltron-stop laughing!”

“I can’t!” Lance said, “It was such a similar reaction to Shiro you would be laughing too!”

Strom grumbled as he led them both back to Lance’s room. Lance dumped his food on his desk and Strom did the same. He grabbed his scanner and started sorting through the food he could and could not eat. He tossed the one’s he couldn’t to Strom who started eating them in his bed.

“You know-” Lance took a bite of something that looked like a funnel cake and tasted almost like jalapenos and cool ranch doritos. “-you have a lot of really good food here for such a barren planet.”

“Our fauna is underground.” Strom explained. “There are caves where planet’s get moisture from the air, they would die in the heat of the sun’s.”

“Cool.” Lance grabbed his snacks and sat next to the boy. “Plant’s on earth need the sun.”

“What’s it like?” Strom asked. “Your planet?”

“It’s beautiful.” Lance said wistfully. “There are mountain ranges that are covered in trees and have snow and beautiful fauna. There are deserts that are like here, all sand with animals that are hard bodied and able to stand the heat. There are pirarries which are just grass as far as you can see. Tundra’s which are all snow and ice. Rainforests are all trees and plants, it is so humid you can taste the water in the air. My favourite place is the beach though. I grew up on one, my house was right on the water. You could hear the waves crashing all hours of the day, and smell the salt of the air… I really miss it.”

“That sounds beautiful.” Strom said softly. “Does your family also like the beach?”

“Oh you have no idea.”

Lance spent the next hour telling Strom about surfing, and shenanigans he and his sibling got into. They ate the snacks they had collected, and Zelia had come over to Lance’s lap at some point and fallen asleep.

“I should probably go to my own room.” Strom said quietly.

Lance opened his eyes not realising he had closed them at some point. Strom was getting off the bed and stretching. Lance groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“You sure you don’t want to spend the night? I am a good cuddler.” Lance said, smiling at the boy who rolled his eyes.

“Have a good sleep Lance.”

The door slid shut behind him. “How am I being smooth? What is in the food here?” Lance asked Zelia.

Lance showered and did his nighttime routine. Changing into his dark blue pyjamas. He curled into bed Zelia snuggling up next to him. He pet her gently, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach at the idea of leaving here. He really wanted to find his friends, and he wanted to see his family, but he didn’t want to leave his new friends. He knew the odds, he would never see them again. He wondered how many realities there were where he stayed. He chucked at that, Slav would have a field day with his questions. Shiro might actually kill the alien if he started though, Pidge had gotten him going once and Lance saw a vein in Shiro’s forehead he had never seen before. The man had endless patience until it came to the alien.

The pit in his stomach lessened marginally at the thought. He needed to get back, his friends needed Red. If he didn’t bring her back, Shiro, Hunk, Allura, Pidge, Coran and Keith, god Keith, would never be able to defeat Zarkon. They would all die. He had to get back.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hunk sat silently. He was in a strange state of calm. He had cried his eyes out until he fell asleep from exhaustion. He had woken up and felt like crap. He had sluggishly made his way into the kitchen and gotten himself some food goo. He didn’t want to cook.

He stared down into his bowl, not touching it. What was he going to tell Lance’s family? He knows how close they all are. Lance’s mom would be heartbroken, god how was Rachel going to take it? Their twin thing never made sense to Hunk, they always seemed to sense what the other was doing. No one in the house noticing because it was their normal. Would she have felt when Lance was shot? Hunk didn’t think he would be able to stand watching the family, who had been so kind to him and welcoming, fall apart. He remembered once, he had gotten to Lance’s house early and his mom had insisted he join in on family game night. From then on he considered all of the Mclain’s his family, and had even been scolded for knocking on the door. He had since been given a key and was told he was always welcome, with or without Lance. Now it would always be without Lance.

“Hunk!” He jumped and looked up at who had been calling him.

Pidge was standing there with her laptop and bags under her eyes. She looked strangely excited.

“I have figured it out!” She said bouncing on the spot.

“Figured what out?” He asked.

“How to find Lance!” She exclaimed.

“Pidge,” He started slowly, feeling himself get choked up. “We can’t find Lance. He is-”

“No!” She yelled at him. “He is not! He is just gone. Think about it. We didn’t see anything after that beam hit him. He was inside a giant sentient lion of Voltron, something would have been left if it had-had killed him.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “The Red lion cannot be destroyed that easily. Even if it is, we need someone with a connection to the Red lion to tell us if the bond is still there or not. If the Red lion is still ok then that means-”

“Lance could be with it.” Hunk finished for her, feeling hope blossom in his chest. “So we just need someone who has a pre-established bond with the Red lion to tell us if it is still there or not, and potentially where the Red lion is.”

“We need Keith.” Pidge stated.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I am sorry, come again?” Shiro asked.

“Your Red paladin,” Kolivan started, “has failed to check in for the over past Pheob.”

“Keith has been missing for over a month and you never bothered to let us know?!” Pidge yelled, outraged.

“He is no longer a part of your team.” Kolivan stated. “He is a blade member. As a blade member his whereabouts are no longer a concern for Voltron.”

Pidge opened her mouth to yell again but was silenced by a raise of Allura’s hand. “Thank you Kolivan. In the future we would like to be updated about the whereabouts of our former teammates.”

“Of course,” Kolivan said, he gave a goodbye and ended the call.

“How are you not angry?!” Pidge yelled at Allura.

“There is nothing to do.” She said calmly, “Keith has been missing and he didn’t inform us, we can only hope he does so in the future. Our main concern at the moment should be finding the Red lion.”

“You mean Lance.” Hunk heard himself say. “Finding Lance.”

Allura turned to him, he could see the hurt in her eyes. Hunk knew she considered Lance a friend, but her main priority has been and always will be Voltron. “You must know I-”

“We know Allura.” Shiro had approached her from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We are all just worried about Lance and- and Keith.”

Shiro’s voice caught when he said Keith’s name. They were very close, Hunk knew. Shiro had explained to him how Keith was all but adopted by him and his fiance one day.

A silence fell over all of them, that stretched longer than it has since they have been in space. He awkwardly stood still, not knowing what to say or do. Everyone else seemed to be in the same boat, including Shiro. Hunk was hit with the sudden realisation that Lance would have been the one to make them all feel better. Cut the tension by assuring everyone Keith and himself would be fine and probably make them all watch a movie, so no one would be alone. He felt himself about to cry again when Allura finally spoke up.

“Well, I shall continue my work up here.” Shiro nodded and excused himself.

Pidge followed him, Coran leaving shortly after. Hunk excused himself and headed for the Kitchen. They had picked up some new food on the last planet and Hunk was going to try out some new recipes. He started methodically cooking, chopping, stirring, baking, measuring, frying, slicing, pouring-

“Hunk?” He jumped at the sound of his name.

Shiro was standing in his pyjamas at the door. “...How long have you been in here for?”

Hunk looked around the kitchen. He had made a lot. There was everything lying on the counter. Some sort of pasta, stir fry, meat dish, cookies, muffins, everything.

“I am not sure.” He said putting down the space olive oil he was holding and frowning.

“Do you usually stay up this late cooking?” Shiro had entered the kitchen and was looking around at all the food.

“I-um-I stress cook.” Hunk was still staring at the food in front of him. “My moms used to stop me before I went to the Garrison then-” His voice caught and he felt his eyes well up. “Then Lance would-would-”

“Hey,” Shiro rested his human hand on Hunk’s shoulder and Hunk immediately turned it into a hug. “It’s ok.”

“It-Its-its not.” Hunk sobbed out. “L-Lance-Lance is gone, an-and Keith. Oh my god.”

Hunk pulled away and wiped his face. “Are-are you ok?”

Shiro gave him a sad smile. “I will be. I was missing for a year and Keith didn’t give up on me, so I refuse to believe he is anything but ok. Lance is capable, I am sure he is trying to find his way back to us right now.”

“He-He is smart.”

“I know Hunk-”

“No,” Hunk shook his head. “Everyone has always overlooked him because he is loud and a flirt. He used to help me study. Do you know English is his third language? He taught it to himself in six months before he applied to the Garrison. He always scored the highest for our grade in logic and reasoning skills, Professor Moe was always lenient with him because she knew he was translating everything. He is also really good at math, like freaky good, professor Blanaru hated him because he never got a question wrong, but he never showed his work. You can ask him a question and he will do it in his head in like half a second. That's why he is such a good shot, have you seen him shoot lasers being shot at us? He does the calculation in his head to determine where his bullet has to be to intercept it, based on the speed of his own shot and the bullet. His sister calls him a calculator-or-or called him I gu-guess.”

He dissolved into tears again. Shiro hesitated before pulling him into a hug. He was trying, Shiro has always had a dad-like quality to him. But nothing was the same as having his best friend back.

Chapter Text

Lance woke up and sighed. He decided he would leave the day after tomorrow. No point in prolonging it. Zelia was staring at him from the desk. Lance rolled out of bed, landing on the floor and heading into the washroom.

There were a couple of things he wanted to get done before he left. The main issue was stocking up Red with food for him and Zelia. He also wanted to see if there was any possibility of removing the table in Red’s conference room. Ragnar would probably like the metal or something. He was hoping he would find out his ‘quintessence colour’ so he could get a crystal to use for the practice knife throwing thingy. Maybe he could use the room right before the skimmer as a storage room?

He made a face in the mirror. Rubbing his face pointlessly to see if his freckles would come off. They didn’t and if anything he thought there were more. Mostly over his nose and under his eyes, but a few on the rest of his face. He held the container. It honestly made his face feel better than any other space products he had found. He guesses freckles aren’t that big of a deal, right?

He was interrupted by a knock on his door. He started, then he smiled to himself. Strom knocked. He answered the door, suddenly very aware he was still in his pyjamas.

Strom was dressed in his casual clothes and was holding two trays full of something that looked like fluffy bread, and scrambled eggs, but they were pink and various little fruits.

“Hello,” He pushed past him into his room. So not totally accustomed to privacy, but whatever.

“Good morning.”

“I am pretty sure these are ok for you to eat, from what I gathered it is things deemed ok for you yesterday. You should still scan them to be safe, I can get you something else if you can’t eat it.”

Lance grabbed his tray, noticing Strom got himself the same things. They were probably things he liked. Lance smiled to himself as Strom set down a bowl of the same meat Zelia has been eating next to her. She sniffed it and hesitantly took a bite before she dug in. Strom grinned as he took a seat on Lance’s bed.

“So, what is your plan for today?”

Lance scanned his food, pleased to find Strom was right and he could eat everything.

“Well,” He took a seat next to the boy, “I was hoping I could make a list of things I would ideally be able to take with me on Red. I don’t have any money but I was hoping I could work it off-”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Strom cut him off, he popped a fruit into his mouth before continuing. “You are a paladin of Voltron. We would be honoured to give you anything you need, or want.”

“I don’t think I can accept that.” Lance frowned down at his food. “I don’t want to take advantage, and there is a lot that I was hoping to bring.”

“Well you are going to have to.”

Lance was ready to argue with him. But he looked at the set gaze Strom had turned on him and sighed. This was the same face his sister made, there was no chance of changing his mind.

“Fiiiiiinnnnneee.” Lance said and took a bite of the not eggs. “I will accept all of the free things you want to give me.”

“Good.” Strom nodded. “We should make a list of things you want to bring.”

He grabbed a tablet similar to the one Ragnar used yesterday.

“So food. You liked those bars, they keep for a long time so we should get you a bunch. We should look through the preserved foods we have to see what you can bring.”

He continued tapping on his screen, typing out the list. Lance thought for a moment.

“I was hoping I could bring one of those knife throwy thingys? Oh! And the other knife thingy.”

“The practice thrower, and the quintessence amplifier.” Strom nodded.

“On a side note, I was hoping I could have Rangnar’s help. You remember the conference room on Red? I was hoping to remove the table and chairs from it. Do you think he would have a use for them?”

Strom nodded, still typing away on his datapad. “I swear he has a list of what he would do, if he got any specific thing. Like I gave him a broken Galra gun once and he immediately made it into what he called a flash-blast, the charge made a blinding light, he did it in less than a varga too.”

“Cool, I figured he would be able to use it.”

“He might even just like to have it.”

“I suppose. It's very nice of you to think of him Lance.”

“Thanks…” Lance felt a blush rise on his face and cleared his throat. “You have some things for me to look through?”

“Yeah…” Strom watched him with wide eyes as he walked past him to the shelves. “We need to sort through these foods and the clothing to see what you would like to take with you. I hope you don’t mind but I did grab your scanner from your room.”

“Of course not.” Lance said. “That is actually some really good thinking ahead. Where do we start?”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours later and Lance had a large variety of food Strom promised him would keep for years. Strom insisted on Lance taking a bundle of knives, showing him the side for cooking and the side for more ‘outdoorsy’ activities. A couple of dishes, a mug, a lumpy cup and two plates, and a water pouch, as well as a couple dozen sporks and knives. A round blanket that seemed to be made of the same material as his pyjamas, a pillow that looked lumpy but Strom explained was made to shift and support where he put it, it can support your lower back, or ankle or neck etc.

As well as various clothing that had taken Lance longer to pick out. Lance had fought him a little at first but when he mentioned he liked something Strom gave him three to keep. Strom had gotten exasperated from him pretty quickly, but Lance had fun trying on different things. It almost felt like shopping at the mall. He asked for Zelia’s approval, finding she had a strong dislike of the colour orange, hissing at him when he tried an admittedly obnoxious shirt on, and really liked the colour blue. In the end he had gotten about a dozen shirts, and undergarments as well as several pairs of pants.

He was ecstatic to find out they had slippers and chose a fluffy pair of red ones he thought looked like a flower, and pink ones Strom said he had a pair of. He also loaded up on their versions of socks, which reminded him of mitten’s, giving a spot for his big toe. He had not loved having to walk around in his bare feet or just his paladin boots on red. He also accepted a pair of sandals and shoes that resembled vans from earth. Strom had also told him he could keep his armour and pyjamas he had been wearing during his stay there.

He also got three sweaters. They were an eye sore, Lance loved them. Strom explained it was custom for one to have a sweater made in the colour of their quintessence and given to loved ones, for the aliens the colour of their hair and eyes represented their quintessence. There was a purple one with a deep reddish-purple around the neck Strom said was from Flaxa, a red one with blue sleeves Strom told him was from Ragnar, and a red one that faded to pink then white at the bottom the cuffs and neck were white from Strom. He had blushed bright red when explaining it.

“That's a really cool thing to do.” Lance said as he accepted the sweaters, they felt like a soft velvet.

“Yeah,” Strom was still blushing but had a soft smile on his face. ”When are you going to leave?”

“Two days.” Lance said softly he looked up and met Strom’s eyes he looked sad. “I don’t-If I could-I just-I can’t-”

“I get it.” Strom said, stepping closer into Lance’s space. “I just wish you didn’t have to.”

“You could come with me.” Lance said, knowing he would say no. “There is only one bed but we could make due.” He smirked suggestively and Strom gave a chuckle.

“I wish I could.” Strom said, placing his hands on Lance's wrists where he was holding the sweaters. “I have to help my planet. I just got it back, I can’t leave it.”

“I get it.” Lance echoed his words from earlier softer. “I just wish you didn’t-”

He was interrupted by Strom’s lips on his. He stood stock still, his flirting had hardly worked before. Only a couple of times with girls and once with a very cute boy. Those had all been sloppy kisses and messy make out sessions, filled with hesitance and the wrong amount of pressure and tongue. Now he had a ridiculously hot alien kissing him. Did he even know what kissing was? Was this a normal thing in alien culture when someone was leaving? No, other alien’s would have tried by now. God his lips were soft.

Lance realised he had frozen after Strom pulled away looking apologetic.

“Sorry,” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have-”

“No!” Lance blurted out. “I mean yes! I mean-ugh!”

He gave up and dropped the sweaters, pulling Strom back into another kiss. He responded and the kiss started to deepen, their lips seemed to mould together as their mouths moved in sync. Lance’s hands started to roam, one going into Strom’s hair that he had been dying to touch, the other around his waist, licking his way into his mouth as he gasped. Their tongues intertwined as they started exploring each other's mouths. Strom’s hands had started their own exploration, Lance shivered as he gently ran his nail’s down his spine. Every touch ignited a fire in him. The way Strom was tugging him impossibly closer and kissing him desperately made him think he was thinking the same thing. He slipped his hand under his shirt, brushing against the scales on the small of his back. He let out a soft sound and Lance pulled him against himself-

“Guys are you-oh.” A voice sounded from the door, making them jump apart.

They both must have looked flustered and dishevelled. Strom was blushing like crazy and his mouth looked like it had just been kissed. Lance would not mind doing so again whatsoever.

“Ok… stop staring at each other’s mouths for a second please.” Ragnar said, walking into the room.

Lance’s eyes snapped up to see Strom was looking away with his face turning a bright red.

“Guys stop. For the love of Shoxir you could cut the sexual tension in here with a sword.” Ragnar didn’t even look up this time, setting up a hologram on the table.

“You could join if you want.” Lance suggested to Ragnar giving him a wink when he looked up with a smirk.

“Could you not?” Strom placed a hand over his face.

“Anyway,” Ragnar said, “While you two were making out-”

“We weren’t just-” Strom started.

“Yeah.” Lance said at the same time.

“I,” Ragnar said louder than necessary. “Was drafting this!”

The holograph was of Red. Lance briefly wondered how the hell he managed to get a scan of her. It showed a map detailing the rooms inside her and zeroed in on the conference room. The table and chairs were out lined.

“So here,” Ragnar pointed at the room. “Once I have taken out the table and chairs-thanks again by the way-We will be able to give you some more weapons, and I would like to line it with mats.”

Ragnar did a motion with his hand and the room transformed to show what he had described.

“That looks really cool,” Lance commented, “But I cannot accept-”

“You can and you will.” Strom cut him off, “Sorry Ragnar, continue.”

Ragnar showed them his ideas for the rest of Red. He really only designed the shelves Lance had asked for outside the skimmer. Lance felt bad about changing Red’s interior. Surely Keith is going to hate it when he gets her back. Red growled at the thought as he had it, reassuring she likes the changes. He suggested adding a cupboard under the sink, as well a couple of hangers at various points throughout her. He had sweaters now after all. Outside of the cockpit, next to his bed in the washroom. Strom pointed out there was nothing restraining him to his piloting seat and Ragnar promised to give him a seatbelt. He left the room mumbling about sizing and material, leaving Strom and Lance alone again.

“Um… I should probably head back to-” Lance said awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah, me too.” Storm said.

He helped Lance pick up the sweaters. Offering with a laugh to carry them when Zelia made it clear she will not tolerate anything other than being carried back to their room. They made idle chit chat as they walked through the halls, Strom insisting he brings more with him and Lance saying he felt like he was taking advantage as it is. They reached Lance's door and Strom followed him silently. He had refolded the sweaters and made to leave after placing them on his desk.

“Have a good sleep Lan-”

“Strom,” Lance said, sounding much too desperate for even himself. “I… I-”

“I know,” Strom said, mirroring his words from earlier, giving him a sad smile. “Me too.”

Lance gave a small smile as Strom stepped back and the door wooshed in front of him. He groaned and flopped onto his bed. Zelia made a startled sound and flew over him for a second. She seemed to realise he needed something and started nuzzling his face and purring. Lance turned to face her and scratched her ears.

“Thanks Zee.” He said, giving her a smile. “He’s just… I really like him. And I knew I shouldn’t get attached, I promise this is not going to be the norm. He is just… special.”

He laid on his bed moping for a little before he got up and went through his nightly routine. He laid on his back in bed and closed his eyes, feeling sadness press down on him. His mama always said his heart was too big and was going to get him hurt. He hated that she was right.

He sighed before sitting up on the bed. He tried his best to clear his mind and call on Red, his loneliness and anxiety of the vastness of space always eased when he was able to feel Red. He recalled her cockpit and the warmth her presence brought, and his mind wandered to the warmth of the sun, the feel of sun warmed sand under his feet and the cool feeling of the ocean. The spray of the sea when he went swimming, surfing or boating. The comforting coolness of being submerged. He felt a soothing presence wash over him and relaxed in its familiarity. The lion's presence filled his mind comfortingly before Lance snapped his eyes open and it was gone. That wasn’t Red. That was Blue.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pidge was hunched over her Laptop where she had been for the past who knows how long. They had a meeting about twenty minutes ago? An hour? And she had been working non stop since. She had just found her brother and her Dad and now more members of her family were missing. It was worse this time, she had watched as Lance was hit. He had take the hit for her, and now he could be-

No, she shook her head, she will not be thinking like that. Lance was going to be fine, he had to be fine. She would not accept any other possibility except that he was fine. She just needed to find Keith, because of course he was also missing. God those two were too similar for their own good.

The door swished open and she froze for a second. She was momentarily convinced it was Lance. He was always the one to steal her laptop and make sure she took care of herself. He was the only one who had successfully taken it away, though she threw a couple mean words at him she regretted. He would insist she needed some beauty sleep and would make her eat and drink while he told a funny story, before giving her a hug and sending her to bed with a promise he would help her however he could after she got some sleep.

She turned slowly, convinced she would see the lanky boy with his arms crossed and a disappointed frown in the doorway. Instead she got the angry look of Allura.

“What are you doing?” She asked harshly. “I instructed you all to sleep hours ago.”

Pidge blinked. Hours? What time was it? She looked back at her laptop and was surprised to see it was 3 in the morning.

“I will sleep in a bit, I need to find Keith. Then he can help us find Lance.” She continued to type away on her laptop.

“I do not think so.” The princess said, walking closer and making to grab Pidges laptop.

Pidge swatted her hand away easily, used to people trying to take it. The princess huffed and tried her best to sound like she was not also exhausted.

“We are already missing a lion,” She said curtly, clearly still mad. “We cannot be down another if you insist on staying awake looking uselessly-”

“I am not looking uselessly.” Pidge kept her voice as monotonous as she could. “I have found a lead on a mission Keith was last on. If I follow it I should have his last known location. Finding the Lion will come after that. And for your information Princess I am not looking for Red I am looking for Keith and Lance. They are our family and if you have a problem with me looking for them, that’s too bad for you.”

She looked up to glare at Allura who gave her a stern look back. Pidge held her gaze for a moment before going back to her laptop. Allura was silent for a couple of minutes before she sighed.

“...I am worried for both of them,” She admitted quietly, making Pidge pause to see Allura looking at the floor. “We have become friends. Of course I want to find both of them and I pray to Alderan they are safe, but we are defending an entire universe. We cannot be taken out by a sleepless night because of two humans.”

Pidge looked at her. She knew Allura felt responsible to the entire universe because her father created Voltron. Pidge had the startling realisation she herself would sacrifice it to save her family.

“... I guess our priorities are different.” Pidge said.

Allura looked up, looking annoyed again. She opened her mouth as if to argue before a panicked look came over her face and she touched her head.

“Allura?” Pidge asked, pulling away from her laptop in concern. “Are you ok?”

“It’s the blue lion.” She said, her face going pale. “It pulled away for a moment… and all I can sense from it is… loneliness.”

“Could she…” Pidge perked up for a moment. “Could she be channelling Lance’s emotions?”

“Or,” Allura said, looking regretful as she met Pidges eyes. “The lion could be mourning him.”

“She’s not.” Pidge said sharply.

She refused to look up at Allura. Allura stood for a minute trying to think of what to say.

“... Pidge I-”

“Get out.”

“I just-”

“Get. Out.” She said with as much venom as she could.

She heard Allura walk over to the door and heard it slid open and closed. The second it did she slammed her laptop closed and buried her head in her hands. She fought the tears that were dripping down her face. Lance was ok, he had to be. They wouldn’t survive if he wasn’t.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance woke up earlier than usual. He could tell because Zelia was not lying on his face. He didn’t know when exactly she tried to suffocate him every night, but clearly at a later time. He sighed and decided to wake up early. Get as much social interaction as he could on his last day. He methodically went through his morning routine for the second to last time on this planet.

He was hit by the idea he should bring Strom his morning breakfast. He left Zelia sleeping on his bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead. She started purring in her sleep, which was adorable. He had changed into his deep red tunic and a pair of khaki coloured shorts, with some socks, dios he was so happy he now had socks. He had also put on the sweater that was Strom’s quintessence colours. It was extremely soft and smelled like coffee and honey. He made his way to the cafeteria and was only slightly surprised to find Ragnar passed out at a table with a bunch of gadgets around him. He grabbed two trays of food, the lady had somehow remembered the foods he could eat and he flirted with her a little, and one alien equivalent of coffee he had seen Ragnar drink before. He couldn’t have any, which he wasn’t overly upset about because it smelt like mud.

“Rag,” He said, nudging him with the mug.

The boy groaned and turned his head away. Swatting at the object poking him.

“Raaagnar.” He sang and poked him again.

The red haired boy suddenly shot straight up, a small piece of metal stuck to his cheek.

“Alejandro?” He said, sounding confused. “Wadder you doin’?”

His eyes were still glazed with sleep, though his hands immediately started fidgeting with the tools that were in his hands, his eyes going to them as soon as he noticed.

“I brought you some coffee hermano.” He stuck the mug next to Ragnar’s left hand.

He felt around for it for a moment before grabbing it and taking a long sip. He downed half the mug and looked more aware of the room after. The metal was still stuck to his cheek.

“You got…” Lance gestured vaguely to his own face.

“...my scales?” He asked, tilting his head.

Lance sighed and peeled it off his face for him. He showed him the metal and Ragnar hummed, taking another sip of his coffee as Lance placed it on the table.

“There, now we can all see your handsome face.” Lance gave him a wink.

“Speaking of faces…” Ragnar said, giving Lance a smirk. “Yours was pretty close to Strom’s yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Lance said dreamily, sinking into the seat beside Ragnar. “He was a really good kisser. He made such a cute noise when-’

“Gross,” Ragnar cut him off, fiddling with a piece of what looked like leather. “Don’t need all the nitty-gritty details. Though I see you are wearing his quintessence sweater.”

Lance looked down at his sweater. He smiled when he ran his hand over the blue cuff, he really liked the idea of having his friends colours on him.

“Gross,” Ragnar repeated. “Don’t look at mine that way.”

“Awe,” Lance said, “But yours is also so pretty guapo.”

“Absolutely not.” Ragnar said. “Anyway, I will probably have all of your upgrades ready to go by early this afternoon. They will not take long to install but I am going to need you to be able to get into the Red lion.”

“Of course,” Lance said “I will meet you at-”

“I can come find you,” He stated.

“But how will you know where I-”

“You have a tracker on you, remember?”

Lance reached up to his ear. He had almost forgotten he had two piercing’s now.

“... right. Should I give them back?” Lance asked.

“Nah,” Ragnar said. “Everyone already has one, and they are decently easy to make anyways. Plus you will probably need the translator so you don’t always have to use your paladin helmet on breathable planets.”

“Oh,” Lance said.

He kind of hated that he is probably never going to see his new friends again.

“Hey,” Ragnar nudged him, sensing his sadness. “That tracker will probably not reach where you are going.” He admitted. “But as long as you have it on you, we will know you are alive.”

Ragnar showed him his data pad. It explained everyone's stats. Heartbeat, blood pressure, many more. He switched to a different screen where it showed everyone as a dot in a specific place on the planet.

“Could… could I get that?” Lance asked, “To know you guys are alive? I know it seems silly but I think I would find it comforting.”

“It’s not silly,” Ragnar gave him a small smile. “But you need to remember, time moves faster here. We will probably die fairly quickly once you leave.”

“I know,” Lance said. “I can accept that, though I don’t love it. It is just so… lonely out in Red. There are not even as many stars in this sector as the rest of the galaxy. I would just like to know I am not alone.”

Lance had started picking at his fingers as he said that. Ragnar surprised him by pulling him into a hug.

“Of course Lance.” He said, pulling back. “That’s exactly why I want you to keep your tracker. I know we haven’t known each other for a long time, but I really do consider you a friend. It would make all of us feel better knowing we have a way to make sure you are alive.”

“Thank you,” Lance smiled at him, “And we are definitely friends. Now,” He stood up and grabbed the tray’s. “I need to go feed Zelia, I will see you later?”

“Of course,” Ragnar smiled at him, as he turned back to his work he said teasingly, “That’s an awful lot of food for the xariom.”

Lance felt himself blush but chose to ignore him heading back in the direction of his room. He did stop by his room and leave Zelia the breakfast he had brought for her. She seemed content to be in his room so he left her before making his way to Strom’s room. He rapped on it before opening it.

Strom was passed out in his bed on his stomach. He was wearing a green pair of pyjamas and hugging a pillow that was underneath him. Lance thought he looked adorable and then immediately scolded himself for the thought.

“Good morning sleeping beauty!” Lance sang.

Strom jolted awake, half sitting up and looking at Lance confused. He seemed unable to process the fact he was in his room.

“..’ance,” He slurred, eyes still glazed with sleep. He flopped onto his slide and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. “Yur ‘ere?”

“I brought you breakfast,” He said sitting on the bed.

Strom sat up and leaned against the wall, pulling the tray Lance offered into his lap. “Thank you.”

Lance joined him against the wall. He tried not to think too much into it when Strom leaned into him. He was still half asleep and probably moving towards his warmth. They ate in relative silence, with Lance making the odd comment and Strom humming in agreement or disagreement. Once they were finished Lance tossed the tray’s onto the floor with a clang. Strom jumped at the sound before settling back and resting his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Soo…” Lance said, “Today is my last day here.”

Strom hummed.

“... is there anything you wanted to do?” Lance asked.

“Mmmh?” Strom hummed.

Lance laughed. “You are a man of many words in the morning huh?”

“Shuddap.” He responded, and nudged Lance with his elbow.

Lance chuckled and nudged him back. It turned into a poking match that ended with the two of them wrestling on Strom’s mattress. They laughed as they both tried to pin the other, ending with Lance as the victor. Lance had Strom’s arms pinned next to his head, he was laying on top of the other boy as the two of them continued to laugh. Lance moved with Strom’s chest as he laughed.

“You are wearing my quintessence sweater.” Strom said with a soft smile.

“Yeah,” Lance grinned at him. “Flaxa and Ragnar’s are nice but this one is my favourite.”

“You look nice in it,” Strom said and smoothed his palm over Lance’s side, flattening the sweater but also inadvertently tickling Lance.

Lance laughed and told him to stop.

“What was that?” Strom asked, repeating the motion, Lance squirmed with a laugh.

“Cut it out,” Lance said with a giggle, “It tickles.”

“Tickles?” Strom asked.

“It’s a reaction some humans have when touched in specific places.” Lance said.

“What place’s?” Strom asked, tiling his head adorably.

“Main place is the stomach, but I am also ticklish in my armpits, the bottom of my feet, my- What’s that look? Oh no.”

Lance tried to scramble away but Strom had already gotten his hands on him. He tickled his stomach and then his armpits. Lance squirmed and laughed, unable to shake him. Lance was finally able to flip them and pinned Strom again. They had both started to calm down when Strom surges up and connects their mouths.

Lance was a lot quicker to respond this time. Deepening the kiss by opening his mouth and licking into Strom’s. Strom met him and they began exploring each other’s mouths again. It was softer this time, slower. Lance let go of Strom’s hands to slide his right hand under the boy’s head. He buried his hand in his hair and tilted his head back slightly, using the same movement to pull himself up a little on the bed.

Strom let out a soft sound, sliding his hands down Lance’s back. He paused at the hem of his sweater before placing his warm hands on Lance’s lower back. Lance hummed at that. He shifted again and Strom pushed Lance away to wrap his legs around his waist before pulling him back onto himself. Strom slid one hand up into Lance’s hair and gave it a tug. Lance broke away from the kiss with a gasp, and Strom kissed his way along his jaw. Sucking a mark just below the edge of his jaw. Lance gave a pleased hum, before gaining a bit of clarity now that his brain wasn’t overwhelmed by the black haired boy.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Lance said, trying to pull back farther from Strom. He couldn’t help the pleased hum when Strom retaliated by biting his pulse point gently. “Strom,” It sounded a lot breathier than he wanted.

“Yes?” Strom asked, finally pulling away from Lance’s neck.

“We should-,” Lance said, breath catching at Strom’s blown pupils and just kissed mouth. “We should talk.”

“About what?” Strom asked.

He brought his hand that was previously buried in Lance’s hair down to press on the hickey he just gave Lance. Lance felt his eyes flutter slightly, before he gave Strom a soft glare.

“Stop trying to distract me.” He said. “What are we doing? I am leaving, but I do really like you this… this probably isn’t a good idea.”

“So?” Strom asked, rolling his hips up into Lance’s. “It’s nice.”

Lance closed his eyes with a groan. Strom giggled a little and threaded his hand into Lance’s hair. He used it to pull Lance’s mouth back to his own, meeting him halfway. Lance indulged for a moment before breaking the kiss again.

“Strom-”

“Ugh,” Strom flopped back onto the bed.

He released Lance to put his arms down next to his head.

“Why do we have to discuss it?” He asked. “I am hot, you are hot it feels good, and since you are leaving there will be little to no consequences. Consider this filling up on your contact with another being.”

Lance chuckled. “True enough. I was more thinking along the lines of what does kissing mean in your culture? For humans, we do it for fun and because it feels good. Though you usually do it with someone you are interested in romantically.”

“Similar here,” Strom said, “It mostly just implies you find someone attractive.”

“So you think I am attractive?” Lance wagged his eyebrows.

“Pretty sure I just called you hot a minute ago.”

“I mean I guess,” Lance shrugged. “I find you hot too by the way.”

“Good,” Strom said.

“I just…” Lance trailed off.

He could not help the guilt he felt kissing the boy. He couldn’t place why. He wasn’t in a relationship, his flirting with Allura was more playful than actual flirting. He shouldn’t feel bad about a make out session with a pretty alien. So what was sitting in his chest?

“Lance?” Strom asked, sounding concerned. “We can just hang out if you want. Go to the market, visit Red, hang out with Ragnar or Zelia, or I could show you where we farm our food?”

Lance looked into his pretty pink eyes. His face was flushed and his eyes were worried. The earlier confidence that came from putting his tongue in Lance's mouth had dissipated.

“No you are right,” Lance shook the thoughts of guilt out of his head. There was a very hot alien underneath him right now that wanted his mouth back on his own, and Lance wanted that too. “This is nice.”

Lance was the one to connect their mouth’s this time. They kissed slowly, mouth’s melding together. Strom brought his hand back up to Lance’s head, and the other interlaced their fingers. Just a quick make out session with some grinding, harmless right?

✤✤✤

They had definitely lost track of time. Lance could not bring himself to care. There was a pretty alien, who had ended up on top of him at some point, making his body sing with pleasure. They had lost their shirts at some point, Lance was very happy about that, and Strom had left hickeys all over Lance’s neck and chest. Lance had been pleasantly surprised that Strom's scales on his collar bones were very sensitive, and he had taken advantage of that. Licking and sucking the pale boy’s skin. Lance was currently leaving a dark hickey at the junction between Strom’s shoulder and neck and Strom was tugging on his hair and squirming in his lap.

“Lance,” He gasped when he bit the junction, running his tongue over it humming. “Lance please-”

“Hey guys! You have been in here for ev-really?” A voice rang through the room and they jumped apart from each other.

Ragnar was standing in the door. Lance got deja-vu of Veronica walking in on him making out with Lucy and then Damien at the Garrison. She had the same face Ragnar was wearing both times. Exasperated and disappointed in his time management skills.

“Do you sense I am coming or something?” Ragnar asked, with his arms crossed in the door.

“No, but if you want-”

“What do you want Ragnar?” Strom cut Lance off.

Lance pouted as he climbed off his lap and slid his shirt back on. Ragnar eyed the marks on the two of them with judgement.

“Everything is ready to be put in the red lion.” He said, still standing in the door with his arms crossed.

Lance was surprised he didn’t have his face buried in a tablet. He stood vigilantly at the door, even when Strom shot him a dirty look as he grabbed his clothing and headed into his washroom. He shifted his gaze back to Lance, who had begun lounging on the bed.

“Like what you see?” Lance smirked at him.

“You look like you got mauled. Put on a shirt.” Ragnar responded.

Lance snickered as he found his shirt and slid it on.

“You finished everything pretty quickly.” Lance commented.

“No,” Ragnar said, “It’s well into the afternoon, just as I said I would be ready.”

“I was a little preoccupied-Oh, dios mio. I forgot to feed Zelia.” Lance started quickly towards the door, feeling immensely bad about forgetting to feed his sweet little cat. She was going to be upset, and she can be petty-

“I fed her earlier,” Ragnar said, “One of us has to be responsible.”

“Oh thank you.” Lance said. “Wait, how did you know I didn’t feed her?”

“She practically dove for my sandwich when I gave her her collar earlier. So I brought her that meat you gave her for breakfast to eat.”

“Thank you Rag,” Lance smiled at him.

“Rag?” Ragnar repeated.

“A nickname,” Lance said and grinned at him, they had somewhat accepted Lance’s nickname. Though Flaxa still called him spear, and they called him his full name sometimes.

“It’s just the first part of my name.”

“Yeah, a shortened version of your name. That’s a nickname, how many times do I need to explain this?”

“Shouldn’t your nickname be Ali by that reasoning?”

“That’s,” Lance felt his face flush. Ali is what he went by until he got into the Garrison and everyone called him Ally, and told him he had a girl’s name, until he just started telling everyone his name was Lance. His family and friends at home still knew him by that name. “That’s what my family calls me actually.” It came out a lot softer than he wanted.

“I am sorry,” Ragnar said, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s ok.” Lance reassured him. “It’s just nostalgic, you know?”

“Is it what you prefer?”

“I…” Lance hesitated, “I think so? Lance has just become my name now, so I really am ok with either.”

“Hmm…” Ragnar seemed to consider this, “Your species has strange naming habits.”

“So I have heard.”

“Ok, well anyway Ali,” Ragnar said, giving him a smirk. “I need access to the Red lion so I may start your adjustments. Then Flaxa would like to have a word with you, I don’t think she approves of you travelling by yourself. Even if you do have the Red lion.”

“Hey! I am capable-”

“It’s not that you are not capable.” Ragnar held up his hands. “It’s that she doesn’t like that you are. That you have to. Saciht I don’t like that you are going by yourself. It’s open space! And you are enemy number one of the empire that rules the galaxy.”

“I don’t love it.” Lance said. “But it’s something I have to do.”

“I know, I know.” Ragnar said. “You are all responsible with the whole being a paladin of Voltron and stuff, blah blah-”

“Ok stop with the whole ‘We worry about you’ speech.” Strom said emerging from his washroom. “He is going to get enough of it later.”

Strom was now wearing a tunic and some of those cotton pants that went past his knees. The shirt exposed his collar bones and Lance could see the hickey’s he had left there. He was admiring his handiwork until he realised the two were waiting for him at the door.

“-ee this is what you two are like whenever you are in proximity with the other.” Lance caught the end of Ragnar’s sentence.

“Like what?” Lance asked as he joined them at the door.

“... You’re both pathetic.”

They made a quick stop at Lance’s room for Zelia. Ragnar had somehow gotten her collar on her. It looked more like a harness. Deep blue with her quintessence crystal at the front and a clasp at the base of her neck. The straps were thin and soft, reminding Lance of the fabric of the pyjamas he had gotten. It was a little darker than Zelia’s fur, and with how thin the straps were, he could hardly see the harness. The crystal was hidden under her feather’s and was just a slight glow on her chest. Lance told her how pretty she looked with it, and she snubbed him and flew over to Ragnar, who snorted but let her perch on his shoulder as they headed out to Red. Lance grumbled the whole time about petty cat’s as Strom tried to hide his amusement.

“-sure I abducted her. But, she is my cat. I didn't feed her once, and she got fed! And suddenly-”

“Ali,” Ragnar used his nickname, which made Lance smile. “Could you-?”

He gestured to his right where Red was sitting with her shield up. Lance smiled up at her, she was in stand-by mode, just a calm presence at the back of his head.

“Hola hermosa.” Lance said, grinning as her eyes lit up and she purred in his brain. “¿Podrías dejarnos entrar? Es hora de trabajar.”

Her shields lowered and she leaned down to let them in. He checked in on her again in his mind as people started milling around him into Red.

It’s not too late if you don’t want all this stuff. He tried to convey. He felt her calmness brush over his mind, warm and friendly as she purred her reassurance. Zelia seemed to finally get over herself and had landed on his shoulder. She nuzzled his face and he smiled.

“I am sorry Sweetie,” He said as he stroked her ears. “I promise I won’t forget to feed you again.”

She seemed to accept his apology as she started purring. He felt a little of the guilt lift from his shoulders as she started kneading.

“Lance, Flaxa said she would like me to ask you to meet her in the boardroom, where we went over plans the first day.” Strom said as he appeared behind him.

“Right,” Lance said as he turned to face him.

He was delighted to see some of the hickey’s he left on his neck and collar bones. He saw Strom’s eyes flick to his own neck where he was sure he matched. He thinks he should probably be more ashamed of it then he was, but whatever.

“She really called me Lance?”

“Spear.”

“Right.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flaxa was examining a holographic map of the planet as Lance entered the boardroom. Her brow was furrowed as she slowly was zooming out. Showing the solar system, then the galaxy and continuing outward until she noticed Lance in the doorway. She stepped away from the table, stopping the zoom out.

“Spear, thank you for coming.” Her voice carried a mix of authority and concern.

Lance could not help how his posture straightened at her tone. Fighting in a war will do that to you. “Ma’am.”

She eyed him for a moment. “Nice sweater, seems like someone else preferred you without it however.”

Lance barked out a laugh and immediately felt more at ease as she smiled. “Yeah, Strom was surprised I wore it today and we got a little… carried away.”

“You two had become… quite close considering how little time you have spent together.” She stated.

“Yeah…” Lance turned his attention to Zelia as he felt himself blush.

“I know you will not stay here. You are a capable soldier, I can see it in the way you hold yourself and your behaviour on our mission. But you know you would be welcome if you ever change your mind right?” She gave him a look that reminded him of his mom.

“I…” He got a little choked up. “I appreciate that.”

She paused, searching for the right words. "I want you to promise me that you'll prioritise your safety and the safety of your team. If the situation becomes too risky, I want you to assess the options and make the necessary call. Mission success is important, but your lives matter more."

She sounded more like a general than Lance had heard. He nodded his head, gratitude and determination washed over him. Flaxa nodded to herself after she finished before stepping closer and placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“I believe in you Lance. You were able to gain the trust of everyone who met you in your short time here. I can tell you care deeply about your team and your family. Your pet Xariom and quintessence colour are just adding to how impressed I have become of you. You are a valuable soldier and anyone would be honoured to have you fight with them. If there is ever anyway we can help you, do not hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you,” Lance said, somewhat breathlessly. “I think you are thinking too highly of me though. I mean I did steal a bike and not tell anyone where me and Strom were going like-”

“Spear,” Flaxa cut him off. “Strom said you do this. Do not diminish your accomplishments, just because you also enjoy your life. If anything, that is what I admire the most about you. I am sure you carry more weight about this war than you will ever let on, but you are still able to find moments to enjoy your life. And in turn allow others the opportunity to enjoy theirs. We have all faced so much bad and evil in this world, we need someone to remind us it is ok to still enjoy our lives. You have certainly reminded me that it is important to fight to live, rather than just survive. It is a practice I am going to be sure we enforce from now on.”

“Oh.” Lance squeaked, his face turning red. Zelia chose that moment to casually try to climb on his head. He held one hand up to block her, and she batted it away thankfully with no claws.

“Zee! What are you doing?”

She just purred in response and slung herself across his shoulders like a scarf. Flaxa had a smile on her face when he looked back at her.

“Tell me how you two found each other?”

✤✤✤

Lance didn’t know how long had passed, but he and Flaxa had moved to the chairs in the room. Zelia was dozing in his lap where he had crossed his legs on the chair, Flaxa sat with one leg pulled into the chair and leaning into her hand she had propped on the table. Smiling as he recounted befriending Zelia.

“She still does it!” He exclaimed. “I always wake up and she is on top of my face. I do not understand the appeal!”

Flaxa laughed with him. Zelia let out a grumble when he stopped petting her to throw his hands in the air dramatically. He dropped his hand back onto her face and she resumed her purring.

“I don’t know what I would do without her though.” He said looking at his sweet little cat.

She had not grown as much as Lance was expecting. She was smaller than the average cat he saw on earth, and extremely light, he would guess she weighed three to four pounds. He assumed it was her bone structure. When he first became obsessed with becoming a pilot he went down a rabbit hole of how birds were able to fly. Birds' skeletons are much lighter than you would expect to minimise the effort needed to fly. Her wings were more of that of an owl, she made basically no noise when she flew and her feathers were downy and soft.

“I am glad you have her,” Flaxa said, smiling.

“Me too,” Lance said softly. “Anyway,”

He cleared his throat and stood. Zelia catching herself as she started to fall to the floor and landing on his shoulder, she then draped herself over both his shoulders like a scarf.

“I should probably go see how the progress is going on Red, since she is, you know, my lion.”

“Of course,” Flaxa stood with him and the two headed to the elevator together. “I will join, I am curious to see the upgrades Ragnar has planned.”

They made pleasant small talk from the elevator to outside the village where aliens were hurrying around carrying various tools and pieces of metal. Red purred in his mind at his approach, reassuring him there was no need for him to be worried about them hurting her. As they got closer to Red’s open jaw Lance heard bickering coming from inside.

“-closer than I think you should have gotten with the blue Paladin.”

“What does that have to do with showing him what we did?!”

“What I did! My ideas, I get the credit!”

“He knows you did! You showed him!”

“Yeah like how you showed him your di-”

“Boys!” Flaxa exclaimed from the gangplank that she and Lance had stopped on.

Strom and Ragnar's heads popped out from behind the corner. Ragnar looked delighted to see them and Strom looked pissed.

“I sincerely hope you have not spent this whole time arguing?”

“Hey! It’s not my fault Ragnar decided he wants to be a show master or something.”

“My idea!” Ragnar repeated. “Ali, come on! I want to show you what we did.”

Ragnar physically dragged him inside Red. She felt proud as Lance took in all of the updates Ragnar excitedly showed him. Once he had finished and gone to drag Flaxa around Lance paused by his bed. There were six pretty blue and brown sweaters sitting on it. Lance reached out a hand to touch once, he recognized the sweaters and felt himself choke up a little. They made him his own Quintessence sweater to match his eyes and hair.

“Your quintessence sweaters,” Strom said where he had snuck up behind him. “We had them made quickly since you are leaving soon. I also assumed you would like um…”

Strom smiled sheepishly and pulled out two miniature vests. One a dark Navy, and the other blue and brown. He also held a dark navy sweater.

“I thought you should have the option of giving Zelia one of your quintessence sweaters. And this one is her quintessence colour, I am sure she would like for you to have it.”

“Strom…” Lance took them, and felt himself get choked up. “Thats-that’s so thoughtful thank you.”

“I know it seemed presumptuous,” Strom continued, blushing slightly from the thanks Lance gave him. “But I had them make a sweater for each of the people I remember you telling me about at the castle. We would have made more for your family, but dear god there are alot of them.”

Lance laughed at that. It was true enough, his family has alot of people in it. “I appreciate it. However,” He grabbed the sweater off the top, and held it out to Strom. “I like to be unpredictable.”

Strom’s eyes lit up and he reached for the sweater holding it loosely but affectionately. “Lance you don’t-”

“No give backs.”

“What?”

“No give backs.”

“You make such little sense sometimes.”

“We’re back!”

Ragnar was giddy from showing Flaxa around and she had a blank face on but smiled when Ragnar looked back to check with her. Ragnar’s eyes immediately went to the sweater Strom was holding and he grinned.

“Called it.” He spun around to Flaxa who sighed and fished a granola bar out of her pockets and handed it to Ragnar.

“I am sorry,” Strom started, still holding the sweater. “You called what exactly?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ragnar said, grinning and taking a bite of his granola bar.

Zelia had chosen that moment to float into the room. She gracefully landed on the sweater matching her own feather’s colouring and started purring as she nuzzled into it. Red purred in his mind as he considered how he could alter a sweater to fit somewhere important on the lion. Like a main frame cover?

“Oh!” Lance grabbed two more of his sweaters. “Here.” He said as he passed them to Flaxa and Ragnar respectively.

Flaxa nodded with a thank you while Ragnar looked starstruck. “A paladin of Voltron’s quintessence sweater.” He said softly.

Lance laughed lightly. “It’s from me, Rag. Consider it from a friend.”

“Oh sweet mother below. I am friends with a paladin of Voltron.”

“Are you just realising this?” Strom asked exasperated.

They filed down the hall, bickering with Flaxa making the odd comment on their behaviour here and there. Lance crossed his arms and took a deep breath tilting his head back. The sadness that washed over him was followed immediately by Red’s comforting warmth. She showed him his new friends laughing and walking down the hall towards Red’s exit, followed by his own memory of his team leaving Blue for the first time.

I know, Lance replied in his mind, I am going to bring you back.

Red growled, unpleased with his answer. Lance apologised in his brain, knowing she was itching to be back in the fight with the Galra, which seemed to make her even more upset.

“Lance?” A voice asked, drawing him out of his thoughts.

He opened his eyes to find Strom standing ahead of him again.

“Um, Flaxa wanted to invite you to eat with everyone for dinner.” He said.

He flinched a little when Red grumbled at his intrusion on their conversation. Lance told her to calm down in his brain, they would finish their conversation later. She seemed satisfied but he could tell she was not overly convinced he wasn’t lying.

“I would love to.” Lance said, and smiled at him.

Lance made sure to brush his shoulders against Strom’s as they made their way to the dinning hall. Strom explained all the gizmo’s they had filled up Red with, he apparently had complained about being cold too often because they had given him multiple blankets that were made up of the pyjama material that grew warm or cold depending on how his temperature was, along with a robe hoodie combination he was ecstatic about. Strom had also sheepishly told him he had given him a pillow modelled after xariom’s feathers, after seeing the collection on his bed.

Once they got to the dinning hall Lance was pleasantly surprised to find all of the foods he had favoured on the table. Zelia was also thrilled once Lance offered her the meat set aside for her. Lance chatted with some of the alien’s he hadn’t recognized, and others he recognized from finding his quintessence colour. He couldn’t help but notice when his arm or hand would graze Strom’s. When Flaxa was scolding him for having nothing on the ship in case he got sick, he noticed Strom was leaning on him. He looked tired and didn’t seem to notice he was being supported by Lance.

Lance didn’t mind, figuring he would soak up as much physical contact he could get when he could. He turned to Ragnar, and they debated the different ways to use their physical light into different shapes. Lance asked if there was a certain diameter needed for it to work. The two started brainstorming using it as a cage net thing when Ragnar smirked towards Lance’s side. Strom was blinking hard, looking very similar to Lance’s nephew when he was trying to stay awake. Lance inclined his head apologetically and Ragnar nodded to him with a smile.

“Hey,” Lance said softly, nudging Strom gently.

He looked up at him with his pretty Red eyes. He looked exhausted, but still gave him a soft smile.

“Hi.”

“Do you want to head to sleep?” Lance asked, lightly stroking Strom’s arm.

“No, I want to stay here with you.” Strom raised his hand to twine their fingers together.

Lance had the thought about the weird similarities between humans and alien culture as Strom squeezed his hand.

“I think I want to go to bed too, I am tired.”

“Are you sure? It's your last night planet side.” His eyes grew concerned. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me, I can go by myself. You should enjoy yourself”

“Nah,” Lance said, standing up and giving a stretch. “I really am tired, plus Zee gets cranky without her sleep.”

Strom gave a soft smile as Lance grabbed his hand and started dragging him down the hall. Zelia flying behind them. Strom opened the door and they both collapsed on the bed. They lay in silence for a while. Lance admired Strom’s eyelashes once he closed his eyes. He resisted the surprisingly strong urge to stroke them, and instead brushed a lock of hair behind his ear.

“I should probably go to my room.”

“Stay anyway,” Strom opened his eyes, suddenly looking desperate. “Please.”

Lance had the feeling he was asking for more than Lance to stay the night. He could not resist the puppy dog eyes though.

“Ok,” He relented, “For tonight.”

Strom took this as a win and snuggled into Lance's chest and tangling their legs together. He made a pleased noise when Lance threaded his fingers through his hair stroking it as the red-eyed boy fell asleep. He relished in the warmth of the intimate moment as long as he could keep himself awake, before he too fell asleep.

Chapter Text

“Paladins! We have a ship approaching!” Coran’s voice crackled over the intercom, startling Pidge awake.

Looking at the clock she saw only two hours had passed since she had fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes and glared at her laptop. The lack of progress she had made in finding either of her friends was beyond frustrating.

“The ship has passed through clearance codes! Report to the loading bay at once.” Allura’s shrill voice came soon after.

Pidge sighed and grabbed her bayard before dragging herself to the loading bay. Shiro is going to take the lead on this whether it is a diplomatic matter or a fight anyway, so she didn’t see the point in attending except for a show of power. She still saw no point in showing her five foot self in the bay, when she could be looking for Keith and Lance.

The purple ship came into view with her team standing around it looking tense. It was definitely a Galra ship. The question became whether it was one of the balde’s ships or Zarkons.

Hunk gave her a nod as she joined his side. There was a hissing sound as the ramp disengaged from the ship and a man walked out. He was tall with broad shoulders, and was carrying a dagger at his side-

“Keith!” She cried and launched herself at him.

He caught her with his incredibly sharp reflexes, but hesitated about giving her a hug as she started sobbing in his arms. Pidge could hardly hear what was happening around her, there was an exclamation from Allura, two women’s voices she did not recognize. All she cared about was that Keith was safe. One of her new found brother’s was safe. He awkwardly patted her back once the conversations had started to slow down and she took a deep breath and stepped away from him.

He looked taller than she remembered. He also looked like he had filled out his frame a bit better, she vaguely heard something about being trapped on a space whale. She knew Lance would be drooling over him right now, even though Keith was his self proclaimed rival, that he definitely did not have a massive crush on, the thought made her tear up again. He stood with a little more confidence than the Keith she remembered would have, looking concerningly at her but also scanning the room with a worried look.

“Pidge, are you ok?” He asked, reaching out a hand but being careful not to touch like she would break.

“Yeah,” She said as she wiped her face with her sleeve. “I just missed you.”

Keith gave her a soft smile.

“I missed you too Pidge.” He looked around the room again, as he had been doing the whole time. “Where’s Lance? Did he sleep through the alarm again?”

Pidge felt her lip wobble as tears filled her eyes again and she threw herself at Keith for a second time. “Lance is gone!” She said in between her sobs.

The room had fallen silent behind her. She felt Keith freeze where she was wrapped around him.

“What do you mean gone?”

“He-he took a hit for me and-and we hav-haven’t been able to get a s-signal from him or R-Red since.”

“He-he got hit?” Keith asked, Pidge looked up to see all the blood had drained from his face. “When? How? Wait-”

“Keith-” Shiro started, taking a step towards the pair of them.

Pidge only just noticed two aliens standing behind him. A tall female Galra, and a blonde girl that looked like an altean?

“Is that-” She started but was cut off by Keith.

“Wait.” He pried Pidge off of him and took a step back.

He felt his hands out in front of him, looking like he was trying to keep everyone away. His eyes had grown wild, and Pidge realised he was panicking.

“You-you were supposed to be safe.” Keith shook his head. “You were all-Lance was- fuck.”

He had started tugging at his hair. Pidge realised with her own dismayed panic rising that he had tears in his eyes.

“I-I only-He said he would stop doing stuff like-like that-He promised. Shit-I made him promise me-”

“Keith,” Shiro had stepped forward, showing his palms like he was approaching a scared animal. “Keith, it's ok.”

Hunk had also started to cry at some point. The new altean looked distressed as well, and the new Galra woman was looking concerned towards Keith. Pidge had a startling realisation that she looked alot like Keith. She was a couple decades older than him, could she be-?

“Shiro.” Keith said brokenly.

He looked up, giving him watery puppy dog eyes Pidge had never seen before, and falling towards him. He started taking deep breaths when Shiro gave him a hug, they all started to file out of the room to give the two some privacy.

Pidge called Matt as soon as she could. Just to hear the comfort of his voice to remember that, she had found one of her brothers that had been lost in space. He comforted her as best he could, as a dorky older brother on a rebel base far away from her. He even managed to make her laugh. When she finally managed to feel a bit better she said goodbye to Matt and wandered through the castle until she found the team in the common room.

Hunk was still crying, now he was sitting on the couch and the mice seemed to be doing their best to comfort him. She didn’t know how well it was working, but petting them was at least giving his hands something to do. Shiro and Allura were talking lowly sitting next to each other. Allura glaring at the Galran woman, and Shiro sending worrying glances towards Keith. Keith looked somewhat shell shocked with a giant wolf?, curled around him absently petting its head. The two new people she hadn’t gotten the names of were chatting with each other. Coran was nowhere to be seen.

She debated sitting next to Shiro or Keith, but she knew her feet were bringing her to sit next to Hunk. Even though he was still crying, opening his arm to give her a side hug was more comforting than she knew it would be. Eventually the group started talking to each other. She learned that the Galran woman, who was in fact Keith’s mom, was sending Keith worried looks as he continued to stare at the floor absently, her name was Krolia. The other alien, who was altean, was from a secret Altean society that Lotor was harvesting them.

Hunk’s quiet “Lance was right.” made the room fall silent.

“What?” Came the croaking voice of Keith.

He had looked up from the floor and was looking intensely at Hunk. Hunk hesitated looking at Allura who had turned her glare towards Hunk. Hunk shrunk away from her gaze but spoke up quietly.

“He-he said from the beginning he didn’t trust him. I thought it was because he was flirting with Allura or-or that he was Galra. Which I know that last one was stupid after the slide show he made us all watch after we found out you were half Galra-”

“He what?” Keith asked.

“He locked us all in the common room and played a slideshow about how judging people based on where they came from or what blood was in their veins was unacceptable. I believe it was called ‘How to not be a racist space-asshole’.” Coran’s voice sounded from the door. “Got into a huge argument with the princess about it actually.”

“I didn’t know that.” Keith said quietly.

“He didn’t want you to know.” Pidge said, her voice quiet even as she smiled at the memory. “He said he should not have had to make us watch it. He also said if he found out anyone let it slip about the slideshow, he would be making more with quizzes.”

Keith cracked a small smile. Pidge knew he and Lance were close. They had each ended up in their own pairings once they came to space. Her and Hunk, the Altean’s and Shiro, and Keith and Lance. She had no idea what they did besides argue, but she knew Lance was devastated when Keith left for the blades Pidge wished more than anything she had reached out to either of them after.

“Guess you have that to look forward to.” Keith said.

“Keith…”

“No.” Keith sat up, that determined look coming back into his eyes. “Shiro told me you never found anything, that just means Lance is missing. I-I can still feel Red, she’s disgruntled but not mourning anything so Lance has to be fine .”

“Not necessarily.” Allura cut in. “I could feel the Blue Lion emit a strong feeling of loneliness last night cycle. It could be it feeling alone after Lance’s… demise.”

Keith’s gaze that had turned soft hardened again. “He is not dead.”

“Regardless.” The Princess continued. “You are able to feel the Red Lion, which is what we need to be able to track.”

The princess explained the ordeal of how they would pinpoint the Red lion’s location, but Pidge had mostly tuned her out. After everyone disbursed from the common room she found herself chasing Keith down a hall. His legs had apparently gotten longer after two years on a space whale. He also didn’t want to talk to her clearly as he closed the door to his room in her face.

She sighed before tapping away on her holopad and the doors sliding open. Keith was sitting on his bed with his hands in his hair and his head bowed. He looked up, looking a strange mix of angry and distraught.

“What do you want, Pidge?”

She sighed. Grabbing his holopad off the dresser with his hissing at her not to touch it and she plugged in her hard-drive. Once it had shown the download was complete she handed it to him. He looked down angry before his gaze softened again when he read ‘How not to be a racist space-asshole. By Lance McClain’

“I know he didn’t want you to know about the slideshow.” She said, “But I think you might feel better after looking through it. I don’t know. Maybe it could help?”

“Thank you Pidge.” He said genuinely.

She nodded and the door slid shut behind her. She found herself giving a bittersweet smile. Even when he was missing Lance was able to make people feel better.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance sighed rolling out of his bed in Red. He was a two day journey from Haralssox. His heart panged at the distance from his new friends as he pulled on his red and pink sweater. He gave a soft smile remembering the morning before he left.

Lance felt warm when he woke up. His half asleep brain didn’t try to figure out why and curled closer to the source of heat. There was a soft hum and Lance cracked open his eyes.

Strom’s messy curly hair greeted him as he was facing away from him but was tucked right up against his chest. Lance felt warm and sated after last night's activities. He couldn’t stop the smirk he got when thinking about it. He gave a soft kiss to the back of Strom’s neck before deciding to doze for a little bit more.

He doesn’t know how long he laid there. He only registered being awake again after feeling Strom turn over and plant a kiss to his collarbone, and tucked his head under Lance’s chin with a pleased sigh. He wrapped his arms around Strom tighter and inhaled the scent of his hair deeply. He knew he was half awake and was sure he heard the same, but they both basked in the peace of the morning.

Red was very cold in comparison, and Lance brushed his teeth thinking about all his new clothing. Ragnar had provided new cushioning on Red’s pilot seat, reminding him of a nice leather chair his Abuela used to have, but made of fabric. It was a lot more comfortable then the old seat, Lance still apologised to Red for it, but she loved the new chair because it was red.

Lance was secretly glad to have another comfy place to sit. Ragnar had also upgraded a bunch of little things in Red without telling Lance. They were all extremely convenient things he didn’t realise he needed a shelf here, a little built in container there. And they had stocked his shelves with way more than he had realised. A multi use tool, that reminded him of a swiss army knife, a lot of medicine that Strom had provided (They had somehow gotten a DNA sample to make sure he could have the medicine and Lane did not want to know how they got it). Including some kind of patch supposed to heal him quickly, but also make him pass the fuck out, it reminded him of an Altean healing pod and Lance was greatful they gave him a shit ton of it. There was a little holopad Lance found to have some kiddy games on. Lance hadn’t looked into everything because it kept making him depressed about leaving the planet. He hated being alone, always had.

Lance caved in their fake out game and pressed his lips to Storms, he smiled against his mouth. Lance rolled on top of him and they started lazily making out. Their mouths were a bit stale from morning breath but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Their skin was warm where their bare chests pressed against each other. Lance settled between Strom’s legs, started a slow grind and Strom’s hands came up to cup Lance's face as he made a pleased sound.

Lance pinned his hands to the bed by his wrists and slowly slid his palms up to intertwine their fingers. Strom whined when Lance broke off the kiss, licking his way down the red eyed boy's throat and sucking another bruise into the base of his throat.

Lance blushed thinking about what came after that. He still had the hickey’s from it, though they had faded a lot. Ragnar had an unbearable smirk once they appeared from the same room the next morning, Flaxa looked exasperated and he thought he saw her hand something off to the boy.

Lance went through his new skin care routine, hearing Zelia play with a toy out by his bed. He wanted to make another vlog, but none of his shirts completely covered the bruises littering his neck. Even the turtle necks, Strom had left an impressively dark mark under his jaw.

He debated on whether it would matter. Was Shiro going to get mad at him two years from now for hooking up with an alien he was never going to see again? Was Allura going to scold him for blowing an alliance with a planet he had freed?

Thinking about what Keith would think made him ache. They were not a thing, he was sure they would never be a thing, Keith was a half Galra prodigy leader of Voltron member of the blade of Marmora, he was just a boy from Cuba. But god, he has been in love with him for years. He definitely did not regret anything, but he spent more time then he would like to admit thinking about what staying on Haralssox would have looked like.

Waking up with Strom curled in his arms. Freeing their solar system, potentially learning more about his quintessence. The people he became fast friends with around him. Zelia was able to fly wherever she wanted, and not having to worry about being a solo child soldier in a war. He wanted it so bad, he debated what turning around would do. Two days was nothing but… The universe needed Voltron. He just…needed to not lose his mind.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Lance McLain day… 24 god it has only been a day for you guys now I guess. Log 6, I am headed towards Lorasolha. About three weeks from Haralssox.”

Lance absentmindedly pushed on the hickey Strom left him to feel the sting. A habit he had picked up, as the bruise started to fade. “I got this sweater, along with another few, from… the local’s on Haralssox. They insisted on giving me a bunch of essentials before I left, so I am now stocked up on food, games and skin care.”

He smirked as he looked into the camera, Allura always hated him accepting gifts from the locals when they helped them. Lance was pretty sure Strom would have held him captive until he accepted the presents though. He raised a hand to scratch behind Zelia’s ears where she was curled up around his neck like a scarf.

“Yeah.” He added softley letting the camera run for another couple minutes before quietly adding “I miss you guys.” then ending the vlog.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance hummed to himself as he wandered through Red, following the path of the glowing fish as they swam through the air across Red's ceiling, they had multiplied and were at about 20. Lance wasn’t sure when he should consider letting them out, but at this rate they were going to over run Red. She had gone into sleep mode and Zelia herself was sleeping on his bed. He was wearing the sweater from Ragnar and was holding the tablet he had given him that showed their heartbeats. It made him incredibly sad, but he found it strangely comforting knowing they were alive. He spun around as he tucked it into his pocket. Started playing with his new piercings as he entered the cockpit. He sat down in the pilot chair, he just realised the song he was humming was an old Lana Del Ray song his mama used to play.

“Oh Red.” He said, leaning back in his pilot chair. “What are we going to do?”

He knew she wouldn’t answer as he leaned the chair into its reclining position. He grabbed a blanket he had put in the new slot on the side of the chair and pulled it over himself. He closed his eyes and felt himself drift.

He saw a cute boy surfing in Varadero, the garlic knots of the pizza place he always went to and the reflection of his face but if he were a girl. Rachel his mind supplied as he started to fall asleep. He was dreaming about what Rachel’s day would have been like, what his would have been like if he had been home. Home home, not just back on earth. God what does his family think? He imagined running towards the beach with the sun blinding him and warming his skin, the sand and rocks digging into his feet, the salty smell of the ocean and the sweet smell of tropical air, with the ocean in his sight as he fell asleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Red, can I make a separate set of vlogs? Can you make like albums?” Lance asked curiously.

He had just taken out a Galra cruiser. Decently easy, it definitely wasn’t at full capacity or expecting an attack, but he supposed it only did so much, they would just send another one to the planet he saved them from. He definitely took them by surprise. The people on the planet were grateful, and threw a feast in his honour. Gifting him an extremely pretty rock. He learnt his lesson from last time and left before he got attached, but made sure they had a system in place to fight the cruisers next time.

“I wanna be able to track the weak points of the cruiser and their fighting manoeuvres.”

Ragnar had given him a holo sketch thing. It allowed him to draw on a 3D model of the ship Red had scanned. He was making notes about things he observed at each point on the ship.

Of course my cub. Red responded in his mind.

Lance smiled at the nickname. After a lot of rambling and explaining on his part, it was the most teasing she would do. It was her equivalent of when he called her baby.

She confirmed she was filming to a separate file and Lance started explaining all of the weak spots he had noticed on the cruiser and possible strategies he would use next time he faced it. Drawing different stars where he saw the most damage affected the cruiser, on a scale based on most to least affected. He ended the video, telling Red to name it Coruscant cruiser looking one. Red continued the music that was playing before Lance made his video. He mused if he should name the album.

He looked out the window. Zelia had joined at some point and was sleeping in his lap. They were only three days from the planet he had last saved. He had made sure they were able to use the Galra tech before leaving. He didn't want to become attached to people on every planet he landed on. He took the controls back from Red after they had entered an asteroid field. Zelia looped her claws through his sock to keep herself grounded, he had also started casually piloting while sitting criss-cross applesauce, another bad habit he knew. The song had shifted to an old country one his sister loved. He hummed along as he and Red dodged the asteroids. Flipping and swaying in and out and around the rocks.

He was pretty sure their bond had gotten stronger. Forced proximity would do that to you. Before all of their movements together were mechanical and sharp. Now Red was starting to be more fluid. Lance liked to think he was starting to rub off on her. They spun around an asteroid.

We are rubbing off on each other. Red responded in his mind.

He smiled. He guessed they were.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sorry, how long has Lance been missing for?” Keith asked, getting angry.

“Forty four Varga. Or around sixty seven hours.” Allura responded.

“Then why,” He started through gritted teeth, “Are you talking like he is dead?”

She kept referring to Lance in the past tense and it was, frankly, pissing him off. Instead of looking for him, she wanted to go on a diplomatic mission on a nearby planet and was asking Keith to wear the Red paladin armour so they would be a whole team.

“We are not a whole team without Lance.” He said, and now he was mad.

“Of course not.” She dismissed him, then continued as if he hadn’t said anything. “We have a pilot for each lion at the moment, so I am not concerned about Lance not being there. It might actually be better without him flirting with all the female presenting aliens. Don’t mention he is missing if you are asked any of you. Though I doubt anyone will notice since we could form Voltron regardless-”

“What the hell happened when I was gone?!?” Keith exclaimed. “None of the rest of you have said a single thing! In Lance’s defence, or to each other. You are just sitting there letting Allura-”

“Stay out of it Keith!” Shiro yelled.

Keith shut up immediately. Shiro yelled at him. Shiro never yelled, period. A memory came back to him.

It was late. He had just gotten back from training with the blade and felt dead on his feet. Kovilan was insistent he go on this special mission, and was trying to ‘catch him up’ on the years he missed. He could appreciate a good training session but this seemed like a cruel punishment. He flopped face first onto his bed, and was content to fall asleep when a familiar beeping came from his holopad. He flipped it over and saw he had an incoming call from Lance.

He smiled to himself. Their constant arguing had turned into bickering, which became teasing. After Shiro disappeared Lance unquestionably had his back. He would agree with him in meetings and challenge the ideas he disagreed with in private later, usually making good points and they would make a better plan together. Lance would help him with whatever he needed, often before he knew what he needed help with. They had training sessions that turned into Lance and him trying to learn altean, then them trying to cook. Keith had caved a couple of times and they even had some spa nights. They hung out casually all the time before Keith left for the blade, and he could now safely say Lance was his best friend.

He answered the call and was greeted with Lance’s smiling face. He was leaning against a wall and was wearing the altean robe he found somewhere. His face quickly scrunched up in worry.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No, I just got back from training.” Keith was still lying on his side and was sure he looked exhausted. “Kovilan is a masochist I swear.”

Lance’s laugh rang through the phone and Keith smiled. He really likes his laugh, and his smile. His eyes get scrunched at the edges, and it shows off his perfect teeth and pretty dimples. He takes a moment to look over Lance. His hair was slightly damp and is curling a little, which he knows Lance doesn’t like and would hang up if he knew. Keith likes it, he actually really wants to see Lance’s hair before he attacks it with products in the morning. His smile is slightly crooked, going a little higher on the left and Keith adores it. He may have a small, completely manageable crush on Lance.

“I can call you tomorrow if you want?” Lance asks, because he was too kind.

“No,” Keith said immediately, “I mean, yeah call me tomorrow, but don’t hang up. Could you just… talk?”

Lance gave him a soft smile. “Of course. If there is one thing Lancey-Lance can do it is talk.”

Lance started to ramble about his day, everything new in the castle. Apparently he has finally figured out how to get the pool on the ground, Coran had no idea why Lance would want it to be but did so anyway. Lance is appalled to find Keith doesn’t know how to swim, and declares he is the best swim instructor there ever was. Keith closes his eyes at some point. He is used to being alone. Being orphaned, and stranded by himself in the desert for a year had gotten him used to the quiet. For some reason he did not want to dig into, Lance made him feel a lot safer than the quiet ever did.

“-I think something is up with Shiro. Anyway, the mice took my motherfucking milkshake-”

“Wait,” Keith opened his eyes “What?”

“My milkshake! I don't even know how they did it. They are so small the must have had an-”

“No, no.” Keith propped himself up. “About Shiro.”

“Oh,” Lance looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. “Um… it’s probably nothing.”

“Trust your gut Lance. I know I do.”

Lance gives him a smile that looks closer to a grimace. “I don’t know it’s just… he has been getting these headaches, migraines, all the time. He refuses to get them checked out. I have also caught him messing in the bridge at night alot, and he won’t tell me what he is doing. And he-um-yelled at me the other day-”

“Shiro doesn’t yell.” Keith cut in.

“He probably had a migraine and I was being annoying. I don’t blame him-”

“No, no you’re right. That's really weird, it’s definitely not normal for Shiro.”

Lance sags after he said that. Looking relieved that someone believes him. “I think so too, but I don’t know what to do. He never listens to me, and he is getting really close with that walking L’Oreal ad.”

Keith barked out a laugh that was cut off by a yawn. Lance matched him on the other side of the phone. “I dunno. You have good ideas Lance, keep telling him. I will talk to him when I get the chance and see if I can find out what’s wrong. Keep me updated if he does anything else?”

“Yeah man, of course.” They were both silent for a minute. Lance was looking off to the side and Keith was staring at Lance.

“I miss you…you guys.” He felt himself flush at his slip up. Lance smiled softly at him.

“We miss you too.”

He took a step back from Shiro without even realising it. He must have looked shocked because Shiro’s features immediately cooled off. He looked guilty but there was something… off about it.

“Keith I-”

“It’s fine.”

The room was silent afterwards. Before Allura cleared her throat and continued talking about how they were to represent themselves at the meeting. Keith didn’t argue this time, mind racing. He already knew Lance was right about his feelings about Lotor, could something really be wrong with Shiro? The meeting ended and everyone filed out of the room. Keith went to follow but Allura’s voice stopped him.

“Keith? Hang back for a second.”

He huffed and turned around with his arms crossed. “What?” He snapped.

She sighed and slumped in her seat. Looked younger and more exhausted then he had seen her.

“I know you are worried about Lance-”

“I know you aren’t.”

“Of course I am! I just understand that the fate of all life as we know it is worth more than the fate of a single person! I am just trying to keep people’s faith in Voltron. If we still present as a full team we won’t seem weak.”

“But it’s Lance.” He said, hating how desperate he sounded.

“I know.” She said quietly, “I don't understand why we can’t all get along like we did before he disappeared. But I think it was Lance, and now that he’s gone… We all need to learn to stick together without him.”

“Everyone is at each other's throat Allura. We don’t know how to function without him.” Keith told her. “You have to stop brushing his disappearance off-”

“I’m trying to take everyone's mind off it.” Allura tells him. “Like-... like Lance would do.”

Chapter Text

Lance was crouched in a hallway on a huge Galra cruiser. Clutching his blaster tightly. This is his first take down of a cruiser from the inside by himself. Zelia growled in warning where she was perched on his shoulder. Fine, almost by himself. His plan was to take them down slowly, he had already cleared the hangar and was trying to make his way to the control room. This was a prisoner ship, and he couldn’t just shoot it out of the sky. He creeped around the hallway. Regretting that he wore his paladin armour, it was not very inconspicuous but he figured it covered more so it would be safer. But it didn’t cover enough to make up for how obvious it was.

He pressed himself deeper into the wall he was leaning against as a couple of droids walked by. Zelia stayed dutifully quiet on his shoulder. He had tried to leave her in Red but she was as slippery as water when she didn’t want to go somewhere. He breathed a sigh of relief when they turned a corner without turning back. He slips down the corridor and goes fast but quietly down the hall. The main control room is of course located in the centre of the ship. He needs to get to it to release all the prison cells and get the hell off this ship.

He dodged a couple more patrols until he finally made it to the room he was looking for. He prayed it would be empty and started hacking the keypad. He wasn’t as skilled as Pidge or Ragnar so it took him a little longer. The doors slid open and to Lance's dismay he was greeted with three Galra. He took out the one who was farthest from him that had his gun ready first, then the one that turned to the keypad as the third charged towards him. He closed in too fast and Lance had to block the strike with his blaster.

He gasped as the Galra struck again this time to his left side where his armour was vulnerable and sliced through his skin. The Galra seemed to be moving too fast and was too close for him to get a shot. Zelia seemed to agree as she whined hovering above the two of them. Lance got another slice to his left bicep this time and tried to smash his blaster into the Galra’s side to push him off and get a shot. He was surprised when instead of jumping back the Galra gasped and took a step back in surprise.

Lance’s blaster had turned into the sword Allura had told him was a broadsword. He and the Galra were stunned for a moment before he gained his footing and made a charge at Lance again. Lance raised the broadsword and there was a flash before he felt a trigger and pulled it immediately. It hit the Galra between the eyes and he dropped like a ragdoll. Lance was still surprised and looked down to see, not his blaster, but a handgun. He examined it and was again surprised to feel a weight in his other hand and found a matching handgun. Cool.

Zelia swooped down and started whining and rubbing against his face frantically. He was wondering why and raised his arm to pet her when oh. He has a huge slice in his side. Blood was dripping down his leg a concerning amount. He elected to deal with it later and stumbled towards the controls. His movements had gotten really sluggish, really fast he thought as he tried to make sense of the keyboard. He knew the code he was typing, he knew it. He was just trying to remember it. Zelia suddenly hissed and zapped someone and Lance started to turn before something jabbed into his injured side.

He gasped and tried to move away from it before it turned on and he realised it was a taser. Suddenly every nerve in his body was lighting up and he was dying. He was dying again and this time Allura wasn’t here to save him. He heard Zelia screech before everything went dark.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world was a rainbow when the world came back into focus. Everything was pastel colours and he realised with a start he was back in the quantum realm. Last time he was here he had died. So things weren’t really looking up. He looked down and realised he was wearing his jeans, baseball Tee, and army jacket combo, which confused him. Everytime before it was what he had been wearing when entering the realm.

“Lance?” a voice asked behind him and he whipped around. Shiro was standing behind him.

“Shiro?” He asked, then panicked. “Are you dead too? Oh no, who is going to lead Voltron again? Keith?! He is going to have to come back from the blades and-!”

“Lance.” Shiro said calmly. “Lance, yes I am dead, but you're not. The Shiro you are thinking of is actually a clone and is spying on Voltron for Haggar. You need to stop him.”

Lance was quiet for a moment then nodded. “Ok so this is a dream, got it.”

“No Lance it’s not a dream-”

“Right. You are just secretly dead and a clone has infiltrated your place with the defenders of the Universe, where your own brother didn't notice it was a clone.”

Shiro was quiet for a moment. “Well when you say it like that…”

Despite himself Lance barked out a laugh. “Oh my god. Shiro, I have missed you guys so much.”

“What do you mean you missed us?” Not-Shiro asked, tilting his head and looking confused. “Where are you?”

Lance sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“We have time.”

Lance laughed. “Ugh. I thought a perk of getting away from your twin was supposed to let me do things without everyone questioning me. I can’t even sleep without someone pestering me in my dreams.”

“You are a twin?” Shiro asked, looking surprised.

“Yup.” Lance popped the p. “Rach is eleven minutes older than me, but weirdly enough I was born at 12:05 am so we actually have different birthdays. No weirdly clashing cowboy and dance parties. My big sister Ronnie made sure of it. My dance parties were so much cooler though, one time my Tio Ad-”

“Hold on. You have more siblings?”

“Yeah there are five of us. Luis, Verónica, Álvaro, Raquel and me, Alejandro. It’s so fucking annoying being the youngest. And they all thought I needed to suck it up and ask Keith out, before I got blasted into space with him. God they are gonna kill me after they find out I died.” Lance tried to will a chair into existence so he could have somewhere to sit. “Is this Lucid dreaming, do you think?”

“Wait-What?!” Shiro exclaimed, a couch popped up to Lance’s right and he flopped down into it with a happy noise. “You-! That-! I don’t even know what to start with.”

“Shouldn’t you know this since you are in my brain?” Lance asked. He was now trying to summon a TV.

“Lance, I am not a part of your imagination. Is-is Veronica McClain the lieutenant your sister?, you like Keith-? You died?!”

“Sure, yes and my Tio also works at the Garrison, have for years, and yes 1/10 wouldn’t recommend.” Lance said.

“Oh my god.” Shiro collapsed on the couch. “We really didn’t talk alot did we?”

“Nah, but we had the whole saving all life as we know it thing going on.” Lance said.

He puts his feet on Shiro’s lap like he used to do with his older sister. He looked surprised before a small smile appeared on his face. God, the imaginary Shiro was a lot nicer than the real Shiro.

“Ugh, is there anything I can do to wake up sooner?” Lance asked, dropping his head back onto the armrest.

“What are you in a hurry to get back to?” Shiro asked, tilting his head.

“Zelia. I don’t know what happened to her.” Lance said feeling worry come over him.

“Oh. You met someone?” Shiro asked.

Lance laughed. “She is my cat, I heard her yelp before I passed out. I hope she’s ok.”

“You passed out?” Shiro sounded alarmed.

“Yeah. I was-” Lance cut himself off with a gasp, he curled into his side pressing a hand to his side as pain started radiating from it.

“Lance?!” Shiro sounded even more alarmed.

He was suddenly crouching in front of him. He looked to where Lance was pressing his hand and his face turned white. Lance looked down to see blood seeping through his jacket.

“I guess I’m waking up.” He said and gasped again as pain shot up his side.

“Lance-what, can I help?” Shiro asked, hands fluttering over him.

“Yeah,” Lance sounded strained. “Remember your questions, I think I will be back soon.”

“Don’t talk like that please.” Shiro asked, concern lacing his voice.

Lance laughed which quickly turned into a cough which he brought up a hand to cover his mouth with. He saw blood on it when he pulled it away.

“Huh,” He turned his hand to show Shiro who looked panicked when he did. “I don’t think that’s good.”

Shiro tried to say something but he could only hear a high pitched noise. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. He tried to clutch at his chest but found he couldn’t move his arms. He remembered looking up at Shiro’s panicked face and Lance tried to reassure him he was fine before everything turned into a bright white light.

He registered the comfy couch he was previously laying on had turned into a cold metal table and his hands were bound above him. The noise he heard was himself screaming. There was a Galra that looked exactly as if Dr. Frankenstein had been reincarnated as a Galra pouring something over the gash in his side. It burned all over again and Lance started sobbing. He tried to jerk away, but that just caused his cuffs to activate and then every nerve in his body was just pain. He panicked, why was he always getting electrocuted? His heart was going to stop again, he could hear his pulse in his ears as it got louder, and faster. It suddenly stopped and Lance slumped as much as he could. He was on an angle on the Galra table, so his wrists were also holding his whole body weight and he could feel wetness down his side as the Gash continued to drip down.

He felt lightheaded and dizzy. He flinched when the Galra doctor walked back towards him. The Galra injected something in his arm and his eyes started to grow heavy. The Galra left him and he suddenly started to desperately look around the room, for a sign of Zelia, or his armour but he couldn’t make out anything as his vision started to swim. He barely registered the Galra returning but he definitely felt the rod he shoved into his side. He screamed again, there was the sickening smell of burning flesh, and he coughed up more blood before finally, blissfully, blacking out.

He suddenly sat straight up with a gasp. He was back with Shiro, who was standing over him looking shell shocked.

“God this is going to mess with my perception of reality.” Lance said, feeling his side and being pleasantly surprised to find no blood.

“Lance?!” Shiro was looking bewildered above him. “What the hell is happening?!”

“Captured, stabbed, some internal bleeding and I think there was an evil scientist?” Lance said, sitting on the couch. He rubbed his hands on his face. “Fuck, I don’t think I can get out of this one. Guess I am going to die again.”

“Lance!” Shiro exclaimed and hit him lightly up his head. “Don’t talk like that! Also again?! You still haven’t explained!”

“You are in my braaaiin just look it up or something.” Lance said, he hummed when he was able to make a foot table pop up. “This dream world is so weird I can usually never go back to the same one.”

“Not a dream. Oh my god, this is-is there anyway for you to contact the team?” Shiro asked, sounding somewhat desperate.

“Nope.” Lance popped the p in the sentence, kicking his feet up on the table. “Absolutely none, or the rebels, or the blade, hell not even my new friends from Harllasox.”

Shiro flopped back onto the couch. Looking shocked and sad, Lance imagined a ball and it suddenly appeared in his hand. He started throwing that up in the air and catching it, leant back on the couch. He could feel Shiro’s eyes back on him, but it’s not like he could say anything to him he didn’t know as a piece of his imagination.

“...what happened?” Shiro asked, making Lance pause his throwing and stare into the endless sky.

“A mission went bad.” Lance said finally, continuing his tossing. “Surprising, I know. I… got separated and I am trying to get back. But it’s hard. I know I shouldn’t complain, or anything, people are actually dying in a space war-”

“Lance?” Shiro cut him off, laying a hand on his shoulder. He looked extremely concerned. “You are literally being tortured? And are lost in space with, apparently, only a cat and a space lion. You have definitely earned the right to complain.”

Lance stared at him for a moment then snorted. “Wow you are so much nicer than real Shiro.”

“I am real Shiro, the one you are talking about is-”

“A clone I know, I know.” Lance raised his hands in surrender. “You though, dream Shiro,” Lance continued even when he saw him start to protest. “Have also been lost in space and tortured. For a year I haven’t even been held for an hour.”

“You can’t compare yourself to me Lance.” Shiro said, looking serious. “Our experiences are different. Yeah it wasn't ideal for me, but just because I have experienced Galra torture doesn’t mean it hurts you anyless. Plus I was captured as a regular person, you have been captured as a paladin of Voltron.”

“Right.” Lance said quietly, he went over the different things they may do to him knowing he is a paladin.

“Sorry,” Shiro said, “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“It’s ok.”

Lance concentrated and a Television popped up beyond the table on a floating shelf. Shiro started when it did. An episode of a really old show his mom liked to watch was on. Something about a mom and daughter that really liked coffee.

“How does he keep doing that?” Shiro muttered to himself.

They watched it silently. Lance curled up and put his hands folded under his head. He felt really tired which made no sense since he was in a dream world.

“Shiro?” He asked hesitantly. “Could you… could you wake me up if you notice my side starts bleeding again? I would just like some warning before I go back to… that. I mean it’s pretty stupid to ask since I am already asleep-”

“Lance, of course I will.” Shiro looked kind as he said so.

“Thanks.” Lance felt his eyes grow heavy and he vouched to listen to the show for a while before he fell asleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He woke up to Shiro gently shaking him. He whined as pain started radiating from his side. He opened his eyes to see blood was not soaking through his side but it still hurt.

“Lance?” Shiro asked, rubbing his hand up and down Lance’s arm. “Lance?”

Lance groaned curling tighter into a ball on the couch. “‘hat?”

“You-you sounded like you were in pain. Are you ok?” Shiro asked.

“Mmm-fine.” Lance replied, feeling anything but fine as he started getting cold and shivering.

“Liar.” Shiro called him out and pulled him into a hug.

He gave off some warmth, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stave off the cold threatening to overwhelm him. He buried his head onto Shiro’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. Eleven year old Lance would have been begging him to be in Shiro’s arms. Hunk assumed he had got a crush on Shiro after seeing his commercials from the Garrison, but he had gotten a huge crush on him after Adam had started to describe his friend Tadashi. All warm and cuddly, with bad meme’s, and very nice bicep’s. Lance tried to stave off his shivering but Shiro noticed and held him tighter.

“I don’t want to go back.” Lance said. “Shiro please, I don’t want to-”

Lance actually woke up with a loud gasp. He was curled up on the cold hard floor of a Galra cell. He noticed he had been changed into an incredibly light T-shirt and short combo, which provided no warmth. He continued to shiver and hesitantly felt his side. He discovered it had turned into a giant scab and he almost threw up at the feeling. He was presently surprised to find his mouth didn’t taste like blood. Hopefully nothing was still bleeding inside his chest.

He couldn’t stand to move as pain radiated up his side. He wanted to fall back into the dreamland where he could sleep on a nice couch and have Shiro tell him everything was going to be ok. He tried to look at his surroundings but was unable to see past his cell, and was unable to adjust his position on the floor. From what he could tell there was no bed in the cell, it was just empty. He wondered if he was actually cold or if he had a fever and tried to raise his hand to his face. He pressed it firmly on his head against the tremors and discovered it was very hot. He wrapped his arm back around it and tried not to shiver and failed greatly. He doesn’t know how long he laid there before there were muffled voices from outside the cell.

“-doesn’t look too good. Are we sure the doc looked at him?”

“-her in with ‘im. She has helped-”

They walked away, and he wasn’t sure if he had heard them correctly. He made another attempt to sit up and felt tears gather in his eyes as he did. He grit his teeth as a wave of nausea washed over him. The world looked like someone had put it in a blender. He was only able to prop himself on the wall and try to keep his last meal down. Everything felt muffled and Lance was still trying to look around for Zelia, but he was confident she wasn’t in the cell with him.

There are suddenly hands on him and he jumps. He opens his eyes to see an older looking alien crouching over him. He tries to scramble away but her gentle hold on him is enough to stop him. He hisses as she grabs at his side.

“Hey! Stop!” He says.

She doesn’t stop, doesn't even acknowledge he was talking. He takes a scan of her quickly. She kinda reminds him of the star wars character Jar Jar. She looks like an older female version of him

“Lucky it was Cauterised. Still may get infected.” She mutters.

“Cauterised?” Lance asks shakily.

She gave him a confused look and placed her hand on his forehead. Her hand is cool and Lance closes his eyes because her hands are cold and they feel good on his sweaty forehead.

“Fever, not good.” She moves the hand from his head down to his throat.

He is briefly concerned she is going to strangle him, but soon realised she is feeling his pulse. How did she find a major pulse point? Is this a common place for major arteries in species?

“Too slow.” She says to herself, “Much too slow. Guards!”

He hears footsteps walk back towards where he was sitting. It sounded more muffled then before like he was walking on carpet, he should have asked for carpet for Red. Red!

What happened to her? Is she ok? He tries to pull on his bond, but is unable to find it in his mushy brain. There are people suddenly grabbing him and hauling him to his feet, he whines at the sharp pain in his side again. His legs are unable to support him and his knees hurt then they hit the ground, he starts to tip forward and finds himself in someone's arms. The feminine voice he is unable to make out the words of hints it is the older alien from earlier.

He’s suddenly moving and can no longer feel the floor. He thinks someone is holding him but he can no longer tell up from down. He is pretty sure he had passed out because the next time he registered something it was the mattress underneath him. It was not at all comfortable, and he found the horrible purple lights to give him a headache when he opened his eyes.

He almost felt hungover. There was a horrible ache throughout his whole body and his head was trying to split into two. He squinted, trying to get his bearings about where he had been moved. The mattress he was laying on was on the floor, there was a solid wall at the back from where he was laying but the other three walls were made of bars. He shuddered in the cold of the room curling into himself more. There was a weight suddenly placed over him and he tried to scramble away. Doing so pulled on his side and he inhaled sharply. A firm hand was planted on his shoulder and he opened his eyes trying to make sense of what was before him.

It was the alien from earlier. She gently patted his shoulder before backing away. Lance realised she had reached through the bars of her own cell to touch him. He curled closer into what he now realised was a blanket as he shivered.

“Alright,” She said softly, in the voice Lance would use when talking to an animal. “It’s alright.”

He relaxed minutely at the voice. His brain was swimming, he suspected whatever he was injected with from the alien doctor was still swimming around in his system. He felt uneasy falling back asleep but found he could not help it as his eyes fell closed.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time he awoke the alien was gone from the cage next to him. His entire being ached, he felt like a child’s toy after a kids fit, tossed around and battered and bruised. He spotted from two cells over a somewhat familiar pair of eyes he could not place before he fell back into the darkness that was calling him.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“-his head! Of course he is unable to stay awake! An injury to the brain takes a long time to heal!”

Lance thought the voices had woken him up. But he soon realised someone had grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him to sit up. His eyes felt glued closed when he tried to open them. Whoever had grabbed him dropped him unceremoniously and he fell back onto the mattress. Stars bursted from behind his eyes as his head hit the ground, he could have sworn he felt his brain move.

He must have seemed pathetic enough because he heard the voice had moved to the outside of his cell.

“-have to question him soon.”

“If you kill him before then he will never be able to answer any of your questions.”

Lance wondered if he would go somewhere other than the astral plane if he died here. He felt his blanket was pulled back over him before he fell back to the darkness that was calling him.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was pretty sure he drifted in and out of consciousness a couple more times. He recalled someone holding water to his mouth and making him eat. He opened his eyes this time feeling better. The lights weren’t hurting his head and he actually felt hungry. There was a bowl of food goo in front of him. He made a face at it but reached for it regardless when he sat up. He was only able to finish half before he felt nauseous and put it down. He quickly downed the water.

His head was still pounding, but he figured he probably had probably slept off the worst of a concussion. He remembered having a couple when he was younger and it felt similar. He cautiously raised his shirt. There was a horrible scab on it and he quickly lowered the thin shirt he was wearing. He breathed deeply trying to calm the nausea that rose in his throat.

The alien from before was missing from her cell and he could only see a couple of aliens curled up in the cells across from him. There were sudden footsteps coming down the hall and he lifted his head to see a couple of guards marching down the hall dragging an alien between them. They looked unconscious and they threw them into a cell to his left. He could only watch with a wince when they hit the floor. The guards slammed the door behind them and marched farther into the hall. Lance couldn’t tilt his head to follow them but he heard another cell open and someone begging not to be taken. They faded and he heard a pair of sliding doors close.

He took a chance that they had left and called out softly. “Zelia?”

His voice was a lot more harsh than he expected. There was no answering noise which caused a knot to form in his stomach. He let out a shuddering breath. He wasn’t sure how long he sat in the light before they dimmed. He was pretty sure the alien who was taken earlier had been brought back.

The door to his own cell was suddenly thrown open. A Galra dressed in what he could only describe as riot gear came in. They grabbed him under his arm and hauled him to his feet. The world swam as he tried to righten himself. The guard shoved him before he was able to get his bearings and he fell to the ground. They dragged him up again but this time didn’t let go and dragged him down the hall.

He focused on keeping his feet under himself. He tried to memorise the route. Down two long halls and three short ones. Right, left, right, right, left. The door they finally went through looked like something in a horror film. There was a long table in the middle with straps for wrists and ankles, with a cart filled with torture tools next to him. Before he really knew what was happening he was strapped onto the table. The cuffs were made of metal and he hit his head again on the way down.

Everything was sluggish. He knew there were people talking but he could not understand what they were saying. There was a dull pain in his leg he thinks would hurt more if he could understand what was happening. He felt dizzy and think’s he was crying. It came to an end a long time later. He didn’t remember the turns this time as he was brought back to his cell.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He doesn’t know how long the cycle repeated himself. Finally be able to comprehend his surroundings before being dragged back into the torture room. The only thing that switched up was how they hurt him, they kept targeting his legs but they would switch it up with electrocution or some beatings. One day there was a lot more yelling than he remembered. His leg hurt more than he thought it could, and he relished in the lack of electrocution before he was suddenly released from the table.

He had a vague thought of trying to escape before he was grabbed again. The drag to his cell felt longer before he was dropped back onto a mattress. He sighed as the blanket was draped back over him. There was a smell he recognized but could not place. He sighed before relaxing into the mattress and drifting into a sleep more relaxing than he remembered.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He woke up slowly, his head felt immensely better. The lights were dimmed and his legs only had a dull ache. He tried to sit up but hit something.

“Brrt?”

Zelia. She perked up and started purring and rubbing against his face. He sighed and leaned into her, closing his eyes and raising a hand to pet her. His arm felt sluggish as he tried to gently run his hand over her back, he judged the distance wrong and ended up pushing her, but she didn’t seem to mind. There was a sudden commotion before someone came in through the door. It was a blue alien, his eyes were green and had no pupils. He was wearing deep blue pants and a sleeveless shirt, both with gold trim. There were horns, reminding him of a ram from earth wrapping around the sides of his head. He was holding a holopad and walking towards Lance, he couldn't help himself and tensed up. Zelia sensed this and growled at the man.

He stopped and looked up, his eyes widening. Zelia charged up and he raised his hands in surrender. He pointed his hand to the machine next to Lance and then to himself. He didn’t make a move towards it before Lance calmed Zelia down by petting her. He wasn’t entirely sure the alien was even in the room as he swears he could also see fish swim around it.

He approached, staying a safe distance away and Lance took the chance to scan the room. It was made of a bronze looking metal. Lance looked around the room, trying to focus his eyes through the fog in his brain. There were a couple of beds matching his, which he now realised had unconscious aliens on them, the room was clearly a med bay he realised. It was shaped like a long octagon with an empty desk in the middle. The alien stood up and started unhooking his bed from the clasps stopping it from floating away.

“Woah!” Lance said, gripping the railing.

The alien paused at his voice, before continuing to push the bed more slowly down the hall. Lance turned to face him and the alien nodded his head towards him.

“... I am Lance.”

The alien tilted his head forwards in what looked like a greeting. He thinks they were making eye contact but it was hard to tell when he had no pupils. Zelia was eyeing him warily and had stopped purring but was bumping his hand when he paused in his petting.

“What’s your name?” Lance asked.

The alien made a gesture towards his throat, where Lance now noticed a large scar ran across, and shook his head.

“You can’t talk?”

The alien patted his throat in confirmation and they continued down the hall.

“Can you understand me?”

The alien tapped what looked like a hearing aid in his ear and nodded.

“Oh,” Lance thought for a moment, stroking a hand through Zelia’s fur. “... are you going to hurt me?”

The alien violently shook his head no, he looked up wide wide eyes and shook his head once more. Lance hummed in response and curled up on his side in the bed. He still felt a little floaty, like his brain was hovering above his head not in it. He was brought down halls that look identical to the room he had previously been in. He only watched through half lidded eyes. He probably should be paying more attention but if Zelia was with him he couldn’t be in too much trouble.

He was also pretty sure he was hallucinating, either from his head injury or from whatever meds they had him on. The walls looked like waves were crashing over him and the alien pushing him turned into a blue John Stamos. He found he didn’t mind though, it made everything seem prettier. He cuddled into Zelia like she was a stuffed animal, some part of him feeling a lot safer with her purring against his chest and watched as the walls went by. He could hear laughter and the air felt heavy with humidity like at home. He swore he could see kids running through the halls around the gurney.

He closed his eyes and dozed before his bed came to a stop. He hummed when the alien tapped the railing on his bed in what he assumed was a good-bye. He didn’t know where he was but Zelia was still purring on his chest and he trusted her. He tightened his arm around her just a little bit when he thought he heard footsteps come closer to his bed. She didn’t stop purring once which he thought was odd, even when he thought he felt a hand come to card through his hair.

He hummed and cracked open his eyes with a great effort. He knew he was hallucinating when Keith was looking back at him.

“Hi,” Keith’s delusion said, giving him a soft smile. A thumb brushed over his eyebrow which he was now vaguely questioning if anyone was touching him at all. “Go to sleep. Me and Zelia will watch over you.”

Lance closed his eyes. Less taking the delusions advice and more he could not keep them open. He thought he felt someone grab his hand before he fell back into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Lance woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was he no longer felt cold. He could feel a warmth radiating from his chest and his hand. In his initial half asleep state he couldn’t figure out what it could be. He remembered being captured and went rigid. Was he still on the ship-?

A rumbling started from the warmth on his chest and he realised it was Zelia. A vague memory of being in a bronze hospital with John Stamos and Keith to him. He opened his eyes and scanned the room. There was no sign of Keith, but now that his head was a little clearer he could scan the room. He looked like he was in some sort of hospital type wing of a ship?

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and Zelia sat next to him judging him, he could tell, when his vision swam. He felt nauseous as he tried to stand, the entire room spinning. A hand grabbed him as he started to tip to the side, Zelia hissed from the bed and the hand corrected his balance before quickly letting him go

Lance looked up to see the blue alien from before, he had his hands raised again as Lance tried to slink back from him but his legs hit the bed. The alien shook his head and waved in the general direction of the bed. Lance sat on it, definitely not because his legs felt weak, and looked up at the alien as Zelia curled into his lap, eyes on the alien.

“Hello again.” Lance said.

The alien nodded and started fussing with the machines at the side of the bed. Lance waited for the room to stop spinning before he tried to stand again. The alien gently helped him back into the bed after he almost fell again.

“Um where am I?” Lance asked.

The alien pointed to a sign on the far side of the room, written in a foreign language. Yeah… not helpful, but he appreciates the attempt.

“Do you know if a like, white and blue helmet was found on the ship?” Lance asked.

The alien tilted his head and thought for a moment. He shook his head no and shrugged before pointing at Lance's head then himself and nodding.

“You’ll… look?” Lance guessed and the alien nodded in response.

There was a tube attached to Lance's elbow that the alien gestured to, then patted the back of his own head before pointing at Lance.

“Didn’t get that one.” Lance told him.

He reached towards Lance and Zelia growled loudly in warning. He paused looking slightly frustrated and pointed to the back of Lance's head. Lance reached to touch the back of his head and flinched as pain radiated from it. The alien nodded and pointed to where the tube in Lance's arm was connected to a screen.

“Oh.” Lance assumed he was asking permission to give him medicine.

He hesitated. He really should try to find Red and figure out how long he was on that Galra cruiser for. Plus he wasn’t 100% sure if the alien’s he was with were good guys. Bad people can have good ideas. He looked down at Zelia who blinked up at him. He petted her over her head and she closed her eyes and purred. They let her stay with him, who knows why, and she will make sure nothing bad happens.

“Ok.” Lance nodded to the alien.

He nodded back and pressed a button. Lance didn’t feel the medicine enter his bloodstream but he felt it take effect. He slumped onto the bed, curling his legs up and Zelia settled in his arms. He could tell she was giving the blue alien the stink eye as he let the darkness calling to him take over.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It has been weeks! You need to dig deeper.”

“I don’t have any deeper to dig!”

“Guys I think we should all calm down.”

“Statistically-”

“Pidge!”

Keith sighed. He was still glaring at Shiro, the anger bubbling in his chest. Just waiting to be let out. A mantra of Lance was right, Lance was right, Lance was right repeated in his head whenever Shiro did anything. But the one person he could rely on to tell was missing.

“I am doing everything I can to find Lance.” He growled, he distantly noticed the arguing between everyone else stop when he did so.

Shiro glared right back at him. He all but growled. “The red lion-”

“I love Red! You all know I love Red.” Keith yelled, “But Lance, is out alone in space! For all we know he could be being held captive and tortured on a Galran ship!”

“I was held and tortured on a Galran ship-!” Shiro yelled back.

“As a civilian! Lance is a well known paladin of Voltron!” Keith yelled. “Lance could be dead! All I want is for him to be back and be safe, what is wrong with you that you don’t?!”

He didn’t give Shiro a chance to answer as he stormed out of the room, ignoring the calls of the rest of the team and down the hall. He was seething, if he had just come back earlier none of this would have happened. He was so fucking stupid. He always trusted Lance when he thought something was wrong. Lance was all but psychic, he had the goddamn spider sense when it came to something being wrong. Why didn’t he trust him this time?

He knew the answer. He thought angrily, he was too caught up in finding out more about himself and his mom. He also knew that if Lance knew he blamed himself for this he would be pissed.

He hit the button to open his door fuming and stepped into his room and paused. He hadn’t entered his room. He had entered Lance’s. He could blame it on him being mad and not paying attention, but he did know better. He had started coming to Lance when he was angry, or sad, or happy, or anything. Lance had become a constant, someone in his life who was there for him. That was dangerous, everyone always left him and he had tried not to let any of the team close enough to him to disappoint him when they left.

Lance was different though. He knew the stubborn son of a bitch was fighting just as hard to get back to him as he was trying to find him. His mom left, his dad left, Shiro left, and Lance left. But he knew Lance was different, maybe because he felt a… different love towards Lance. He was his equal, and he knew that as much as he was fighting to get back Lance, Lance was fighting to get back to him. Maybe it was the bond of Red, where he could almost feel the ghost of Lance’s stubbornness sometimes.

The other Paladins just didn’t get it, he supposed. They only had one lion each, they couldn’t feel what the two bonds felt like. His bond with black was like it was awake, it was in the front of his brain, knowing his thoughts before he almost knew them himself. His bond with Red was asleep in the back of his brain. He just needed to poke it for it to wake up and her warm presence to fill his mind.

He had talked about it with Lance, he thought as approached the bed. They were the only two people who ever knew what having two bonds with the lions of Voltron was like. The presence of his old lion felt like a memory in the back of his brain, an echo while Blacks was singing. Lance described Blue's presence like she was backstage, and Red was doing a solo. It took a little explanation from Lance for that one, but eventually he agreed. His original lion is just watching him, waiting for him to call on it.

He curled up in Lance’s bed, holding the jacket to his chest that was still on the bed from last time, talk about unhealthy coping mechanisms. The jacket's smell was starting to fade, the ocean and coconut with a hint of vanilla. He had it memorised, but still ached as it faded. He wasn’t sure if anyone else knew he had started sleeping in Lance’s room whenever he needed to calm down. He was sure no one else had been in here. Pidge avoided their hall like the plague, and Hunk was too nervous. He knew Coran was too busy distracting himself and Allura was all but working herself to death, and there was no way Shiro could be bothered.

He buried his nose in the jacket, feeling a lump rise in his throat. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was sad or mad. He missed Lance, he missed him so much. They were close, Lance was probably his best friend. He stayed in contact with the other paladins, the odd manic text from Pidge at ungodly hours, he asked Hunk for a recipe every once in a while, Allura sent him diplomatic tips and Coran sent him cleaning ones. He would only get short answers from Shiro though he probably texted him more than anyone but Lance.

Lance though, would text him something everyday. A picture of something he insisted looked like a dog, or something funny that happened. He knew Keith’s schedule and would call him when he was free, even if they just stayed on the phone until they fell asleep. He missed it.

He knew Lance would be mad if he was in his bed in his ‘day clothes’, as Lance had dubbed them. That made him crack a smile, as he closed his eyes. Lance would be very exasperated with him. Going to sleep without washing his face, in his day clothes on top of the sheets, in someone else's room. He imagined the lecture he would be getting as he fell asleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith was rudely woken by a crashing sound. He jolted upright and turned to face the sound. He whipped around ready to attack, when he noticed a small figure cursing in the corner.

“Pidge?” He asked.

Her head whipped towards him. “Keith? What the fuck are you doing in here? Where are you?”

“What are you, doing here?” Keith retorted, flipping on the switch.

Pidge eyed him suspiciously. She looked at where he was still half sitting on the bed. “I wanted to get some of Lance’s DNA to see if I could use it to trace his location by scanning for organic matter that matches it exactly. I wanted to see of there was any hair on his pillow but I am guessing its contaminated, I don’t want to know what with-”

“Gross Pidge.”

“-So I suppose his toothbrush is going to have to do. You haven’t been using it have you?”

He fixed her with a disappointed look and she turned to go into the bathroom then stopped. She whipped back around.

“Are you sleeping here?” She demanded.

“Not-not usually.” He said weakly.

They silently looked at each other. He knew Pidge knew he was lying, and Pidge knew he knew she knew he was lying. She eventually sighed, he could see the fight drain out of her. She sniffled and wiped at her face as she started crying. Keith froze. He was the absolute worst at comforting people. He hesitantly got off the bed and engulfed Pidge in a hug.

She clung to his shirt and started sobbing into his shoulder. His shirt started getting damp, and he thought about being grossed out. He would have been a hypocrite though as he felt his eyes well up. He sniffed and turned his head into Pidge’s coarse hair as he fought them back. He didn’t know how long passed until they both calmed down. He did know they had moved and were both leaning back against Lance's bed now.

“I miss him.” Pidge said quietly, like a confession. “Not even the big things. Just how he would bug me in the Lab, or how he would drag everyone to movie night. The castle seems so… quiet without him.”

“I know.” Keith replied.

It was quiet for another minute before he felt Pidge move and look at him. She was still silent and Keith suddenly got nervous.

“Were you and Lance…?” She trailed off.

“No,” He said almost silently. “We… “

He didn’t know how to finish the sentence. What were they? There were moments he thought Lance could like him back. The soft smiles he never gave anyone else, the casual touches that seemed to last too long, the way his face seemed to light up when he saw him.

“You don’t have to tell me.” Pidge reassured him. “You know I am a naturally nosey person. You two just seem… lighter, when you're around each other.”

“Yeah we um,” Keith hesitated, it seemed too personal but Pidge was basically his little sister. “I-I always thought we were going to figure it out when this was all over.”

“Oh,” She said, “His constant flirting never bothered you?”

He scoffed. “Of course it does, but it’s not like I own him. And I don’t… I thought… I think-I hope-we are going to end up… somewhere. It just… isn’t our time right now.”

“That's… oddly mature of you.”

Keith shoved her. “Hey! I am mature. I had two years on a space whale to grow up! I was the Black paladin of Voltron.”

Pidge smiled at him then made to stand up. “I am going to go to bed. All this Lance talk has me thinking about the scolding I would be getting for my lack of sleep.”

Keith nodded, he felt weird being left in Lance’s room by himself so he made to follow her. She gave him a knowing look, but didn’t comment when he left behind her. He went into the correct room this time, bidding Pidge goodnight as the door closed. He looked around his room, it seemed so depressing after being in lance’s room. He didn’t really have anything, besides the pair of lion slippers Lance insisted was mandatory. He had a polaroid somewhere of the team, but he doesn’t remember where he put it.

He flopped onto his own bed unceremoniously. God he just wants him back.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance groaned. He didn’t know why he was awake. He snuggled closer to the chest his nose was buried in. It smelt safe like cinnamon and smoke, like Keith. He blinked his eyes open to be greeted with indigo ones.

“Hi.” he said slowly.

“Hi.” Keith responded.

Lance met his gaze as his eyes furrowed. What was happening? He understood what he was seeing was incorrect, but he could not understand why. Keith leaned down and planted a kiss on his mouth, and Lance was only a man. A man who had been in love with Keith Kogane since he understood what love ment. He kissed him back with a pleased hum, arms tightening where he now realised they were wrapped around Keith’s torso.

“What’s going on?” Lance asked, when they parted.

“I think I’m dreaming,” Keith told him. “But it is a nice dream. A really, really nice dream.”

“Oh,” Lance said, looking dumbly up at Keith.

God he missed him. The longing he felt for him in his stomach smoothed out as he raised a hand to trace down the delicate slope of Keith’s nose.

“I miss you.” Lance admitted softly, he cupped Keith’s jaw and stroked his cheek with his thumb.

“I miss you too.” Keith told him, he seemed unable to take his eyes off of Lance.

“What are you looking at?” Lance asked him suspiciously.

“Just… admiring you.” Keith told him and Lance felt his face heat up. “You look… different then I remember.”

“In a good way?” Lance asked.

“In a great way.” Keith reassured him. “You have freckles.”

“I always have them, they just usually show up better after I have been in the sun for a long time.”

“More than living in the desert?” Keith teased.

“Going to an indoor school in the desert.” Lance corrected. “There were days I never went outside.”

“Your hair is also curly.” Keith noted, raising a hand to brush the hair off of Lance's face. “And shorter? But also longer?”

“It’s an undercut smartass.” Lance flicked his forehead. “Stop pointing out my imperfections.”

“I didn’t say that.” Keith said quickly. “You look beautiful.”

A laugh burst out of Lance and he rolled onto his back. The bed was so soft. Was he on a bed? He registered that the quilt and sheets were white and he was wearing a light blue cotton t-shirt and when he tipped his head over to look at Keith he was wearing a red one. Keith was smiling at him softly. They lay like that for a minute before Lance turned back to cuddle next to Keith again, he lay closer to him than he was before, drinking in the sight of him.

“You look different too.” He eyed him up. “The mullet is so much worse.”

Keith sighed exasperatedly and gently pushed his feet with his legs. Lance giggled at the action.

“Seriously!” He said. “It looks longer and you look… bigger.”

“...pretty sure you just body shamed me.”

“Body appreciated.” Lance corrected, grabbing Keith’s shoulder and running his hands up to his neck. “You are broader? I think you grew.”

“Well I did spend two years on a space whale with my mom and wolf.”

“Oh…kay.” Lance said, god dreams are weird.

Lance planted a kiss on Keith’s mouth, because he was allowed to do that in his dream world. Keith hummed and Lance laced his fingers through his hair. He tugged where his hand was on the back of Keith’s head and he gasped. Lance took the opportunity to lick into Keith’s mouth. He tasted sweeter than he thought he would, like he had just used cinnamon toothpaste. Keith slipped his arm around his back and placed his other hand on the small of his back. They made out until Lance pulled himself flush against Keith, hitching a leg over his hip. Lance froze when he did so, which caused Keith to pull away after a second with a concerned look.

“Lance?”

Lance looked into Keith’s eyes which confirmed his suspicions Keith was tilting his head down at him. “Are you taller than me?”

“I… What?” Keith asked bewildered.

Lance nudged his leg against Keith where his ankle was above Keith’s. “You are! You’re taller than me!”

“Lance…” Keith sounded a little exasperated this time.

Lance squished Keith’s cheeks together, making his lips pout a little. “You are not allowed to be taller than me my man. Shrink.”

“L’nsh.” Keith said, finding it was hard to talk with Lance squeezing his face, Keith reached up and grabbed Lance’s wrists.

Lance couldn’t resist Keith’s pouty lips and kissed him again. Keith kissed him back eagerly, Lance slid his hands back into Keith’s hair and they continued their make out session. They eventually needed to break for air and Keith pressed their foreheads together.

“You look beautiful too.” Lance said into the silence that settled between them.

Lance opened his eyes to see the blush creep up Keith’s face. Keith could never take a complement and buried his face into Lance’s hair instead of responding. Lance snuggled up as close to Keith as he could manage, and hummed contently.

“I like this dream.” Lance whispered into Keith’s chest.

Lance let the soft sound of Keith’s breathing lull him to sleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith’s eyes flew open. He looked around his room dismayed to find it looking like his regular room in the castle. He swore he could still smell Lance, coconut and sunshine. He leaned back onto his bed and closed his eyes picturing Lance. He grabbed the sketch book he had hidden under his mattress and drew what he recalled from his dream.

He didn’t look exactly as he remembered him, which was too bad, he had studied his face enough to know it in his sleep. Lance always looked perfect. He figured his brain was filling in the gaps, he knew Lance’s hair should be curly because of how it looked before he attacked it with products. He thinks he heard Hunk mention Lance having freckles after coming back from Cuba.

Before he knew it he had filled pages with sketches of Lance. He smiled at the main one on the page, his favourite. Lance smiling softly at him with his face half buried in the pillow. He had drawn a scar by his cheek that he didn’t actually recall Lance having. He frowned and went to erase it but paused. Dream Lance had this scar, and this was a drawing of dream Lance, not his Lance. He sighed and stared at his drawing, he couldn’t help cracking a smile at his drawing, before closing the book with a sigh. Was this what he had come to? Dreaming of Lance and drawing his face from memory? Was this the closest he is ever going to get to the boy again? He never even had a chance to figure out his feelings for him.

Keith shook the thoughts out of his head. He can’t afford to think like that. Lance can’t afford for him to think like that. He placed his sketch pad on his desk before deciding to get ready for the day.

He decided on some sort of alien joggers Lance had insisted he buy at a space mall, and his regular black t-shirt. He also slid on a hoodie Lance gave him of Red. He gave it to him as a sort of joke, since Red was technically Lance’s. Red had purred in approval in his head regardless when he showed it to her. It was actually bittersweet and reminded him of who exactly he was missing. He left it on anyway as he made his way to the kitchen. Kosmo appeared at some point and started bouncing around him as he laughed.

“Hey Kozzy,” Keith said, bending down to scratch his ears and burying his face in Kosmo’s fur.

They quickly made their way into the kitchen, Keith having resigned himself to food goo again, and wondering if it was ok for Kosmo. It was still early in the morning and he figured there was no way anyone would be in the kitchen.

He was proven wrong when he opened the door and was greeted with the heavenly smell of Hunk’s cooking. He immediately perked up at the prospect of actually good food.

“Morning.” He called when he walked farther into the room.

Hunk jumped where he was mixing something at the counter, before giving Keith a smile. Keith’s mood immediately dropped when he saw the dark circles under his eyes. He also noticed a pile of blankets at the counter, which upon further inspection was Pidge.

“Pidge?” Keith asked, and he got a grunt in response. “You doing ok?”

He walked closer when he got another grunt in response. Pidge was running some sort of code on her laptop where she was perched. He saw her eyes were bloodshot and hands were a little shaky when they tapped away on her computer.

“Pidge.” Keith said softly. “How much did you sleep?”

“Enough.” She told him.

Keith shook his head. She clearly did not get any sleep but he has had no success getting her into bed in the past. What would Lance do?

Before he could think too much about it he jammed a finger into her ribs, and when she shrieked and moved to defend herself Keith grabbed the laptop and took a couple of steps back. Pidge narrowed her eyes at him in defiance and said.

“That’s a dirty trick. It’s only effective with Lance because he would start singing.”

Keith thought for a moment. She was right, he skimmed back over his conversations with Lance. He grinned to himself, there was one thing that drove him absolutely crazy.

“Have you ever heard about Mothman?”

Pidge only lasted for seven minutes before caving and going to her room. Keith said he would be there to check on her in a half hour and if she wasn’t he was going to explain in detail how Mothman could plausibly be an alien from a planet where there was limited sunlight. How could she confirm mothman isn’t real if they were currently fighting aliens, and Keith himself is half alien-

“Ok, now you.” Keith said when Pidge ran from the room to escape him.

“I have known Lance for years.” Hunk told him as he was frying another one of his almost pancakes. “He was the baby of the family, that only works because Pidge has no younger siblings and doesn’t know how to deal with it.”

Keith hummed in agreement. Hunk had younger siblings, he was used to annoying rants and constant singing. However, he was the oldest sibling. Lance told him he used something with his nieces and nephews, and he had admitted to using on Keith who has no older or younger figures in his life, when he was trying to comfort.

“I am worried about you Hunk, what’s bothering you?”

Hunk paused, and Keith saw him start to shake as he started crying. Though he was very, very uncomfortable with people crying, he would not let Hunk cry without trying to comfort him. He went behind the island and Hunk immediately pulled him into a hug.

“Um… It will be ok?” Keith said and patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.

Hunk laughed wetly and pulled away, wiping his eyes. “You are not very good at that. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Keith looked over the rest of the mess in the kitchen. “I will… deal with this, if you would like to have a nap?”

Hunk gave him a sad smile and clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by. “You and Lance are more similar than you give yourselves credit for. We don’t need you to be Lance though, we need you to be Keith.”

Keith nodded and Hunk finally went to leave the room he paused in the doorway and turned and gave him a once over.

“I think you got taller.”

Keith hummed in response and shooed him away with his hand. He cleaned up the kitchen as best he knew how, he didn’t really know where anything was, he had only attempted to cook once with Lance.

Lance had stolen some Nunvil after Keith was appointed the Black Paladin and the two had shared a bottle. They were pretty giggly as they attempted to quietly make their own batch of peanut butter cookies. Pidge always stole all the ones Hunk made and after Keith admitted they were his favourite Lance had insisted he knew how to make them. He didn’t and they ended up making a huge mess and about a dozen blobs of dough that tasted like sunflower butter. Which admittedly wasn’t too bad but they were also very burnt.

He smiled to himself as he wiped the counter. He paused mid-wipe when his dream came swimming back into his head.

Keith was really happy with how this dream was turning out. Lance was all warm in his arms with his fingers laced through his hair. Lance suddenly pulled his body flush against Keith’s. Keith felt his whole body heat and all he could think was that he wanted more. Lance hitched his leg up over his hips and froze.

Keith froze also, confused before he pulled away. He was about to ask if he was ok, when he met Lance’s eyes. “Are you taller than me?”

“I… What?” Keith asked bewildered.

Lance nudged his leg against Keith where his ankle was above Keith’s. “You are! You’re taller than me!”

“Lance…” Keith sounded a little exasperated this time.

Lance squished Keith’s cheeks together. “You are not allowed to be taller than me, man. Shrink.”

“L’nsh.” He tried to say but Lance was holding his face and made it come out garbled. Lance grinned at him and smashed their lips back together.

Maybe his small completely manageable crush on Lance wasn’t so small. His stomach swooped at the memory of a dream of him. He slowed his wiping on the counter. Has he gotten taller? He never measured himself when he was with his mom, and hasn’t thought about it since he got back from the space whale.

He frowned down at the counter. Did he subconsciously know he had gotten taller? How could dream Lance know he was taller when he himself didn’t? Was he taller than Lance? He doesn’t know how tall he was before the space whale. He never paid attention when he was living in the desert. Weird.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith definitely was not there when he woke up. But the dream he had almost made up for it.

Weirdly the only alien Lance has talked to has been the blue one who transported him. He thinks he vaguely remembers seeing a green looking alien when he was half asleep once? But from what the alien and him have been able to communicate, he was in charge of Lance’s recovery. He was able to understand Lance perfectly fine, but Lance was trying to translate gestures. He knew a little LSE but it did not help.

“Did you guys find a giant metal Lion by chance when you were saving me?” Lance asked the blue alien that had first moved him from major to minor recovery as he tried to show Lance through some exercises.

The alien did a series of complicated hand gestures and Lance squinted at him. The alien deflated at Lance’s look and tried to get him to do the motions for his leg again. Lance sighed and followed the action. As far as he could tell these alien’s weren’t going to hurt him, they seemed focused on rehabilitating Lance, even though he has tried to explain to his caregiver that if he can get to Red then he can heal himself. His legs had taken the brunt of it, they ached when he tried walking and had shocks of scars looking like lightning coming half way up his calves. His head was still foggy too, with a sinus headache. He could feel Red, but when she had tried to communicate with him once a migraine had burst behind his eyes and she has stayed back since then. She was close but he didn’t know where.

He wasn’t trapped in the room. The blue alien had helped him walk around the hall the other day. They were so weirdly empty, Lance only saw someone disappear around a corner. He didn’t know how to feel about the lack of people, and the lack of information. But his interactions with the alien helping him were far more pleasant than with the Galra. Upgrades.

He was pretty sure they thought that with how hard he hit his head they thought he was losing it. He could maybe see where they were coming from, saying you need to find your giant space cat to heal you sounds pretty crazy.

Zelia didn't like these new alien’s. She eyed the blue alien, name still unknown but Lance had taken to calling him Johnny in his head. He eventually left, tapping the cup next to Lance’s bed that had water and gesturing to the bed.

“Ugh, what do you think Zee?” Lance pet over her head and down between her wings.

She purred and curled up into his lap. Lance picked up the cup and took a sip. He hesitantly swung his legs over the side of the cot and stood, Zelia floating to her usual spot on his shoulder. He stood, his legs slightly shaky and made his way to the door. He was determined to find Red.

The floors were cold and empty. Just long gold metal halls, all smooth with no corners and bright. They all looked the same so Lance was going to have no idea how to make it back to his room, but that was fine if he found Red.

He could feel he was getting closer, his bond with Red calling out to him. Zelia growled from her spot on his shoulder and Lance paused. He could hear footsteps coming down the hall. Lance tensed and debated jumping into one of the doors in the hall, but he didn’t want to look suspicious. He has technically never been told not to go to the hall, but he feels like he was going to get in trouble. Before he can decide to duck into one of the doors someone rounds the corner.

“Sorry. I didn’t realise anyone was going to be in the hall.” The alien apologised.

“Oh um. That’s fine.” Lance reassured them.

The alien looked feminine, more slender than Johnny and her soft looking white hair went down to her waist. She was very pretty, with delicate features and dark grey skin. She had horns similar to Johnny, but they are black and curved off behind her head instead of around her ears. Her eyelashes were long and her eyes were gold with no pupils. She was in a short flowy white dress with a thick belt and had on leather boots reaching her knees. Lance flushed when she seemed to be examining him as he always did when pretty people stared for too long.

“Are you lost?” She asked him.

Zelia hissed in answer and crawled farther up Lance's shoulder like she was ready to attack something. Lance raised a hand to calm her down and she let him pet her, still staring at the alien.

“Um I’m trying to find my lion-ship, my ship.” Lance told her.

“Oh. I’m actually on my way to the hanger if you would like to join me?” She offered.

Lance agreed and they fell into a slow walk next to each other. Lance tried to make idle chit chat, and flirted with her a bit which she giggled at. She really was pretty, the gold jewellery she was wearing complimented with her skin and hair so nicely. Her voice was soft and her smile showed sharp canine teeth, Lance found that he liked it. He found out her name was Kagfiwe and introduced himself as Lance, which she found hilarious for some reason.

She eventually led him to a door that revealed they actually weren’t on a ship, but were in a giant building. Actually it looked like they stepped out onto the roof of another building. Lance spun around and saw that everywhere was building’s, lights and signs everywhere. People were milling about everywhere. Lance stepped closer to the edge to look down. It confirmed his thought that he was standing on the roof of a building. Actually there were countless buildings below him, he couldn’t see the ground they were so high up.

He stepped back feeling dizzy. Zelia whined from his shoulder and nudged her head against his which he welcomed.

“Um. Lance?” He heard Kagfiwe call him.

She was standing further down the… road? path? And was looking back at him.

“The Hanger is this way.” She said and waited for Lance to catch up.

Lance couldn’t help but look around as they walked. The building they had left towered above the rest of them, and there were smaller cuter shops in front of it. They looked like they were selling trinkets and snacks and Lance’s mouth watered at the smell of something deep fried. Zelia’s feathers were ruffled and Lance could tell she was on edge. She hadn’t fried anyone yet-that he knew of-so he wasn’t overly concerned. He was sure she was on alert because of them being captured, and was weary of anyone new because of it.

He had checked her over once he had woken up. Making sure there were no marks or tender spots on her. She had loved it, rolling around in his lap and playfully trying to grab his hands as he poked and prodded her to make sure she was ok.

He couldn’t help but notice his pace was slowing down as he followed Kagfiwe down the street. She seemed to notice and slowed to match his pace. Everything looked like it was made of metal, Lance had yet to see a plant. There were also no roads, well there were air roads he supposes? Ships the size of cars were flying in the gaps between buildings and overhead. Kagfiwe led him over a bridge and down a road before they stopped in front of a sketchy looking building.

There was alien graffiti on the walls and garbage littered around the front of the building. It was made of metal that looks like it lost its shine a long time ago. It just looked like it would smell like dust and gasoline. The door is about the size of a house, round and someone has painted what looks like an alien eye in the middle of it, the same alien’s he has been seeing, the lack of pupil is eerie.

“This is it?” Lance asked.

He didn’t want to get murdered in this building, but he also didn’t think he could make it much further. It was becoming very clear he was not in the same shape he was before he was captured and he was so tired even from the short walk here.

“Yes. We don’t really have a use for found vessels so they just end up in storage.” She said as she punched a code into the door.

The door opens by flipping sideways, creaking suspiciously as it does so. The inside of the hangar looked like no one had been in here in years. It was dirty and crammed full of space ships as far as Lance could see. It smells like dust, metal and grease and there are only a couple of lights on the ceiling high above him, hardly illuminating the place.

“I will be over here.” Kagfiwe said as she pointed to the far left corner of the bunker. “Come find me when you are done. Or if you would like to keep me company.”

She gave Lance a smile and left gracefully with a pat on his shoulder. She walks like a ballet dancer, all smooth and flowy, Lance was kinda jealous. Zelia flew to the wing of a ship in front of him once Kagfiwe left. She started cleaning her wings as Lance rolled his eyes. She really was keeping her guard up and didn’t like these people. It would concern him, but if she really wanted to she would just zap them.

Lance sat on the floor, gingerly lowering himself to the cold metal. He closed his eyes and tried to call to Red again. This place was huge. About the size of three football stadiums. He will look through every square inch for Red if he has too, but this will be easier. He braces himself for the ache that came last time and is pleasantly surprised to find Red’s warm presence fill his mind. Gentle and caring. Lance sighs.

“There you are beautiful.” He says softly and Red purrs in agreement.

She leads him towards the far corner. Zelia takes off towards the ceiling, making an appearance every once in a while when he hasn’t seen her for a couple minutes. He thinks she is getting impatient with how long it’s taking him to get to Red. It takes Lance a good half hour because he keeps running into dead ends. This place was absolutely packed with space ships. He eventually is able to spot her particle barrier and quickly hurries to it.

“Red!” Lance exclaims when he finally sees a clear path to her.

He hurries towards her, Zelia already sitting on a wing next to the barrier waiting for him. Her familiar presence fills his mind back up as she lets down her barrier and bends to let him into the cockpit. She conveys concern though Lance reassures her he is fine. Lance hurries up the ramp, eager to see his bed, his home. Zelia beats him to it and is already kneading the bed when Lance gets to it. Red assures him she will keep watch and a tension leaves Lance that he didn’t know he had. He finally feels safe. He is tempted to just leave the planet now. Just figure out where he is, take Red and Zelia and leave.

Red reassures him it’s ok to stay for a while. While he isn’t sure where exactly that is, his bed is looking too tempting to pass up right now. He was tired from walking here, his body not fully recovered yet. He has half a mind to change into his pyjamas and grab one of the patches, sticking it to his leg before curling onto his side on the bed. It’s so much more comfortable than he remembers. Zelia immediately snuggles into his chest purring. He can tell she is much more relaxed on Red. He feels the patch heat up and it feels like it's sucking all his energy from him, he idly pets Zelia until he falls into a restless sleep.

Chapter Text

He wakes up groggy, feeling like he got too much sleep. He’s disoriented for a moment, his familiar pillows and blankets making him think he’s dreaming. Zelia bumps against his face and he raises a hand to pet her. He feels so much better than when he fell asleep. Red agrees in his head, the comforting rumble of her purr not making his head hurt. Lance sighs and flops onto his back.

He should probably tell Kagfiwe he is fine. Or someone at least. He can’t just be on the planet with no one knowing where he is can he? Seems wrong. But that would mean leaving his bed which he really did not want to do. Maybe he really could just leave-

“HAWW!”

Lance jumps from where he was laying. Zelia hides behind him as Lance searches for the source of the noise. Coward.

He can’t see anything out of the ordinary as he scans around his bed. Red only seems annoyed not concerned but that doesn’t explain what the hell just made the-

“HAWW!”

Lance jumps again. “What the hell?!”

He is finally able to pinpoint the noise as being directly next to the bed. Zelia hisses in the direction of the noise. Still hiding behind Lance. He cautiously looks down to see a… lizard mouse? Next to his bed?

The animal is bright orange, with big ears and big eyes, whiskers and scales, its toes looking like a gecko's feet and tail thick like a lizard. It’s crouched next to his bed, it doesn’t have fur and is blinking at Lance where he is staring at it. It looks like it could fit into Lance’s hand, only about the size of a pool ball.

“Uhh… Hi?” Lance says.

“HAWW!” The creature honks.

Lance jumps again, the noise jarring. How does something so small make such an awful noise? The creature scurries down the hall as Zelia gets brave enough to look and hisses at it. Lance is briefly concerned about Zelia trying to eat the Lizard mouse, but she looks more mad at it than anything. Lance has no idea how this thing managed to piss off Zelia but decides it’s a problem for later. He has a rodent problem apparently?

He sits up and takes the patch off his leg. It was very effective and Lance feels a million times better. He showers and does his skin care routine-it’s been driving him crazy, this planet has no moisturiser and he hates it- before emerging from the washroom finally feeling like himself again. He looks through Red to try to find the mouse but he can’t find it anywhere. It was pretty cute, if he was being honest, but he needs to scan it to make sure it doesn’t carry disease or anything.

He finds the fancy rock he was given to is now cracked open like a shell. Of course they gave him a live animal without telling him. Why wouldn’t they? Lance sighed and collapsed into Red’s pilot seat.

“Do you know where the mouse is?” Lance asks.

Red doesn’t respond but he can feel her amusement. He rolls his eyes and fondly pats the dashboard.

“I missed you beautiful.” He says softly.

Missed you too, Red conveys in his head. Hurt bad. Very bad.

“I know but I am ok now.” Lance reassures her. “Promise.”

Red is satisfied with his answer and the holomap pops up. Lance almost doesn’t want to look, but he turns his head anyway. Their blinking dot has moved to the complete opposite side of the map, he asks Red to track their process and she shows their track on a red laser jumping lazily from planet to planet to floating in space and finally a planet called ‘Iwhuna’. Thankfully it looks slightly closer than where he got captured, if not on his predicted path. Lance sighs heavily.

“We are ok.” He says firmly out loud, mostly to himself. “We lived. That’s what matters.”

The words seem hollow even to himself as he stares out Red’s window to the hangar. He checks in with Red and finds he has been sleeping for-13 hours?!

“That’s so long!” Lance exclaims standing from the seat. “I-I have to check in with Johnny! What if Kagfiwe thought I got lost in all the junk! Red, I’m sorry beautiful but I have to go check in with everyone.”

Ok, Red tells him. Back soon.

Lance bids her goodbye with a promise to be back soon. Zelia trips him on his way out, cutting right in front of his foot as he is walking.

“Zee!” He exclaims getting his balance.

She blinks up at him. “Brrt?”

He rolls his eyes and she proudly walks out of Red ahead of him taking off into the air and gracefully doing flips. She didn’t have a lot of room where Johnny was nursing him back to health. Red drops the shield to let them leave and Lance gives her a pat as he heads down the ramp.

It doesn’t take him as long to find his way out of the warehouse as it did to get in. Zelia beat him to the entrance. He punches in the sequence he saw Kagfiwe do earlier and the door opens. He slips out onto the street. A green alien, with the same horns and eyes as both Johnny and Kagwife seems startled to see him before hurrying down the road. Lance watches them leave as Zelia lands on his shoulder with a low growl. Lance has changed into the padded clothing he had gotten from Strom. The knife he found of Keith’s hidden by his waist. He’s weirdly self conscious of what he is wearing but something about this place is giving him the heebie jeebies. His main goal is to find his armour, and his bayard.

He quickly follows the route he had taken to get here. When he stands outside the building he had woken up in Zelia growls lowly.

“Hello again Lance.” He hears Kagfiwe say and there is a gentle hand on his shoulder that Zelia isn’t on.

He flinches a little before he turns to face her with a smile. How did she know he was here?

“Hi. Sorry I didn’t meet back up with you. I fell asleep.”

“Oh don’t apologise.” Kagfiwe says, taking her hand back and walking towards the door. “You looked unsettled. I figured being back in your ship would bring you back to yourself. It looks like it did.”

“Oh.” Lance says surprised. “Uh, yeah. Yeah it did.”

“Good. I am glad.” She says and leads him inside.

“Um, do you know where my armour would be?” Lance asks her. “It’s um… very important to me.”

“I don’t.” She tells him and smiles. “But I know who would. Follow me.”

She leads him down the smooth hallways. Zelia shifts to Lance's other shoulder so she is closer to Kagfiwe. She keeps her eyes on her the entire time, more tense than when she was back in Red. Kagfiwe seems unaware of Zelias glare as she and Lance start chatting as they walk.

“Who are we going to see?” Lance asks curiously.

“Witigis.” She tells him. “He’s in charge of battle strategies, but he knows everything. If your armour is anywhere in the palace he will know.”

“Ok.” Lance says and nods. “This is a palace?”

She nodded. “Yes. Found prisoners are brought here and assessed by their recovery and mental capacity.”

“Assessed for what?” Lance asks but is interrupted when a door slides open.

“Ah! There you are your-”

“Witigis please.” She interrupts him. “I have told you not to call me by my title. Just Kagfiwe.”

“Title?” Lance asks, feeling like he is missing something. “Are you someone with an important standing?”

“Important enough to get you what you want.” She tells him with a grin and bumps him with her hip. “I have to go meet with my father but Lance here was hoping you would be able to help him find some of his things.”

“Of course!” He exclaims.

Before Lance can question her more she waves at him and gives him a wink, spinning around with a flourish of her skirt. Witigis is standing calmly next to him, seeming weary of Zelia where she is glaring from Lance's shoulder. That makes Lance relax a little. Kagfiwe seems nice enough but she seems fundamentally unscared of Zelia, which makes Lance feel concerned and almost irritated.

“What are you hoping to find?” He asks taking a step away from them.

“Oh um. My armour. It’s blue and white, and my Bayard. It matches the armour.”

“Hmm.” The man walks away, keeping him and Zelia in his sight as he half turns towards a computer. “It looks like we have some armour we couldn't assign to captives. Some of it matches your description.”

“Ok.” Lance says, petting Zelia cautiously where she is perched on his shoulder still staring at Witigis. “Where do I find it?”

“I will summon it.” He tells him and presses a button.

There is a whirling noise and suddenly a panel in the wall opened. There is Lance armour sitting nicely folded with his bayard on top.

“That’s it.” Lance tells him.

They have a stare down for a moment before the man steps away. Lance snatches his things Zelia seems to sense the importance of this and growls at the man. Lance shifts his bayard to his hand and tilts his head at the guy.

“Do you have something I can carry these in?” He asks.

The man huffs and shuffles around for a moment before placing a neon green piece of fabric on the table. Lance stuffs his armour in the bag and nods at the guy.

“Well this has been fun and not at all tense with no explanation.” He says as he walks towards the door.

He turned his back on the man. Something instinctual in him didn’t want to but he could tell Zelia was unwilling to let her eyes off of him.

“I better get going.” Lance says and punches in the code Kagfiwe used hoping it works. “You understand, I am sure. Don’t need the fully healed prisoner overstaying his welcome!”

The door slides open to reveal two super tall aliens. Fuck. Unlike everyone else Lance has come across these two are armed. Guns across their back and three long swords on their hips. Lance tightens his grip on his bayard, trying not to think of worse case scenarios. They rescued him, let Zelia stay with him, gave him his weapon and haven’t harmed Red.

“Your presence has been requested in the throne room.” The large green one says the purple one nodding.

“Oh no thank you!” Lance chirped and tried to sidestep them.

Unfortunately he has lost some of his grace during his capture and the purple alien was easily able to grab him. Lance heard Zelia growl and the charge she usually makes when she goes to zap something. He doesn’t stop her until the alien let’s go of him.

“Don’t touch me.” Lance snaps.

The three aliens are staring at him with wide eyes. Lance starts backing down the hall his hand tightens on his bayard and he realises it has turned into a blade. About the length of his forearm and curves like a fang, with a curl half way down the blade and another point there and a small one on the opposite end. Before he can examine it too closely another voice sounds in the hall.

“What is happening here?”

Lance is both relieved and weary to see Kagwife marching determinedly towards them. Zelia’s feather’s are on edge where she is hissing from his shoulder and Lance is mentally going through his exit strategy.

“We are acting on your father’s orders.” The purple alien says. “He requested the patient’s presence.”

“Well Lance can do what he wants.” Kagwife says, she is now standing between them.

Lance will’s his bayard back into its resting form. Something about her he trusts, even if Zelia is still eyeing her like she wants to fry the grey alien.

“But your father-”

“Do you really wish to argue with me?” She asks, before either alien can answer she continues. “You are dismissed. Leave.”

She turns back around to Lance. “I apologise. My father would like to discuss your next steps after recovery but, of course, it is your decision whether you want to talk to him.”

“Oh. Well…” Lance trails off.

He really would like to get more information on this planet. He wants to leave as soon as he can, but any information is good information.

“Let’s see if I can charm him the way I charmed you.” Lance says and smiles at her.

She returns it and they start walking down the hall.

“You found your armour?” She asks gesturing to the bag.

“Yes.” Lance says. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course.” She says. “What is that weapon you were holding?”

“Oh my Bayard?” Lance says and holds it up.

His mind races as he tries to figure out how much to disclose. “It shifts into my weapon when I need it. It looks like this most of the time.”

“Oh that’s pretty interesting.” She says. “Where did you get it?”

“From a friend.” Lance tells her. “I’m not 100% sure where she got it from.”

Not a complete lie.

“So you are a swords man?” She asks.

“Only recently.” Lance tells her, very recently.

They continue down the halls until they come to a pretty stained glass door and Kagfiwe pauses. She takes a deep breath and turns to Lance looking apologetic.

“My father is… um complicated.” She tells him. “You really don’t have to go in here.”

“Oh uh.” Lance says and looks at the door. “I am always up to meet new people! You never know how they can affect your life!”

He gives her his most reassuring smile. What the fuck is going on on this planet?

The doors twirl open and Lance follows Kagfiwe through the door. The room isn’t as big as Lance expected it to be, about the size of a formal dining hall. There was an alien with the same grey skin as Kagfiwe sitting on a Gold chair looking bored. He looked older, with a pot belly and skin sagging on his face. He glanced at them boredly as they entered the room. Zelia slung herself over Lance’s shoulders like a scarf, Lance can see her tail swishing irritably and feel her wing’s twitching. She is itching to attack something he can tell but has decided to follow Lance’s lead which he is grateful for.

“Is this the prisoner?” He asks, not bothering with introductions and looking past Lance to Kagfiwe.

She bows her head low and answers. “Yes Father.”

“Good.” He sits upright in his chair and says in a monotonous voice. “Congratulations you have been chosen from the saved ones to be rehabilitated-”
Lance feels his smile freeze on his face. Chosen to be rehabilitated?

“-Your extensive injuries and malnutrition took time and resources to help so we will be requesting the same from you. To make up for our loss of resources you have been chosen…”

He flicks his hand and a holographic list pops up on the screen. He scrolls boredly as he says. “To be courted and married into the Royal family, through my daughter Kagfiwe.”

Lance feels his eyes widen and he can see Kagfiwe tense beside him. “Father-”

“The courting starts with a dinner you will be escorted to immediately. You two will not be allowed to leave the dinner until the courting is complete and you are ready for marriage.”

“Marriage?!” Lance exclaims flabbergasted.

“After courtship.” The King says boredly and makes a strange whistling noise.

The doors snap open and the two guards Lance saw earlier are escorting him and Kagfiwe down the hall. Lance is barely able to register the halls as he tries to process what’s happening. Before he knows it he is locked in a room with Kagfiwe and a table full of food is spread in front of them. In his defence, of all the things he thought was going to happen this was at the very bottom of the list.

Kagfiwe has taken a seat at the table and is filling her plate. Lance tries the doors even though he knows there isn’t really a point, hoping he would be able to pry them open. Zelia seems to sense his thoughts and takes off inspecting the corners of the room. Lance shifts his bayard into the altean broadsword and tries to use it to leverage the doors open.

“That’s not going to work.” Kagwife calls him.

“You don’t know that.” He tells her.

She is sitting calmly at the table. Zelia has examined the room and finding no other way out she is sitting between Lance and Kagwife with her gaze fixed on the alien. Lance feels his bayard shift into its classic blaster and turns to fire shots at the door. It didn’t help, which he isn’t overly surprised by. He sighs and grabs his paladin belt to put on. He lets his bayard dissolve into its usual spot and turns to Kagfiwe.

“Did you know this would happen?” He asks her.

She nods at him. “We are compatible as far as I can tell from our earlier conversations. And I knew my father kept you here for a reason. I didn’t think it would happen now.”

“Kept me here.” Lance repeated. “What does that mean?”

“Most aliens we rescue are rehabilitated at other stations, not the palace, as soon as they are stable. Then asked to work for however long their recovery was, helps with rehabilitation and provides them a potential job if they are unable or unwilling to go back to their planet.”

“And why was I chosen to stay here?” Lance asks.

“It’s a status thing.” She tells him, peeling a bright red fruit. “The more injured the prisoner, the more important they likely are, the more information they hold, the more powerful the alliance.”

“This isn’t an alliance!” Lance says. “I have no power! No one gain’s anything from a-a marriage?! I can’t get married! I have a-”

Lance cut himself off. He technically didn’t have an anything.

“I mean I guess there isn’t-This shouldn't even be a conversation!” Lance said loudly, throwing his hands in the air. “I am not marrying you.”

“I don’t see why not.” She tells him. “It’s with that or we starve in this room.”

Lance balks. Zelia chooses now to start inspecting the food on the table.

“They will let us starve.” Lance repeats flabbergasted. His legs feel tired and he takes his seat at the table. “This is why I should trust my gut, I knew something was fishy about this place.”

“It’s perfectly normal.” Kagfiwe tells him. “We complete the courting process and then we leave to complete the marriage ritual.”

“Ok. Ok.” Lance drops his head to hold it in his hands. “What the actual fuck?”

He sits up and scans the room, looking for somewhere that would allow him to get out. There are no windows, and their air vents are too small even for Zelia to slip through. Kagfiwe is annoyingly eating at the other end of the table, not seeming phased that they are literally locked in a room together.

“What is considered a ‘complete’ courting process?” Lance asks.

He really really hopes this doesn't get weird.

“We get to know each other.” Kagfiwe asks. “Preferences and our personal history. That’s especially important so we know what kind of alliance we can expect.”

“None.” Lance emphasises. “This isn’t beneficial. I have absolutely nothing to offer your planet.”

“I do not think that’s true.” Kagfiwe told him. “The Galra had you labelled as a G1 prisoner. They said they were interrogating you for information about something called Voltron? Their plan was to make you into a weapon, someone controlled by them because of skills they have. Even if you can’t provide territory you can provide knowledge.”

“I don’t-ugh-I have to get to my friends. I can’t stay here.” Lance tells her. “We have to figure out a way to leave.”

“The only way is to-”

“Complete the courting process I know.” Lance said with a sigh. “What does it mean exactly? What do we have to do? Tell our dramatic life story? Make friendship bracelets? Braid each other’s hair?”

“Tell our story.” She tells him. “We have to know each other’s soul before we can leave the room.”

“What allows us to leave the room?” Lance asks. “Does the door like sense we know each other? Is there a camera with someone watching out interactions waiting to deem us ready to leave? Is a holographic gonna pop up and yell ‘courted!’ when we are done?”

“The door opens once we have been open with each other.”

“Ok.”

Lance runs a hand through his hair. They don’t have to do anything physical at least. He really doesn’t know how comfortable he is being entirely open with this alien, even if she does seem really nice, and Lance thinks she is really pretty.

“So… what do you want to know?”

They must spend hours in the room talking, Lance starts by spilling his secrets, hopeful they would reward his vulnerability. They do not. Before he moves into more tame subjects. Most of the time it is solemn, sharing details about their lives was pretty mundane. How many people are in his family, what his favourite colour is etc. One of the drink’s at the table gives him a buzz, some form of alien alcohol that tastes like vinegar, but makes it easier to admit things to the pretty alien. They eventually sit on a pile of pillows in the corner, the metal chairs getting uncomfy, and sit next to each other without the table buffer. Zelia is in Lance’s lap still eyeing Kagfiwe suspiciously, and Kagfiwe is lightly tracing his hand as she describes the sunset’s she saw with her mom on a vacation on a nearby planet.

“-such amazing colours. Blues, purples, red’s and yellows, they took up the entire sky like a painting. The water reflected the two suns like a mirror, I felt like I could walk over and touch the sky. I will never see anything like it again, the two suns almost never line up and set at the same time.”

“Sounds beautiful.” Lance tells her.

He feels an ache in his chest, longing to see the sunset at home. Smell the salty air and watch the sky get lit on fire by the sun as it disappears behind the sea.

“It is.” She tells him. “We could see it some time.”

Lance looks away from her. “I have to get back to my team.”

“I understand.” She tells him, and he believes she does.

He has told her all about Voltron, his friends, his insecurity about being on the team, his fear he will never get back and doom the universe. In turn she has told him about her friends living in the depths of the city, who are considered too plain for her to interact with. Apparently this entire planet is one city ranked by how close to the surface they live and her friends live close to its core. Her dream is to start a literacy program for the kids living there, something her father thinks is a waste of time. They know each other’s favourite colour, their entire families, all their friends by name, first pets, dream jobs, eye colour, hopes, dreams, and the doors still won’t open.

“We are never getting out of here are we?” She asks and sighs, taking a sip of her drink.

“We need to try something else.” Lance tells her. “We’ve told each other everything. It’s not working.”

“I don’t understand.” Kagfiwe whined, flopping back into the pillow mess. “We have told each other everything.”

She has become increasingly more casual the longer they are in this god damned room. Her flawless posture has dropped and she tied her hair back into a bun at the base of her neck. Lance has noticed she talks dramatically with her hands when she is telling a story, which Lance finds incredibly endearing despite himself.

“What do we need to do again?” Lance asks. “What’s the exact wording?”

“Complete the courting process.” Kagfiwe parrots for the 15th time. “Know the core of the other’s soul.”

“Maybe it has to be-and I hate to say it-something more… intimate.” Lance cringes at his own wording and takes a swig from the bottle he dragged over here, relishing the burn.

Kagfiwe turns her head towards him and narrows her eyes. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, we can try, like… kissing.”

“What?!”

“Just a suggestion!” Lance defends. “We are supposed to get married when we leave, it would make sense if we have to do something physical.”

“Oh sweet father Ryleif.” She said, “I’ve never been told I have to do something physical. This is supposed to be a sacred ritual. An intimate moment where we become linked and bonded-oh.”

“Yeah oh.” Lance says sarcastically. “That sounds like more than kissing.”

She lightly kicks him and he laughs and plops down next to her on the pillows. Zelia huffs and goes to the table to each some bread thing she likes. Lance looks at Kagfiwe for a moment. She is his type. He has always had a thing for princesses, and with her hair pulled back and her dramatic storytelling Lance definitely wasn’t seeing a quick make out session as a bad thing. Quite a positive thing actually. He takes another sip from the bottle, the room is blurring pleasantly and he is now more tipsy than buzzed. She makes grabby hands for the bottle and Lance passes it to her, she takes a long drink before placing it beside her.

“I guess we should try it.” She says.

“Way to make a guy feel special.” Lance deadpans.

They make eye contact before bursting into laughter. It feels really nice to be laughing with a pretty girl. Before Lance can think too much into it he cups her cheek and presses their mouths together. She returned the kiss easily, her lips were soft and had a lip gloss on it that tastes like cherries. She threads her hand into Lance’s hair and tugs on it. It’s nice, normal. Lance was usually dating someone during the Garrison, he liked having someone he knew wanted to hangout with him. Who he could hold their hand, kiss or be in the proximity of. He liked the connection, knowing they liked being around him. Though the entire time he had been wishing the person was Keith.

Lance’s stomach turns and he has to pull away from Kagfiwe. “I’m sorry I can’t. I can’t do this. I can’t finish this, this thing. I’m-I’m in love with someone.”

The room turns bright purple and a jingle sounds. Kagfiwe and Lance both jump to their feet as the door slides open. The world tilts a little and Lance thinks he may have had too much to drink, even as he stuffs three more of the bottles into the bag with his paladin armour. Zelia is already impatiently waiting on the other side of the door.

“You couldn’t have said that earlier?” Kagfiwe asks as she grabs something that looks like cake and they both hurry out the door.

“I didn’t think about it.” Lance admits and Kagfiwe rolls her eyes.

“Let’s hurry up. There is an alarm that goes off when the doors open and we only have a couple of minutes.”

“Where are we going?” Lance asks hurrying after Kagfiwe as she walks quickly down the hall.

“Out.” She said, stumbling over her feet and giving Lance a grin. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Fuck yes.” Lance said.

An alarm started blaring and they all jumped. Zelia chooses now to cling to Lance’s back. They make their way quickly through the halls. Lance is impressed that Kagfiwe never loses her way, they giggle as they hear footsteps progressively getting closer. There isn’t a real danger, Lance isn’t worried about getting killed, maybe forcibly married to Kagfiwe but not killed.

“Hurry up!” Kagfiwe calls. “The door is just around the corner, hurry up!”

They eventually slide around the corner and Kagfiwe slaps at the buttons until the door opens. They hurry outside breathless and laughing.

“I feel like I just left someone at the altar!” Lance told her with a laugh. “Come on! We gotta go!”

Kagfiwe gave him a grin and they took off through the street. Lance couldn’t quite keep up with her and they had to make frequent stops. Kagfiwe was eating some of the cake whenever she stopped laughing and had snagged their half empty bottle before they left the freaking cage. She offered him a sip and took it before wincing and passing it back. It was bad.

“Ugh.” He said and made a face that Kagfiwe laughed at.

They suddenly heard a clanging noise and Kagfiwe’s eyes widened. “Oh we gotta go. We gotta go now.”

She took off at a quick walk and Lance hurried to follow. “What is that?”

“Enforcers.” She said almost singing it. “They are going to drag us back, we gotta go.”

“Oh no.”

They quickened their pace until the hangar finally came into view. Lance never thought he would be so happy to see such an ugly building in his life. Kagfiwe quickly opened the door and they hurried inside. They looked at each other before bursting out laughing again.

“We- we almost were-were married!” Kagfiwe choked out between laughs.

“Oh my god!” Lance exclaimed.

“Brrt?” Zelia questioned looking suspiciously between the two of them from her perch on a metal slab.

“That’s insane!” Kagfiwe called.

Lance laughed and his stomach started hurting. “I-I have to go to Red, my ship.”

“Ok.” Kagfiwe said then grinned at him. “I’m going to go under the city.”

“Good.” Lance smiled at her.

She launched herself into his arms in a hug and Lance caught her. She placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered ‘thank you’ before she disappeared among the metal. Lance hurried to Red. He was worried those angry looking guy were going to track him down and stuff him in a white dress. Which was a little illogical but he was tipsy, tired and sore, give him a break.

Red was ready for him when he showed up. He couldn’t help but smile when he and Zelia settled in their regular spots. It felt good to be somewhere familiar. Lance only had a second to wonder if he was going to have to blast a hole through the roof when the whole thing rolled off the building like a curtain. He took the chance before he could question it, seeing a small ship do the same before diving into the gaps between buildings. He smiled and Red roared, it felt good to be back.

Chapter Text

“Zee you can’t eat Pedro!” Lance scolded her, trying to rangle the flying determined cat was harder than one would think.

Pedro hurried around the corner and disappeared thank god. Lance named him after Antonio Banderas’ character in The House of Spirits. He had a tuft of fur on his head that reminded Lance of him and, unlike Zelia, he isn’t picky about his name. He was finally able to scan him, after a scary encounter where he discovered Pedro’s eyes glowed in the dark and he could stick to walls. Not fun.

Zelia took off after Pedro and made a disappointed noise when she couldn’t find him. Lance sighed in relief and rubbed his forehead. He thinks Zelia doesn’t want to eat Pedro, just likes the chase, she thinks it’s a game. Lance looked up as something brushed his face to see one of the gold floaty fish had wandered away from their pack and was curiously floating around his arm now.

“Why does she have no interest in you.” Lance complained then backtracked. “No offence.”

The fish didn’t seem to mind and continued floating aimlessly around Lance’s arm before flying to his hair. It had gotten long when Lance had been held captive but he had found a laser device like the one Ragnar had given him before and gave himself a haircut. He chickened out trying to cut the back short without seeing it and had a mullet like hair style, but he will sooner die than admit it to anyone. Thinking of his team he headed back into the cockpit and flung himself down in the chair, putting his legs over.

“This is Lance McClain day who the fuck cares, no one is gonna see these but me anyway, log-uh 6? No 7. Uh what do I need to say. Um I was held captive, may have died again briefly unclear on that. Lot’s of electricity heart might have given up yada yada,” He waved a hand as if brushing his words away. “Um, got nursed back to health by John Stamos, almost had to marry a princess-oh! Pedro! He’s this, like, mouse lizard thing? Super cute but I am pretty sure Zelia hates him based purely on the fact he is orange. She hates orange, which I don’t fully understand because the tips of her wings are orange, I guess more peach but like same difference.”

Lance took a breath and sighed. He glanced out Red’s window and she gave a comforting rumble. For some reason the emptiness of space wasn’t making him as existential as it usually does.

“Um…” Lance was trying to articulate what he was feeling. “I-”

There is a sudden loud crashing noise and he hears Pedro’s distinctive ‘HONK’ and Zelia sounding way too excited.

“Fuck. I gotta go.” Lance said and turned hurried towards the door calling for Red to turn off the camera before calling for Zelia.

He found her chasing Pedro through his little padded gym. She was alternating between running and flying and was clearly having the time of her life. Lance almost felt bad about stopping her before he saw her run straight into a wall and swore he saw Pedro do a happy dance.

“Merida Zelia!” Lance said, scooping her up.

She was pouting. Lance kissed her forehead and she started purring. “Poor baby. Are you upset you can’t eat your new friend?”

She snuggled into his arms in response and Lance laughed. He could see her ears were still flicking around looking for Pedro even as she faked being all cuddly so Lance would loosen his grip on her. He left the room and closed the door behind him so Zelia couldn’t try to go back in. He let her go and she immediately went back to the door to try to go back. Lance rolled his eyes and Red started playing ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ as she started stalking around looking for a way in. Lance laughed so hard his stomach hurt and he could feel Red’s amusement.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pidge, I don't think that’s a good idea. Maybe you should move.”

“It’s fine Lance. I know what I’m doing.”

“Leave her alone Lance.”

“It’s just that the beam looks-”

“Lance! Let her work this needs to be done!”

“Lance Pidge knows what she’s doing. It’s fine.”

“But guys-”

“Lance just-ugh-Just stop talking for once!”

“I’m just trying to-”

“Just shut the fuck up! Shut up!”

“Pidge move!”

“Lance!”

“Keith what are you doing?”

Keith jumped away from the screen to see Coran. He guiltily tried to close the screen.

“Nothing Coran.” He said. “Just um-just watching something.”

“Ah.” Coran said, stepping closer and looking at the screen. “The infamous mission.”

“... yeah.” Keith said and slumped in the chair looking back at the screen showing Pidge in the cockpit of Green. “No one is acting like themselves.”

“Hmm.” Coran said and twirled his moustache.

Coran has seemed more sad since Keith had gotten back. More subdued than he usually is, calmly cleaning the castle looking wistful as he does.

“Yes, I suppose everyone was acting quite like a Wobbledorp.”

“... I guess.” Keith said.

“The proximity and isolation of space will do that I suppose.” Coran mused.

“I don’t think it’s just that though.” Keith said. “I think-”

“There you two are! What are you up to”

Keith was cut off by Shiro entering the room, Coran patted Keith’s shoulder and turned towards him.

“We were just being sentimental I’m afraid.” Coran told Shiro as Keith closed the screens successfully this time. “How can we help you my boy?”

“Allura and I were hoping to have a meeting with everyone.” Shiro said, walking towards them. “Discuss battle formations now that we are missing a lion.”

“And a teammate.” Keith said with a glare directed towards Shiro.

“Of course Keith.” Shiro said more gently.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong-

“Yeah.” Keith told him.

The two were silent, staring at each other. Before Coran said, with what Keith could tell was a carefully constructed happy voice. “Well Lads, let’s go see what the princess has in store for us!”

He clapped his hands together and gave them a look that got both Keith and Shiro heading to the door. Keith walked fast so Shiro wouldn’t be able to talk with him. He stood with his arms crossed in front of him and was hardly paying attention to what was being said. Just going over and over what was in the video. The only thing that sounded normal was Lance's concern. Pidge was snapping at everything, Hunk was hardly saying anything, Shiro’s temper was short, Allura was only caring about the fucking mission and Lance sounded so timid.

“What does everyone think?” Allura’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Sounds fine.” Hunk said.

“Whatever.” Pidge responded not looking away from her laptop.

“Good plan Princess.” Shiro said, giving a stern look to Hunk and Pidge.

Hunk shrunk under his gaze and Pidge didn’t even notice. Keith stayed quiet, not knowing what the plan was. With the way things were going he probably would have hated it anyway.

“Keith what do you think?”

Fuck.

“Whatever.” Keith said, repeating Pidges words.

“Ok.” Allura clapped her hands. “Training is in about half an hour, meet on the training deck.”

“A half hour?” Hunk asked and Pidge finally looked up from her computer.

“That’s hardly enough time to get there.” She said, “We haven’t had lunch yet.”

“Well you should have planned better.”

Keith scoffed and Shiro sent him a warning glare. He could feel the tension in the room and everyone growing weary because of it. It just kept building which made Keith’s skin itch.

“U-um.” Hunk said, sounding extremely nervous. “I-I can bring snacks to the training room? If anyone wants something to eat?”

“Thank you Hunk.” Keith grit out from his teeth and spun on his heel to leave.

He stormed angrily through the hall. No one said anything. That’s what was pissing him off. There was no suggestions to tweak the plan, the only person who had any input was the princess. Everyone used to have a say, so why the fuck was no one saying anything? It couldn’t just be because Lance is missing, there has to be something else. Something else is wrong, just off about their dynamic. He thinks-no, that’s insane.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I feel like all the planets I’m finding food on are deserts. That has to be statistically improbable.” Lance told Red as he guided her through the atmosphere of a new planet. “Like the base needs, or whatever, are food, water, air-I guess plants are getting plenty of sunlight but you never really see them in a desert-whatever. Seems odd.”

Thinking too much. Red told him and he rolled his eyes.

“You aren’t thinking enough.” Lance said back to her.

She playfully rocked the cockpit to make Lance hold tight to his seat and he definitely didn’t scream. They found a place to land behind a stone cliff, Red was somewhat sheltered in the shade of the rocks, though Lance doubted anyone would come looking for her. From what he saw of the communities here they didn’t look super high tech.

“Alright Beautiful.” He told her as they landed. “Me and Zelia will be back, try not to miss us too much.”

She pouted but agreed and Lance gave her dash a fond pat before taking Zelia out on the skimmer. He was wearing some of the plain clothing he had gotten from Strom and Ragnar, seemed fitting for a desert planet. This planet had more plants, flora popping up every once in a while. They were a dark purple instead of the green he was expecting but he liked it. He was kind of nervous approaching the village he had seen from Red. He was kind of nervous about his skimmer getting hijacked but you live you learn.

They finally got to the village. No one seemed surprised to see him pulling up in a skimmer that was centuries ahead of what they had in the village but whatever. There seemed to be a market going on and he secretly scanned the foods before trying to buy anything.

“What do these taste like?” Lance asked curiously.

“Like skbfougf, and wugisfbv being baked in a piwygs.” The alien responded.

These aliens were lizard-like, resembling a dragon with the shape of their head and their hands. The colour of their scales were muted as if sun bleached. He supposed it made sense, this planet has two suns, they seem to follow a similar path to allow some version of night. And good lord was it hot. Lance was no stranger to hot weather, desert hot from the garrison was bad but the humid hot from home was bad, like the air was trying to suffocate you. The dry heat on the planet felt like it was trying to cook him alive, dry all the moisture from his body and leave him shrivelled in the sand. He was sweating through his clothes and wanted a cool bath more than anything.

“Oh, um… thank you?” Lance said, not the aliens' fault he had no idea what that meant.

“It’s uh… savoury and spicy.” A voice said behind him.

There was an alien standing behind him, hat pushed up on their head to look at Lance with what he hopes is a friendly expression.

“Thank you.” Lance said sincerely and offered a pretty glass vase he was given two planets back, to the seller. They came in a pair and he was keeping the other one.

The seller looked mystified as they took it. It really was pretty. He thanked her and moved to the next booth where they were selling some sort of cream or lotion. He fed Zelia where she was wrapped over his shoulders, it was not helping with the temperature but it was so cute he didn’t mind. He managed to barter for one container then a stone at the back of the booth caught his eye. It was purple and looked like it could hold a galaxy. Specks of silver and gold shining through it with a void of black in the centre. The shopkeeper saw him looking at him and offered it to him.

“Oh uh…” Lance searched his pockets for something else to trade.

“No, no.” The person stopped him. “As a gift. I can see you are a traveller, take this as a token.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asked but accepted it into his palm. It felt warm.

“Of course.” The person told him.

He thanked them profusely and wandered towards where non-perishable food seemed to be. He ended up with a healthy bundle of bottled and dried goods. He saw a lake nearby when he landed and would take Red back there when he left to fill up with water. Zelia had stayed firmly on his shoulders, watching everyone who came close to him. She seemed more at ease then on the last planet, but was still being overprotective of him. He dug through his bag of goodies, looking for what had looked like a purple lemon square when Zelia gave a warning growl. Lance looked up to see the alien who had told him the flavour of his earlier snack was entering the alley he was hiding from the sun in.

“Hello again.” Lance said and the alien dipped their head in greeting.

“Hello.” They said back and tilted their head in curiosity. “Did you find everything you needed”

“Yes I did.” Lance said, wondering if this was a kind of tour guide? “Um, thank you?”

“I was wondering where you are travelling from?” the alien asked, by passing Lance’s awkward thanks.

“Oh, um… far.” Lance said, he doubted this alien would know earth, or even his galaxy. Definitely wouldn't be called the same thing anyway. “I’m trying to get back.”

The alien hummed and looked him over. “You’re a warrior.”

Lance sputtered and waved his hands. “No. No, definitely not. I don’t-I don’t know why you would think that.”

“You look like one.” They pointed to Lance's eyebrow where he had a scar from when he first got separated from his friends.

Zelia took that as a threat and Lance heard her charging up in defence. Lance self consciously touched his face and pulled his pants down over his legs where they were exposing the skin of his shins. Now scared with ugly white lighting stripes. Zelia seemed to chill when she sensed Lance wasn’t afraid of being hurt.

“This was an um-an accident.” Lance said.

The alien nodded. “You’re a protector.”

“I’m… no.” Lance said. “I’m just a traveller.”

“I saw your ship.” the alien told him. “The red lion.”

Lance felt his shoulders bunch up next to his ears at the words. Most alien’s here didn’t think Voltron existed. None had recognized Red and none had confronted him about it.

“Let me introduce myself Paladin.” The alien continued, Lance watching them cautiously. “I am Gorm. A spiritual leader of Grienutaonyr.”

Lance knew this was the name of the planet he was on. He wasn’t sure why this alien was talking to him. Friend or foe.

“I was hoping I could bring you to the capital.” Grom said. “I have been trying to convince the council it’s worth it to train warriors. Your timing is perfect, I think it would be very beneficial for the council to hear a paladin’s opinion.”

“Who said I was a Paladin?” Lance said and stood to his full height.

He was a couple of inches taller than the alien and they had to step back to look at him. He rarely used his height as an intimidation factor but sometimes he needed to. (i.e. when old men are yelling at the poor new cashier about the price of bread. It’s a ten cent difference calm down) Lance pulled the piece of fabric he was using back to cover his mouth and tried to side step the alien.

“Good luck with the training but I have to go.” Lance told them, making to leave the alley.

He was surprised when they grabbed his arm. Touch was usually seen as a threat and he was surprised that the alien grabbed him. Lance ripped his arm out of the alien’s grip, instinctively grabbing Zelia’s paw to tell her not to protect him and had his bayard as a hand gun pointed at the alien.

“A paladin.” The alien said breathlessly, looking amazed at the gun instead of threatened.

“How do you know about paladins?” Lance questioned, tilting his head.

He subtly looked around them to see if anyone was sneaking up on him, Zelia seemed to have the same idea and took off for a better vantage point. Luckily she didn’t see anyone.

“Everyone knows the paladins.” The alien, frustratingly, still looked more amazed than concerned with Lance’s gun.

“What if I don’t want to go with you?” Lance asked him.

Zelia landed behind the alien. Lance glanced at her to see her ears tilted towards him, meaning nothing around them was of interest. He lowered the gun. If the alien wanted to hurt him, knowing he was a paladin, he would have brought backup. If they were planning on taking him on themselves, best of luck.

“Then you wouldn’t have to.” They said.

They sounded serious. Lance debated for a moment about what he should do. On the one hand, he has been delayed enough, but on the other isn’t this the point? Getting planet’s motivated to defend themself so they don’t need to rely on an all powerful protector like Voltron?

“Ok.” Lance said with a sigh. “Take me to your leader I guess.”

“Perfect!” The alien said. “But just so you know it’s more of a counsel-”

“Yeah, that would be funny if you were from my planet. Trust me.”

Chapter Text

“Start training level eight.” Keith panted.

The room whirled as everything started back up, Keith braced himself before going into the fray of droids. Everything hurts. He keeps throwing himself around the training room because if he stops then he thinks about Lance, and if he thinks about Lance then he gets angry, and when he gets angry he thinks about Shiro, which makes him even more angry. A droid gets a nasty kick in his ribs and it slams him into a wall winding him. He has a brief moment of panic where he thinks he won’t be able to stand on time when a voice rings out.

“End training sequence.”

Keith is relieved and annoyed to see his mom. He would rather talk to her than anyone else right now because she at least makes sense. Everyone else is acting batshit crazy. His mother watches him from her spot in the door, somehow giving off annoyance from her stance. Is that what all moms are able to do?

“I’m fine.” Keith grits out between his clenched teeth.

“You are lying on the floor.” She points out deadpan.

He waves a dismissive hand in the air and hears her sigh. There are footsteps sounding across the room and a shuffling noise before his mom joins him on the floor. He tilts his head to look at her, only to find her staring at the ceiling. He feels weirdly supported by her joining him on the floor.

“You have been different since we have been here.” She says to the ceiling.

Keith sighs and joins her in examining the roof.

“Yeah, I guess.” Keith admits begrudgingly.

“Is it because of that boy you are missing?” She asks.

Keith closes his eyes and sighs. He never… explicitly said anything to his mother. She was able to pick up on it regardless. She takes that as an answer thankfully. They lie in silence for a couple minutes before she says.

“This team is not what you described.”

“I know.” He tells her. “They all seem… different.”

“Perhaps it is what happens.” She offers. “People change, it is the natural order of things.”

“Not like this.” He admits quietly. “Not this quickly, not to my friends, not to…”

He trails off. He has been hesitant to tell anyone about his concerns. Worried they were going to brush him off, invalidate his feelings. But his mom… isn’t that what mother’s were supposed to do? Trust you unconditionally, love you unconditionally? She knew him better than anyone on the team at least. Based on that alone she should take his word over theirs, but people tend to trust Allura and Shiro instinctively. What if she thought he was crazy? Or was making it up?

She doesn’t push him. Just let’s the two of them exist in silence. He finds it weirdly comforting, reminiscent of their time on the space whale. They talked, of course they talked, but they never felt like they had to. He was able to read her body language better than he thought he would be able to, and she could do the same to him. He quickly adapted her mannerisms, finding them helpful with his twitchy fingers, and angry mannerisms. He saw her do the same, starting to cross her arms when she was frustrated, and including human slang into her dialogue. He has only admitted it to himself a few times, something about saying the words out loud makes them seem too real, too scary. The light eventually timeout without movement in the training room, and it’s only in the dark where even then he has to close his eyes, where he doesn’t take to acknowledge anyone is listening that he is able to admit outloud.

“I am in love with Lance.” He said quietly, so quiet he knew if his mother wasn't Galra she wouldn’t hear him. “And something is wrong with Shiro.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance does get into the capital of the planet. It’s hidden between two giant mountains made of sandstone. He thinks it looks super cool, almost like an oasis without any of the plants. The streets are made of decorative tile and a lot of detail on everything. It almost makes him feel as if he is walking through an ancient Egyptian town. Everything was too dry though, making him crave an ocean, any ocean.

He met with the council and was surprised to find Gorm was actually a pretty high ranking member. He would have taken him for a crazy advisor who likes conspiracies. Zelia wearily watches them as Lance feels as if he is on trial. The counsel was made of eight aliens all looking like different species. From what he could tell each were from different areas of the planet where the temperature changes lead to different species thriving. They were openly discussed the pros and cons of training people as warriors in front of him.

“It is dangerous! Just look at him-”

“I think he is quite handsome-”

“He has been wounded so badly he still bears the marks. Is that what we want for our people-?”

“Regardless there should be a system-”

“Um, can I cut in?” Lance asks hesitantly.

All eight sets of eyes of the council turn to look at him. He resisted the urge to shiver, he hates eye contact.

“I would be happy to help anyone who wants to learn to shoot, but I am really not qualified to set up an entire army.”

“See how humble the paladin is?” Grom gestures to him like he just proved his point.

“Uh-” Lance is cut off.

“Of course he is!” One of the councilmen cries. “He is a paladin! He is trained to be humble!”

“That’s not exactly-” He tries again.

“Regardless, we don't know his true intentions.” Another counsel member chimed in. “We don’t know if he would train our people to benefit us.”

“Hey! I-”

“There is one thing we could try.” Another, seemingly older councilman said. “We could see his quintessence. See what he is made of.”

“That is a wonderful idea!” Grom says, clasping his hands together and seeming very excited. “I can take him to get it done now.”

“Do I get a say-?”

“That is a good idea.” The older councilman says and they start to disperse. “We can reconsider following the results.”

“Splendid!” Grom clasped his hands together. “Lance come.”

Lance wanted to protest but Grom was already disappearing down a hallway. He gave a hurried goodbye to the rest of the counsel before hurrying after Grom. He saw him down the hall and gave chase. Zelia clinging tighter to his shoulder as he chased him.

“Grom!” Lance said and the alien smiled over his shoulder.

“Lance come!” Grom said happily. “You must meet Nefertari! He can take you to the Bouqair.”

“Bouqair?” Lance asks, finally catching up.

Grom nods. “They are able to see the colour of your quintessence as well as manipulate the quintessence around us. Once they are trained of course. Nefertari is really quintessence sensitive, but he chose not to train in it. So he can be with you in the ritual, and he will be able to see your quintessence.”

"Can everyone see their quintessence?" Lance asked

“Nope,” He said, “You find out if you are quintessence sensitive when you find out the colour of your quintessence. I couldn’t see anything for mine and apparently it was an extremely bright colour.”

“What colour is it?” Lance asked. “Or is that a personal question? Can I ask that? I am sorry.”

Grom smiled. “It’s fine. Mine was yellow with a bit of red.”

Lance whistled. “Nice! That sounds really cool.”

Lance had a moment to worry that it was offensive or too personal to say that about someone's quintessence before they rounded the corner to the lab. There was some sort of music blaring from somewhere and Lance could hear a voice singing off key to it. Grom winced and smacked what looked like a regular panel of the wall and the music turned off, leaving only the voice singing by himself.

“Hey!” Someone said as they slid out from what looked like a giant oven. “I was listening to that!”

Lance’s eyes grew wide when he saw the person. It was a boy who looked a little older than him. He was definitely the most human looking alien he has seen. He was handsome. Pale skin, brown hair, high cheekbones but what got Lance was his eyes. They were green, not like a neon green but brighter than they had any right to be. They were currently looking at him in a glare that then melted into confusion.

“Who is this?” The man asked, confused.

He was covered in a layer of soot. Looking like he had gotten electrocuted and continued working. He had welding goggles pushed up into his hair. He tilted his head like a puppy and Lance couldn’t help but find it adorable.

“This is Lance.” Grom said, pushing him forward, unafraid of Zelia hissing on his shoulder. “You need to take him to the Bouqair.”

Nefertari rolled his eyes and flopped back onto his little mat about to pull himself back under the vehicle.

“Nefertari wait.” Grom says and he waits squinting his eyes at him. “He is a paladin.”

“Oh well if he is a paladin.” Nefertari says and starts muttering to himself as he rolls back under the machine. “Privileged upper class folk thinking I can spare the time to babysit some paladin- take him yourself Grom! I am busy! Because I actually work. Unlike most of the brainless people here.”

“Nefertari.” Grom says with a sigh. “Come on. Only those who are quintessence sensitive can take someone to get tested, we know this.”

“Um it’s ok.” Lance says hesitantly.

“Just-hang on.” Grom tells him. “How much will it cost, Nefertari?”

“You cannot buy me!” Nefertari calls, there is a noise as he starts working under the vehicle. “I am not a prostitute, and you would never be able to afford me anyway!”

Lance snorts and tries to play it off as a cough.

“We will… add 10% to your funding.” Grom says begrudgingly.

“You cannot buy me!” Nefertari repeats. “Turn the music back on on your way out.”

“20%.” Grom says.

“Don’t insult me!”

“30% and… and you can get your lab back.”

This caused Nefertari to roll back out from under the vehicle. He bent one knee and slung an arm over it and squinted at Grom.

“35% I get my lab back and I get to be there when you tell Ahmose.”

“Nefertari that is completely-” Grom cuts himself back off as Nefertari flops back onto the mat with a roll of his eyes. “Fine! Fine! Done!”

Nefertari sits back back up with a grin. Lance swears he can see Grom’s eye twitch before he collects himself and turns to look at Lance with a slightly forced smile.

“Nefertari shall take you to the Bouqair.” He said. “I wish you the best of luck and will see you later.”

“Ok.” Lance says. “Thank you.”

Nefertari looks him up and down. Lance gets the feeling he is examining him rather than checking him out. He can’t decide what he would prefer.

“So you are a paladin.” He says more to himself. “Fascinating. Can I ask what made you qualified?”

“Uh…” Lance says. “Nothing?”

“Interesting.” He says.

He hauls himself up to his feet, seeming to lean heavily onto the table once he did. He grabbed a tablet and started typing rapidly.

“You are in luck.” He says not looking up at Lance. “I was actually speaking with them earlier, now the weather has shifted on our planet we could potentially look for more crystals. Which would mean less relying on natural sources for energy! Well I guess the crystals count as natural energy sources but you know what I mean. Anyway, one of the nearby planets is supposed to- Oh hey!”

Lance was confused if slightly in awe of how Nefertari’s brain worked. “What?”

“We are in luck! The Boquair council is meeting right now!” He grabbed something Lance realised was some sort of crutch and somehow managed to put it under his arms while balancing the tablet and grabbing Lance.

He started chatting animatedly as he fiddled with the tablet and led Lance down the hall. Lance noted one of his legs moved stiffly, but with the help of the crutch Lance had to move quickly to keep up.

“-I just need to fine tune the transmission to allow the-Oh! You have a pet!” He looked delighted when he spotted Zelia. “Wow, what a beauty. We should see if we can get her quintessence tested as well. I wonder how we can- oh wait maybe your quintessence could work for this new prototype! I was hoping to make some sort of prototype lazer sword!”

“A lightsaber!” Lance exclaimed, getting caught in the boy's excitement.

“Yes! Yes I suppose.” Nefertari said, confused but matching Lance’s energy. “A saber made of light!”

Nefertari was impressively not looking and avoiding everything in his way. He has left the building and was now walking down busy winding streets with his head buried in the tablet and keeping a conversation with Lance. He seemed to know the way without looking, guiding Lance through the twisted roads and avoiding the aliens going about their day to day business.

“And here we are!” Nefertari said, stopping in the middle of the street, Lance almost running into him.

They had stopped in front of a building that stood separate from the others. It was made of the same sand coloured clay as the rest of the buildings, but it stood alone. Lance thought it looked like a huge igloo, it was round with an entrance that jutted out with an arch. There were people milling around the building but none entered or left it.

“Well,” Nefertari held open the purple curtain at the entrance. “Come on.”

Lance followed with nervous excitement. There was a small entrance way and another curtain blocking what Lance assumed was the main room. Nefertari instructed him to remove his socks and boots, something about grounding him to the planet. Zelia curled up over top of them when he took them off, he assumed she would not be joining them in the next room. He gave a small shutter when the soles of his feet hit the cold sand. He, thankfully, bypassed the armour today but had to wait for Nefertari to remove his layers of belts and tools before he pulled back the heavier black curtain to the next room. He gave Zelia a pat on her head as he walked by her.

Lance felt his breath catch in his throat. The room looked like a void. There was a single lanturn in the middle. The lantern reflected six people sitting in a circle around it. They were talking quietly and Lance thought they hadn’t noticed him yet.

He looked around the room and was surprised that he could not see the walls. He knew he was standing right in front of the curtain, but it blocked out the soft purple illumination from the room before. It seemed like he was standing in a void.

“Come on!” Nefertari said excitedly as he grabbed Lance’s forearm and dragged him towards the group.

“Hey everyone!” Nefertari said as he took a seat on the empty spot in the sand carefully lowering himself down with his crutch then dragging Lance down with him. “This is Lance, he is a Paladin of Voltron!”

“It is nice to meet you Lance,” The oldest Lady sitting said. “My name is Drogak, I am the head Boquair.”

Her face was wrinkled and worn from the sun, but Lance thought she looked kind. She had many piercings covering her ears, and a nose ring and long pieces of hair peeking out from her robe.

“Hi,” Lance suddenly felt nervous sitting in front of everyone.

“There is no need to be scared.” The girl said sitting next to him, her hair a deep red and she looked to be around the same age as Nefertari.

“I am not…” Lance trailed off. “Maybe a little.”

“Coula stop scaring him.” Nefertari said, lightly hitting her with his crutch.

“I was just saying-”

“Nefertari is correct,” Drogak cut her off, she huffed and rolled her eyes. “Lance doesn’t know what to expect, it is natural to be a little nervous.”

“Anyway,” Nefertari said and pointed back at Coula. “That’s Coula and her mother Yaclive.” He pointed to the older alien sitting next to Coula with matching hair and eyes. “Skaglm, and Trulux.” He pointed to the two yellow haired aliens beside Yaclive. “Drogak of course and Swofrit.” He pointed to the final black haired alien.

“We have just finished our meeting,” Drogak said after introductions. “We can get started whenever you are ready Lance.”

“Ok um.” Lance shifted on the ground. “What do I do?”

“Just relax.” Nefertari said, “It will feel like water running over you, you may feel a bit warm, but it honestly doesn't hurt.”

Lance nodded, forcing himself to relax a bit and evening his breath. “Ok. I am ready.”

“Good.” Drogak said.

Lance saw Swofrit flick his wrist and the lantern in the middle went out with a woosh. Lance sat in the dark not sure what to expect when there was a sudden instrumental sound. It sounded as if a bunch of string instruments were in the room. Lance craned his head to try to find where the sound was coming from and realised it was coming from the people in the circle around him.

Lance didn’t have long to dwell on it before he felt as though warm water was being poured over his head. He couldn’t help himself from holding his breath as the feeling went slowly over his face and chest till it reached the end of his fingers and toes.

Then it kept going. Lance gasped as he saw colours shoot out of his fingers. It looked like a rainbow, blue, red, green, yellow, purple, orange, pink, even white in various shades. He was staring in awe as the room filled up with the various colours filled the room. It almost looked like he was in the middle of a nebula. The colours looked like cosmic dust and filled up almost all of the room. The void he saw earlier wove in between the colours as the music got louder. Lance reached up a hand curiously to see if he could feel it and was surprised it moved, shifting in ripples around his hand as if he dipped his hand into a puddle. He looked over at Nefertari, to see the alien looking shocked by the colours. Lance suddenly felt self conscious as everyone seemed to be giving the same look around the room.

He felt as though he shouldn’t say anything though he was dying to ask if his quintessence was normal or ok. He was kind of scared he hurt it when he died and was brought back. The colours started to shift and move. The colours blended together and slowly came back towards Lance. Lance felt a brief tingle where the dust touched his skin and glowed for a second before disappearing.

Once all of Lance’s quintessence was back, in him he guessed. The room was silent. It stretched to the point Lance felt he had to say something when the Lantern flicked on in the middle of the group. Everyone had their eyes glued to Lance and he shrunk back a little when he realised.

“Um…” Lance started. “Was everything ok? Is it not supposed to be that many colours?”

“Lance,” Nefertari breathed eyes wide. “That was… that was incredible. Could you see it?”

Lance nodded. “It looked like dust right?”

“Lance.” Drogak said and Lance slid his eyes over to her. “I have never seen quintessence like that.”

“In a good way?” Lance asked nervously.

“In an amazing way,” Trulux said. “I am truly honoured to be a part of that. I have never seen so many colours in one’s quintessence. I never thought I would see black quintessence in my life.”

“Black?” Lance asked, “There was no black.”

“There was.” Nefertari said, “You don’t know what to see I guess but since you saw the other colour’s right? I guess the black looked like the shadows that are in here, but the quintessence always covers the shadows. Any black you saw was your quintessence.”

“Oh…” Lance trailed off.

He guessed having black quintessence and it being rare made sense. Not everyone was able to pilot the black lion. Neither was he though? Maybe quintessence colour didn’t have to match the lion.

“You are incredibly well rounded Lance.” Trulux stated. “There have only been legends of people having quintessence of all colours.”

“I-um, than-thank you.” Lance stuttered, feeling himself blush harshly.

“Well!” Nefertari clapped his hands together. “We now have to find you a crystal that will match your quintessence. I actually think we have a few that will work.”

Nefertari hauled himself off the sand with his cane and started mumbling to himself excitedly about crystals and energy sources.

“Um, do you know why I would have so many colours?” Lance asked, hoping Nefertari would notice he wasn’t following him as he pulled back the curtain.

“It could be because you-” Drogak was cut off with Zelia’s screech as she zoomed into the room.

She flew above Lance’s head and glared at the alien’s sitting around him. Lance heard a charging sound as electricity cracked through her feathers.

“Zee!” Lance held up his hand, not quite touching her but hovering under her chest. “It’s ok! They are friendly. “

She gave a final growl before landing on Lance’s shoulder, thankfully she understood her lightning could hurt him and turned it off. She continued to glare at the alien’s sitting around him, her eyes reflecting the lantern in the middle.

“Sorry about her,” Lance apologised, raising his hand to pet her. “She can be over protective.”

“Is-is that a xariom?” Swofrit asked, giving the same shocked look he was used to seeing with Zelia.

“I am pretty sure.” Lance said, he thinks that’s what Strom called her, he raised a hand to pet her absently. “Her name is Zelia.”

“I-thats-You have bonded with-you have named a-why did no one tell us?” Skaglm asked.

“She is just over protective.” Lance said defensively. “She won't attack unless I tell her to or she feels herself or I am being threatened. I think.”

“That… that makes sense.” Drogak said. “Your quintessence is the most well rounded I have ever seen. Ever even heard of. It is extremely rare for someone to have more than three colours in their quintessence, even then they are never as balanced as I just saw in yours.”

“What does that mean for me?” Lance asked, slightly nervous.

“I do not know.” Drogak said honestly, “Nothing bad, definitely nothing bad. Quintessence colour implies things, they aren’t written in stone. We do not know what it means for you. When one has multiple colours in their quintessence it implies they have multiple skills, with… yours I imagine it implies you can be whatever you need to be.”

“So a Jack of all trades master of none situation.” Lance said, mostly to himself.

It kinda made sense. He was always able to scrape by in whatever he did, never the best but he was always proficient. He was kind of hoping seeing his quintessence would give him some sort of aha moment. Tell him what he would excel at, or something. But it just told him what he always knew, he is just there to replace someone better.

“I… do not know that saying.” Trulux said carefully. “However, we have one similar. ‘Accomplishment in a singular domain, shall never surpass the one whose skills are valued in every situation.’”

Lance hummed in response. “Well, thank you.” He stood up and gave them a nod. “I should probably see if I can find Nefertari before he gets too far.”

He bid them goodbye and went where he remembered the curtain to be. The group started murmuring behind him as he felt around for the curtain. He drew it back and was relieved to see Nefertari mumbling to himself and typing away on his tablet. He looked up as the curtain was pulled back.

“Lance!” He exclaimed, “Did you get your answers?”

Did he? It just confirmed everything he already knew in his opinion, but he knew he would hold onto the faith everyone had in him.

“I… think so.” Lance said as he slipped on the socks and shoes he wore.

“Good.” He grinned at him. “Well we need to head over to where we store the crystals.”

Nefertari held the curtain open for him and Zelia, following him into the street and continuing his chatter while typing on his tablet. He asked Lance’s thoughts about the creation of his lazersword, which led to Lance attempting to explain Star Wars as they wandered through the streets.

“They sound like interesting ‘movies’ as you say,” Nefertari said after Lance gave him a summary of the series. “The technology is quite interesting. Do you know about how these lightsaber’s work?”

“Not completely,” Lance admits, “But I imagine if you could build a handle for your prototype you could make something even better.”

“True, quite true.” Nefertari led them down an alley, “The place is just over-here it is!”

They had stopped outside a random door. It looked similar to the base Lance had been staying at. Nefertari motioned for him to enter once he opened the door. Zelia let out a low growl when they entered the room. It looked like one of the shops Rachel made him enter when she was going through her crystal phase. Though these all looked the exact same, just in various shapes and sizes, all faintly glowing a light blue. They were in various jars and on strings strewn all over the small room.

“Does… someone work here?” asked Lance as Nefertari closed the door.

“No,” Nefertari said, “These are basically just pretty things to look at unless they mirror your quintessence, or of course they are pure white quintessence. As you know it melds with all quintessence colours, obviously.”

“So… how do I find one that matches me?”

“For people who are not quintessence sensitive we make them touch all the crystals until they feel a connection. Since you seem to be quintessence sensitive, just go to whatever one's are calling to you.”

“Calling to me?” Lance asked, Zelia had moved from his shoulder to snooping around on the shelves.

“Yeah, just whatever crystal you seem to be drawn to.”

Lance nodded, he looked around the room. None of the crystals seemed to stand out to him. They were all pretty. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Trying to concentrate and be able to focus on anything he felt attached to. He tugged on his link with Red playfully, she grumbled in his head and he smiled. He felt a more faint bond, he gently reached out to it and felt a familiar presence. Cooling and soothing like a swim on a hot day Blue. He felt her affection wash over him for a moment, he gasped at her relief as it washed over him, almost knocking him off his feet. She then purred in his mind soothing his sunwarmed body and calming his mind before he released it.

“-ance, Lance!” he startled at his name being called.

He opened his eyes to find Nefertari an inch away from his face.

“Woah!” He jumped back. “What are you doing?”

“You zoned out for a solid couple of minutes there.” Nefertari explained, “But it looked like you found your crystal!”

Lance blinked, he realised his hand was clutching a crystal. He didn’t remember grabbing it, it fit nicely in his palm and felt slightly cool to the touch.

“Perfect! That is the ideal size for the-uh-light-saber!” Nefertari said, moving Lance’s palm to examine it without touching it. “I already have a mechanism. I will only have to adapt a little bit to fit this crystal. It looks like your xariom has found her crystal too!”

Lance looked over to see Zelia gnawing on one of the crystals.

“Can she keep that?” Lance asked.

“Of course!” Nefertari said. “I actually have an idea for a collar for an animal of a similar size I was hoping to try out. When the animal senses some sort of concern for their safety, their quintessence spike activates the crystal to shield the area of concern on their body.”

“That's… oddly convenient.” Lance said slowly.

“I know!” Nefertari explained. “Here,” He passed Lance three more crystals. “These stones mirror the one you are holding. We have collected balanced quintessence crystals for centuries. The one you picked has been rumoured to have been around for millenia.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lance went to put it back. “I didn’t know-”

“No, keep it!” Nefertari stopped him before he could place the crystal back. “It has been waiting for you!”

“Waiting… for me?” Lance asked.

“For its quintessence match.” Nefertari nodded.

“O-kay…” Lance turned the crystal over in his palm. “What about those other ones you are holding? If we are going to use one of the crystals for the knives, what would I need more for?”

“I imagine there are other more advanced societies you will come across in your travels.” Lance felt the unfamiliar twinge in his stomach at that. “There are endless possibilities with your quintessence!”

“Ok, ok.” Lance accepted the crystals and put them in the pocket on his pants.

“We should head back,” Nefertari said typing again at his tablet. “Grom has messaged me, he needs you to come so they can see if you are qualified to-train people? Hm… we shall see when we return.”

Zelia curled up in his arms. Demanding some of his attention. She has gotten really needy since Pedro joined their little squad. She faced ahead of them but Lance could tell by how rythmaic her purring had gotten with her breathing that she was dozing. Her ears were flicking around whenever they passed something new, sensitive to all the new noises. They somehow got onto the topic of magnets and Nefertari was fascinated by them.

“It’s like the different charges from the ‘pole’ on the magnet from the way the electrons are spinning.” Lance explains, remembering a sixth grade science class.

“Ah fascinating.” Nefertari says looking like there are stars in his eyes. “The size and shape of this magnet would help determine it’s strength, yes?”

“Yeah!” Lance said excitedly. “On earth we use weaker magnets as decorations, but stronger ones are used to pick up vehicles.”

“The different uses for the same object is fascinating.” Nefertari agrees with a smile.

They finally reach the building. Nefertari holds the door open for him as Zelia acts like dead weight in his arms and he sheepishly goes inside.

“Well this has been a pleasure.” Nefertari nods to him. “The council room is down that hall on your right, I trust you will recognize the door. Forgive me if I don’t escort you, today has had… more movement than I am used to.”

He drummed his fingers on his crutch to draw attention to it and nodded to Lance as he started down the hall. Seeming ready to disappear.

“Oh ok.” Lance says watching him limp down the hall. “Bye?”

Nefertari throws a hand in the air like a poor imitation of a wave and Lance smiles, even though he is a bit baffled. He makes his way to the council room, certain that people are going to be in there right? Who would just hangout in the council room. He is proven wrong when he opens the door to what looks like a party.

There is no music playing but there seems to be a buffet set up in the middle of the room. Lance politely smiles at a couple people when they turn to see him wrestling Zelia back in his arms when she tries to break for the food. The commotion thankfully altered Grom who comes over to see what was happening.

“Ah Mr. Paladin!” He exclaims happily. “You are back!”

“Uh yeah.” Lance says, his attention still on his squirmy cat. “Hi.”

He flinches when Zelia pretends to bite him. Just resting her teeth on his hand, she wouldn’t actually bite him but she likes to think she would.

“How did it go?” He asks.

“Oh it went well I think.” Lance tells him, holding Zelia in front of him in air jail. “I got to see the-”

“See?!” Grom asks excitedly. “That’s incredible!”

“Yeah it was pretty cool.” Lance says with a smile.

“I apologize I interrupted you.” Grom says, sounding sincere but he is grinning widely. “What colour was your quintessence?”

“All of them.” Lance tells him with a shy smile, he’s weirdly bashful about it.

Grom’s smile only grows. “That’s incredible! We must inform the council immediately!”

He grabs Lance’s arm, jarring it he is forced to let go of Zelia with it but he quickly pins her under his armpit. She sighs dramatically and growls as they are dragged through the room. Grom finds the councillors and starts bragging about how he was right. The council seems begrudgingly impressed and begins talking specifics about where Lance is to train people and when. Lance starts to tune out. He begins people watching everyone in the room as they hash out the details.

There is a variety of species in the room which he thinks is interesting. Majority look like Grom, with scales and huge eyes. There are others who are a variety of hues in pinks and reds with mono colour eyes, and a dash of blue across the bridge of their nose stretching under their eyes and yellow to orange hair that seems to defy gravity. They are all really pretty and Lance grins at one he makes eye contact with one of them who offers a sly smile back over their cup before Grom pulls him back into the conversation.

“How does that sound to you Lance?”

“Oh um, great.” Lance says, not knowing what he is talking about. “Whatever is easiest for you guys.”

“Wonderful!” Grom claps his hands together and the other councillors look pleased.

“You will spend a month training our designated leaders in how to train people for battle.” Grom says like he knows Lance wasn’t paying attention. “Then another month making sure they are able to follow what you have taught them.”

“Well that seems-?”

“Do you need more time?”

“No no.” Lance says, shaking his head.

He contemplates for a moment. He could always leave earlier if he needs to. It would be nice to be able to settle for a moment and catch his breath. He is still recuperating from his time being held captive. It would be nice to socialise with someone other than Red and his cat, Pedro isn’t really into socialisation.

What do you think Beautiful? Lance asks Red, Should we help them out?

You choose, Red tells him, What you want.

Red is extremely unhelpful.

She purrs amused in his head and he sighs. He really should be getting back to Voltron, but the longer it takes the easier it is to stay away.

“Ok.” Lance tells them. “It sounds like a plan.”

Chapter Text

“Lance McLain Log 8.” Lance says as he adjusts the camera.

Zelia knocked it over when she was chasing Pedro about 5 minutes ago. They disappeared into the back of the ship, Pedro somehow surfing on one of the golden fish. Lance had sat baffled for a minute before shaking himself out of it and going to look for them but they had disappeared, probably into the wall. Red assured them they are safe so he trusted her.

“Um… I started training people a couple days ago.” He holds up his hand as if pausing someone from interrupting. “I know. I know. I am not good at the whole planning and demonstrating thing, that’s more for Shiro. I prefaced that heavily but they all want to know my thought process so I am teaching them.”

Lance drums his finger’s on the chair, unable to look directly at the camera. “Um… one of the guards has been teaching me some moves in exchange. She’s pretty cool, and is teaching me how to use different swords. I didn’t realise they would be so heavy.”

Lance leans back in the chair, rubbing his bicep where it is sore from using a heavy sword he needed two hands to swing. It was pretty fun he will admit but he isn’t a fan of the sire muscles.

“I think I am pretty close to getting a lightsaber.” Lance tells the camera with a grin. “Me and Nefertari, he’s the main inventor guy here, are using magnets and these stone things that hold quintessence to create a concentrated beam of quintessence.”

Lance moves his hands as if there is an orb in it. Nefertari has a machine that uses quintessence as a source to levitate things, tracking the movement of his hands to do the delicate work of making these. He flushes when he notices and clasps his hands together.

“Uh yeah.” Lance says scratching the back of his head. “It’s not just for fun, I promise. The concept of the lazer blade means that it won’t get dull, as long as maintenance with the handle regarding the stone and quintessence flow is consistent I think it could last for a lot longer than a regular blade.”

He sighs and leans back on his seat. “I should probably go. I have… uh, plans with a friend.”

He gives a backwards peace sign to the camera. “Lance out.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith storms across the courtyard he is in. They just helped liberate another planet from the Galra, these bird-like people threw a party in their honour that Allura insisted would be good for morale. Except, shocker, Lance was always the one who loved parties so the rest of the Paladins were in weird moods.

Allura seemed to sense her mistake about an hour in and has a forced smile on her face as she tries to make small talk with one of the young royals around her age. From what Keith was able to eavesdrop they were trying to ask her about her favorite leisure activities such as games and social activities. Unfortunately for Allura she is always in business mode and tries to steer their conversation back to the war which the royal quickly brushes off.

Coran has disappeared which Keith is immensely jealous of. Claiming he had repairs he had to do back at the castle which everyone accepted.

Last time he saw Pidge they were crawling under one of the fancy tablecloths with their computer. There was a glow coming from under the table but Keith decided to let it be.

Hunk looked miserable. Everytime someone made a joke or tried to flirt with him or someone around him he almost burst into tears. He saw him have to excuse himself when an alien did a gesture too similar to a finger gun.

Shiro looked like he was fine. Talking respectfully to the leaders as they watched over the party. He seemed to be doing a fine job of promoting Voltron and talking about more pleasant topics. The leader’s were listening even though they all looked a bit bored.

Keith was, in his opinion, wisely leaving before he hit someone in the face. He had whined to Romelle before leaving, something he will never admit. Asking her if she would be willing to break his leg or stab him, ethically he could just be put into the pod. She had looked horrified at the suggestion and hadn’t let him out of her sigh until he left for the party.

He sighed as he looked around. This planet was a jungle planet. The trees were big, but not as colossal as other planets. He can’t remember the name of it and though he didn’t care just the thought gave a little pang in his chest. Lance had always loved doing as much research about a planet before they went to it. He always knew the name, and had usually done a bunch of research beforehand.

He had reached some sort of courtyard. There was a fire blazing around a bunch of stone seats set into the ground. On top of all the seats was a thick cushion Keith thought looked very plush. He was proven right as he sat onto one. He sighed trying to relax. This night had sucked, immensely.

Not only had the people seemed to notice Red was missing, which yeah no shit Keith had been telling Shiro and Allura that since he got back. They wouldn’t stop pressing until Keith snapped at them to mind their own business. It had also come out that Keith was half Galra so he had been getting a lot of rude remarks, glares, and people 'accidentally’ running into him. Lance was usually the one to tell them to knock it off but, oh yeah, he is missing.

He angrily took off the vest Allura and Romelle had forced him into. It was digging into his side and he hates it. He was tempted to throw it into the fire, but decided that it was not worth the fight it would result in. He flops onto his back on the seat looking up through the jungle canopy to the stars. It was really pretty. The sky was full of stars, more than he was ever able to see from earth. There were no constellations he recognized.

Lance and him had made a game of making up new constellations whenever they were stargazing on new planets. It was a lot of fun doing it with Lance, Keith was even able to see account shapes he pointed out. Now he couldn’t imagine the dots making any sort of pattern and he wanted to cut something.

He tries to calm himself down using the breathing techniques Shiro had shown him once upon a time back on earth. He was starting to feel like that moody child again. Being with his mom had settled something in him. A fire he had never known he needed to be soothed. Now someone had lit a different fire in his chest that the loss of Lance was fanning like a storm. Making him more irritable and quick to anger.

He felt himself tensing again and pointedly relaxed his body. He was far enough away from the party that the music and the murmur of the crows had faded. Instead he could hear the symphony of the forest. He had never been somewhere tropical on earth, but he saw a movie about it once. The noise were oddly soothing, some sort of rustling noise above him, something small like a squirrel, there were different birds calling to each other in the distance. Keith could hear the bubbling of a creek nearby and something that sounded like a frog.

The noises soothed him, calming him down in a way his breathing techniques couldn’t.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith wasn’t sure when he fell asleep but he woke up slowly. He feels really relaxed and he can’t quite figure out why. He feels a hand card through his hair and it weirdly doesn’t incite the panic it should. He opens his eyes and can see a muted rainbow colour covering everything. Weird.

There is a chuckle from the person Keith now realises his head was in the lap of. A very familiar voice making the noise. Keith relaxes further and turns to lie on his back knowing whose face he was going to see.

He is proven right when he sees Lance smiling down at him, a hand still carding through his hair.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” He says with a grin.

Keith reaches up to tug on a piece of Lance's hair. “Your hair is longer.”

“Ever the observant one.” Lance says, catching his hand and placing a kiss on the back of it.

Keith laces their fingers together and brings Lances hand down to repeat the motion to Lances own hand. He lays their intertwined hands on his chest and just takes him in.

“Did you ever want a pet?” Lance asks, tilting his head.

“Uh… I don’t know?” Keith said. “I never thought about it. I guess I never stayed in one place long enough to want one. But I have a dog now. I named him Kosmo because I thought you would want him to have a name.”

“You weren’t going to name him yourself?” Lance says, sounding bewildered. “How would you call him?”

“I wouldn’t.” Keith said, sounding even more confused than Lance. “He’s a dog, he can’t answer a phone.”

“Call him to come to you dumbass.” Lance says, flicking his nose with the hand previously in his hair.

Keith pouts. “He doesn’t really do that. Just teleports wherever he wants.”

He delights in the fact his dream is able to perfectly capture Lance's face when he is blue screening. Keith can all but see a loading symbol above his head.

“Plus he is more of a wolf-”

“Yeah I am going to need you to stop dude.” Lance tells him. “You’re trying to tell me you have a wolf that teleports? Named Kosmo? Like from those old marvel movies? With the space dog?”

“... I didn’t think anyone would make the connection.” Keith protests.

Lance laughs, jostling Keith where his head is still in his lap. Keith can’t say he minds. He has always loved Lance’s laugh. He covers his mouth with his free hand and dissolves into giggles. He looks back at Keith and his eyes are sparkling.

Keith almost instinctively takes Lance’s hand and replaces it with his mouth. Lance smiles against his mouth wrapping his arms around Keith’s back and letting him push him back onto the pillows. Keith licks his way into Lance's mouth to deepen the kiss, Lance eagerly letting him.

Lance eventually starts giggling again against his mouth this time and Keith can’t help the smile that grows on his own face. He breaks the kiss and buries his face in Lance’s neck as he laughs loudly. Keith tries to hide his smile but is sure Lance can feel it being pressed into his shoulder.

His giggles calm down and he starts stroking Keith’s back. Keith sighs at the touch feeling comforted. He really likes these dreams.

“Have you ever been to a rainforest?” Keith asks and he feels Lance chuckle.

“Keith…” He says teasing. “I grew up in a rainforest.”

“Right.” Keith says with a sigh. “I knew that. That’s probably why it reminds me of you.”

“Always noisy?” Lance guesses. “Or wait. Dangerous, that’s definitely it.”

“No.” Keith tells him. “It’s so… full of life.”

Lance pauses at that, raising his eyebrows. Keith continues, trying to explain himself.

“It is noisy your right, and dangerous but that’s because it is so alive.” Keith finds himself moving his hands like he does when talking to Lance in real life. “There is so much life in it. And it’s all so different. You can walk through it and admire its beauty in the forest, the plants and the animals, but it’s watching you at the same time.”

Lance’s smile grew soft in fond amusement. “You think I watch you?”

Keith felt himself blush which he was a little upset at. Who the hell dreams about being flustered in front of the person they are in love with. He should be cool and confident, sweeping Lance off his feet while waxing poetry about his eyes.

“You know what I mean.” Keith says with a pout.

“I do.” Lance says, placing a kiss on Keith’s forehead that he relishes in. “But I think it’s unfair to the rainforest if you compare us.”

Keith frowns at him again. “How are you even insecure in my dreams?”

“In my dreams.” Lance corrects, jabbing a hand into his side.

Keith barks a laugh and squirms away. He freezes and cautiously looks at Lance who has a shit eating grin on his face.

“Keith…” Lance says slowly. “Are you ticklish?”

“No!” Keith denies quickly, sitting up on the soft bed.

He dimly notes that he and Lance are in the same Red and blue shirts as before. They are also in loose boxer shorts and Keith tries very hard not to think about that. Lance basically tackles him to the bed, Keith has no idea how he got the momentum, and he wriggles his finger’s along Keith’s sides as he laughs. Keith gets a look at Lance’s face when he is tickling him and is tempted to let him continue. Lance’s smile is wide, his eyes lit up with glee as he continues his assault. It’s the face Keith misses the most, the face he fell in love with, and he would like for it to stay. Then Lance moves to his armpits and Keith decides he can look at him later.

It takes him a minute but he is finally able to wrestle Lance onto the bed with his hands pinned over his head. Lance gives him a shit eating grin. Looking happy, with his hair ruffled, and his blue eyes shining and freckles dusted over his nose. He doesn’t look how Keith remembers him, he thinks his brain is contorting the image, like looking through water. But he looks so beautiful, so Lance, that Keith can’t bring himself to care. He leans forward and captures his mouth again. Lance tries to tug his hands away but Keith does not trust him not to tickle him again and keeps them pinned. Lance smiles, reading his mind but doesn’t dissolve back into giggles like before. They make out on the bed lazily, Keith lightly biting Lance’s bottom lip before licking into his mouth.

This is more what Keith expected from his dream. Lazy kisses with the dreamy lighting. He eventually lets go of Lance's hands and he slides them down to Keith’s shoulders. Wrapping them around to drag him closer. Keith likes the press of their chests together. Feeling Lance’s warmth even through their loose shirts. Lance hitches a leg over Keith’s calf as well and Keith groans into Lance’s mouth.

He pulls away to lay on top of him. Lance chuckles as Keith tucks his head under his chin. He curls his legs up to tuck under Lance's thigh. He kind of hates that he is taller than Lance. He had hoped his dreams would let him be his old smaller self. One that could curl into a ball and be surrounded by Lance's arms. Even though he never did. Even though he will never be able to now.

Lance starts carding his hand through his hair and Keith sighs, melting onto him. Keith closes his eyes, relishing in the warm feeling of Lance underneath him. Of being so close to someone he cares so deeply for.

“You are heavy.” Lance comments, shattering the peace.

Keith sighs, incredibly fond. “Do you ever shut up? Just let me enjoy this.”

“Are you not enjoying it now?” Lance questions, bringing his hand up to scratch at Keith’s head.

“Shuddup.” Keith mumbles and Lance laughs.

They eventually grow quiet with Lance pulling Keith close and the two of them relaxing in each other’s presence.

“I don’t know how to do this without you.” Keith admits softly.

“You don’t have to.” Lance tells him. “I’m right here.”

Keith feels an ache in his stomach at the words. Lance isn’t there, that’s the problem. He’s gone. He suddenly feels like crying and buries his face into Lance’s chest. Lance continues scratching his head and Keith tries not to let his tears spill over. He can feel himself waking up, knowing that the sleep calling him was actually the real world and he didn’t want to face it. Didn’t want to leave here where he’s safe. Where Lance is safe.

Despite his best efforts, the calming atmosphere and the safety he feels with Lance holding him, lets him slip into the darkness calling him.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance wakes up disoriented. He knows he isn’t in that bed in the clouds with Keith, but his brain is trying to convince him he is anyway. Colours set into his vision a clay wall, a grey couch and then the memory of what had led to him being here. He sits up with a snort, whipping his head around until he finally sees Nefertari scribbling something in a notebook while reading from a tablet propped up next to him.

He’s sitting in some sort of recliner thing, one section extended for his bad leg giving it leverage. Nefertari doesn’t seem to notice he woke up until Lance groans burying his head in his hands.

Nefertari raises an eyebrow at him. His eyes all but glowing in the dim room. Whatever kind of alien he was has freaky good night vision.

“Mh.” He acknowledges Lance. “Good to see you are awake.”

“Uh, sorry.” Lance says, rubbing his eyes. “This training is taking it out of me.”

“Probably for the best.” Nefertari tells him. “You are-eh-distracting, after you have completed training for the day.”

“Rude.” Lance says.

“You get all ‘You must take a break.’” Nefertari mocks him, waving his hands around mimicking Lance. “‘You cannot work for 10 hours straight.’ Perhaps you just have a ridiculous work ethic Mr. Paladin.”

“You can’t work non stop Nefy.” Lance said, testing the nickname.

Nefertari squinted at the name but didn’t acknowledge it. “Perhaps my kind needs less rest then you hm? Perhaps you are just ignorant.”

“I have found you passed out three times.” Lance tells him. “On your desk where, might I remind you, you keep half finished bombs.”

“Where else am I supposed to put them?” Nefertari protests.

“Somewhere were they can’t kill you in your sleep.”

“So demanding.” Nefertari grumbles and goes back to his notes.

“Hey.” Lance says and pouts. “I thought we were supposed to be hanging out.”

“I am not the one who fell asleep.” Nefertari points out not looking up. “This is simply a good use of time.”

“You could have woken me up.” Lance tells him, a blush rising on his cheeks.

“You seemed to be enjoying your dream.” Nefertari gives him a cheeky look up from his notebook.

Lance blushes deeper and rises from the couch clearing his throat and walking quickly into Nefertari’s small kitchen. “I’m hungry.”

He could basically hear Nefertari roll his eyes as Lance looked in his cupboards for something familiar. He found some cracker type thing and brought it with him into the living room. Nefertari was still scribbling in his notebook.

“Do you ever stop?” Lance complained, throwing a cracker at him and earning a glare.

“Not all of us have the luxury of time.” Nefertari says absently.

Lance snaps his mouth shut, there is an awkward silence before Lance says. “Right. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Nefertari sounds unbothered. “It’s a fact.”

“... I still think you should stop for the night.”

This got a loud and dramatic sigh from Nefertari and he snapped his book shut and placed it and the tablet on the small table next to him.

“Fine.” He says looking grumpy. “What did you have in mind?”

“Uh…” Lance tried to think on the spot, he really had not been expecting that to work. “We could go for a walk?”

Nefertari gave him a flat look and Lance nodded. “Yeah. Right. Scratch that. Uh… Oh! We could play two truths and a lie!”

Nefertari tilted his head, looking interested and Lance continued excitedly. “It’s-well-it’s pretty self-explanatory. You tell two true things about yourself and one lie, the other person has to try to guess what the lie is.”

“Seems… boring.” Nefertari tells him.

“It’s super fun.” Lance tells him. “Trust me. I usually play it as a drinking game, but this will be a fun way to get to know each other!”

“Why?” Nefertari asks bluntly.

“Uh cause we are friends.” Lance tells him. “Obviously.”

“Hm.” Nefertari says and declines his chair, hoisting himself up with his crutch. “I think I have something to make this more… entertaining.”

He leaves the room and comes back in a couple of minutes with a clay vase. There is a cork in the top which Nefertari plucks out with ease, setting the vase on the table in front of them.

“I believe this will suffice to make this a ‘drinking game’.” Nefertari eases onto the couch, putting his legs on Lance’s lap without asking.

Lance grins and grabs the bottle, taking a test drink. It tastes like spicy honey. A little two sweet, but he doesn’t have an immediate reaction to it and takes it as a good sign.

“Ok.” Nefertari says making a grabbing motion for the bottle that Lance obliges. “You should go first to give an example.”

“Hmm…” Lance thinks, tapping a finger on his chin dramatically. “I have four older siblings, I have pink hair, and I am a Paladin of Voltron.”

“Wow.” Nefertari dead panned. “I wonder which one is the lie.”

Lance laughed and took a drink as Nefertari passed it back. “That was a warm up round. I was going easy on you. You try smart ass.”

“Ok. I-eh- blew up this building once, both of my parents died in front of me, and I have had a lung replaced.”

“Merida.” Lance says and proceeds to choke on air.

Nefertari watches him struggle for breath for a moment, amusement dancing in his eyes. Lance clears his throat and shakes his head at the wall, not looking at Nefertari even though he can feel him staring.

“Ok, um…” Lance considered. “I think you didn’t watch your parent’s die.”

“Incorrect.” Nefertari tells him and gestures to the bottle. “I have never blown up this specific building. Now drink up.”

Lance takes yet another drink, this may have been a mistake, and gives Nefertari a look. “You made it difficult on purpose.”

“The point of a game is to win is it not?” Nefertari tilts his head.

“Ugh.” Lance says. “Bastard, I’ll be much more difficult then. Uh… I can impersonate people's voices so well I once convinced a teacher they were talking to the principal and they changed my grade, I have been to 27 planets, and Lance is actually not my name.”

“... shit.” Nefertari contemplates while Lance holds out the bottle expectantly. “Your name actually is Lance?”

“EH!” Lance makes a buzzer noise. “Wrong, my name is Alejandro. I lost count of the number of planet's after 60, and I am very good at impressions.”

“Then technically you have been to 27 planets.”

“Shut up and drink up.”

Nefereti obliges and Lance grins. The drink feels more like a caffeinated drink than anything. Maybe it is like a really strong tea?

“Ok uh…” Nefeeriti says, tapping his hands on the bottle. “I… worked at a whore house when I was of age, was only able to work here out of pity, and I have broken my leg.”

“Motherfucker.” Lance tells him and he laughs. “You have never worked at a whore house?”

“Incorrect.” Nefertari says with a grin. “I have never broken my leg.”

“Fuck.” Lance says and takes a deep drink.

The game continues like this for a while. Lance has greatly underestimated Nefertari. The guesses going anywhere from their favorite food to whether or not they have died. Which they both apparently have, for several minutes.

“Oh my god.” Lance says flopping back into the couch, in a weird state between hyper and exhausted. “Your life is so fucked up.”

“So says you.” Nefertari snips back at him. “At least I died because of something reasonable. Your heart stopped because you were electrocuted?”

“Not for long.” Lance tells him dismissively, “And your lungs just what? Gave up? How is that reasonable?”

Nefertari glared at him for a moment before sighing. “If you want to see it that way I suppose.”

“You mean what happened?” Lance asks and Nefertari waves him away.

“Logistics.”

Lance feels a hysterical giggle pop up in his chest before he can stop it. They both end up laughing before they can stop it. Lance flops back onto the couch. The curiosity overwhelms him and he asks.

“Do you have any friends?’’

Nefertari is silent for a moment. “No. I am afraid the road of progress is a lonely one. I have-uh family though.”

“Oh?” Lance asks eager to learn anything about his new friend.

“Yes.” Nefertari tells him. “Both older and younger siblings. Unfortunately. They will not leave me alone.”

Nefertari sounds fond, even if a little annoyed, which Lance understands. Relatives, specifically older siblings, seem to have that effect on everyone.

“They either send letters or just show up when they have not heard from me.” Nefertari tells him exasperated. “It is rather irritable.”

“It’s because they care.” Lance defends, thinking of all the times he had bothered his siblings when they had been MIA. “That’s what you do when you care. You let them know.”

“You said you are the youngest, correct?” Nefertari asks, trying to seem nonchalant.

“Yeah.” Lance sighs.

“That makes sense.” Nefertari tells him. “You are the baby.”

“I am not-!” Lance tries to protest but Nefertari gives him a pitying look.

“You are the youngest.” Nefertari reiterates. “You are always going to be the baby. Your siblings remember when you could not talk. That requires protection from the world whether you want it or not.”

“They don’t protect me.” Lance replies hotly. “I am basically… I am an adult.”

Lance has the horrible realisation that technically his birthday has passed, it’s been the correct amount of days. He has been alive for eighteen years, and no one knows. He may be the only one who knows. He could be the only one who ever knows.

Nefertari sees his turmoil and thankfully doesn’t question him. Just says under his breath. “Still the baby.”

Lance sighs dramatically. He feels a weird knot in his stomach that he tries to ignore.

“Ok, um… I am irrationally scared of the dark, I love to swim, and I have a stuffed animal named Max I slept with every night until I left for school.”

“Oof.” Nefertari says. “Well… we just established you are the baby of your family, so I am inclined to believe both you being scared of the dark and the stuffed toy are true.” Nefertari squints at him. “I feel as though this one is a trick. However I am going to go with, you don’t like to swim.”

“Incorrect.” Lance says cheerfully. “I slept with Max until I was kidnapped by Blue.”

“Blue?” Nefertari asks. “Is that what you call the red lion? Seems odd.”

“No, no.” Lance says, shaking his head and smiling. “I was originally the paladin of the blue lion. I miss her.”

“Ah interesting.” Nefertari says. “Do the lions switch depending on the day?”

“No.” Lance says and he can hear the affection in his own voice. “Our leader went missing and Keith had to step up. He was the right hand of Voltron, literally, Red is the right hand when it is formed. So he stepped up and became a leader. A really good leader actually, his hotheaded tendencies faded when he became the leader, cause believe me, he was very hot headed. Then Blue chose Allura, and she is a fantastic blue paladin, she picked up the flying and manoeuvres way quicker than me. That left Red with me.”

“Left Red with you?” Nefertari asks, tilting his head.

Red was growling in the back of his head, he could sense frustration and he immediately felt guilty. Nefertari looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle as he gazed at him. He seemed to come to a conclusion but didn’t voice it.

“I-...” Lance cut himself off, leg bouncing anxiously. “Another time?”

“Hm, I suppose.” Nefertari said then grinned. “I like your description of your friend Keith.”

Lance felt his face grow bright red and swatted at Nefertari as he laughed at him. “Shut up.”

“He seems like a very… unique individual.” Nefertari tells him, a shit eating grin on his face.

“I-... shut up.” Lance repeats and buries his face in his hands.

Nefertari laughs, sounding delighted.

“I swear I used to be better about hiding my… feelings for Keith.” Lance says.

“Somehow I don’t believe you.”

“Shut up.” Lance whines shoving him.

He freezes for a moment, slightly worried he hurt him, but is reassured when Nefertari responds by shoving him with his foot.

“You remind me of my sister.” Nefertari tells him. “She has been desperately in love with one of her friends for years and refuses to tell him.”

“Really?” Lance says, suspicious he is just telling him what he wants to hear.

“Yes.” Nefertari says, sounding solem. “It is quite pathetic. He also clearly has feelings for her. It is a horrible display to watch. That is what I imagine for you and your Keith.”

“He’s not my Keith.” Lance argues. “He’s… Keith.”

“Sure.”

“Shut up.” Lance hated that he sounded whiney.

He could swear he has had this conversation before with Luis. The uncanniness of it throws him for a moment. They were on the couch in Veronica’s quarters, Hunk and Pidge had been geeking out over something and hadn’t noticed when he had left. Luis had been visiting for a week, he had wanted to see a concert in Phoenix and then mooch off of people. He had apparently gotten Veronica and Adam to go out one night which Lance was extremely upset he hadn’t been invited to.

He had been venting about how he was unable to pass Keith’s records, and the mullet head had refused to so much as look in his direction. Even if he called him by name. Luis and Veronica had exchanged looks, before teasing him about having a crush on Keith. Lance had grown bright red even as he denied it. He felt like he was 14 again with the knowing look Nefertari was giving him, even if he wasn’t actually saying anything.

“Shut up.” He repeated.

“I-eh-didn’t say anything.” Nefertari told him.

“You were thinking it.” Lance argues.

“That doesn’t mean I said it.” Nefertari says. “Actually it means quite the opposite.”

“Ugh.” Lance downs the last of his drink before he stands and stretches. “I should probably get going. It’s getting late.”

“Hm.” Nefertari hums then smiles. “Sounds like an excuse.”

“It’s not-”

“But I will let you get away with it this one time I suppose.” Nefertari props his crutch up and hauls himself off the couch.

Lance grabs the cups and the drink and brings them into the kitchen. Putting the glasses in what he is pretty sure is supposed to be a sink and the bottle on the counter. He has no idea where Nefertari pulled it from.

“Goodnight!” Lance says, pulling Nefertari into a hug.

He had been hesitant the first time, not wanting to cause him pain. Then he saw Nefertari balance a stool on a chair, fall off and hit the ground hard, and get up with only an annoyed huff before he continued working. He figured treating him gently after that would be insulting. Though he was a little concerned for his well being, but that’s neither here nor there.

“Goodnight Lance.” Nefertari says, patting his back. “Have good -eh- dreams.”

Lance decided to ignore the smirk he was giving him as he quickly made his way out the door.

Chapter Text

“Use your legs! Sweet mother of- I thought you were a fighter!”

“I use guns!”

Lance was panting on his back on the outdoor training area. Akila was kneeling over him glaring at him. He honestly didn’t know if they were friends or not. He helped her with training, and they chatted and laughed at meals, then she would pull some freaking Judo moves on him and leave in a huff.

“Aren’t I supposed to be training you?” Lance asks, glaring back at her.

“Then do it. Kick my ass, oh great and all powerful paladin.”

“You are annoying.” Lance says, rolling onto his stomach before standing up. “And we trained for six hours today. You are just a freaking psychopath.”

“Your feet are wrong.” Akila tells him.

She looks to delighted telling him that and Lance quickly changes his stance. She is pretty tall, pink skin, green eyes and shaves her head, not wanting anything to get in her way.

“You need to watch what I am doing.” She tells him as they start to circle each other on the mat, Lance just not wanting her to get behind him. “You’re thinking too much. Get out of your head.”

“That’s probably the first time anyone has told me I am thinking to muc-hrk!”

Lance is winded when he ends up on his back again. Holy fuck she is fast. Lance groans, he is gonna be so fucking so tomorrow. And he was planning on doing an obstacle course for training, shit.

“You move too fast.” Lance complains.

“You aren’t watching me.” She tells him, standing over him. “I don’t know why, but you seem convinced you can’t do this. I have seen you shoot a bullet. Those move way faster than me, you just need to concentrate.”

Lance exhales dramatically from where he is on the mat before standing back up. Akila lets him steady himself this time, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He considers what she says and thinks about it. He was more thinking about what her next move would be than actually looking for it. Whenever he is in his sniper's nest he reacts to what is happening around him. Calculating where shots are going to end up dependent on the speed and size of the object or person. Perhaps the same principle can apply to this.

He opens his eyes and steadies himself, focusing on everything instead of just where Akila is and what she is doing. He sees her weight shift and is able to dodge her trying to sweep his legs.

“There he is.” She says with a grin that Lance matches. “Again.”

They continue for a couple hours, until Lance is able to successfully stay upright for five minutes without being knocked on his ass. Akila grinned over him before offering a hand.

“Very good.” She told him. “You have improved greatly in the past couple weeks.”

“Ugh.” Is all Lance can says as he takes her hand.

She pats him on the shoulder as she walks towards the changing room. Lance follows with a groan. He is so tired. He really wants to take a nap. That in itself motivated him to be quick. Leaving after a shower and a goodbye to Akila. He hurries through the streets back to Red. She is closer and a guarantee that he will not be bothered when napping. He is just about to turn the last corner when a voice calls out to him.

“Paladin!” Lance resists the urge to sprint and pretend he didn’t hear.

“Paladin Lance!” The voice calls again and Lance turns around with a fake smile on his face. Jealous of all the other people continuing on with their day.

“Hi Grom.” Lance greets as the alien gets closer.

“I was hoping to catch you!” Grom says with a smile. “The council is holding a banquet in a couple of days. It’s in honour of how far our city has come in the past couple of years! Of course because you have helped us so much in the past week we were hoping you would be able to make it.”

“Um that sounds cool, Grom.” Lance tells him, desperately searching for a reason not to go. “But I was going to hangout with Nefertari the next couple days-”

“Even better!” Grom exclaimed, clasping his hands together. “I am never able to get Nefertari to come to any sort of banquet. He always claims he is too busy with work. You can bring him!”

“Uh. I don’t think-”

“This is wonderful news!” Grom spoke over him looking way too excited. “I will tell everyone at once that we are getting both a paladin and our dear Nefertari to attend.”

“Grom that’s not-”

“This is going to be so exciting!” Grom exclaims, grabbing Lance's arm and ignoring his excuses. “I am sorry for holding you up but I believe it shall be worth it! Thank you paladin Lance!”

He hurries away leaving Lance feeling dazed. How the fuck did that just happen? He decides telling Nefertari he somehow agreed to drag him to a banquet is a problem for future Lance and hurries to Red before anyone else can stop him. She let’s him in and Lance collapses onto his bed. Zelia who had previously been dead asleep hisses at being woken up but cuddles close to Lance regardless. Red purrs steadily in his head and it lulls him to sleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith and his mom were in her small space ship doing a patrol. They were using the time to discuss what Keith saw that was different about his team but it was frustrating because it’s mostly just… them being off.

“So Shiro has had a shorter fuse?” His mom asks. “Been quicker to anger?”

“Yes.” Keith said.

“Are you sure it’s not just a reaction to this situation?” His mom asks. “He was held captive for a year then immediately put into the role of leader to save the entire universe.”

“I know.” Keith said frustrated.

“People change.” His mom said softly. “This could be what he is like now. People can become more aggressive after a traumatic situation.”

“I know!” Keith snapped. “It-it’s not just that. He has been… off. For a while. Even Lance has noticed… had noticed.”

“I believe you.” His mom said quickly, giving his shoulder a squeeze in reassurance. “I am just going over the possibilities.”

“Yeah.” Keith mumbled, crossing his arms. “I just-I don’t know how else to describe it. Everything he does is just-it’s all a little off.”

Keith has really been watching Shiro. Picking apart everything he has been doing. He has had a much shorter fuse when it comes to the paladins, but seemingly endless patience with everyone else. But he is still warm though, doing thoughtless kind acts like the mother hen he is. Bringing an extra blanket for Pidge when they are in a colder part of the castle, covering a corner or edge with his hand when Hunk ducks under a table so he won’t hit his head, stocking everyone's cubbies with snacks and water before training.

It all convinces Keith that he’s going crazy and looking too far into things. Then he will pat Keith on the shoulder with his Galra hand, or not compliment Hunk when he finally gets a move right in training, or let the door close instead of holding it open when Pidge has her hands full. It’s driving Keith crazy, and it sounds too crazy to tell anyone about.

“Hm.” His mom says.

He bristles for a second, going to snap at her, but she looks like she is actually thinking, not just trying to placate him. He takes a calming breath and tries to think rationally. His mom is on his side, he knows she is on his side, she is just trying to give options about what is going on. The problem is that they are all wrong and Keith doesn’t know what is right. He can feel irritation swell in his chest.

“What do your friends think?” His mom asks. “About this behaviour?”

“They are all wigging out.” Keith says bluntly and sees the corner of his moms mouth quirk. She likes earth phrases. “I can hardly get a grunt from Pidge, Allura is too busy trying to organize coalition things to think, Coran is trying to be everyone's moral support, and Hunk thinks this is my way of grieving Lance.”

“Perhaps they are all responding to Shiro’s change in behaviour as well.” His mom muses. “Maybe with the loss of your Blue Paladin the dynamics have shifted and this is their response to it.”

“Maybe it’s both.” Keith says. “Everyone is freaking out because of Lance disappearing, and because of that they haven’t noticed Shiro. But Lance did noticed something was wrong with Shiro before he went missing.”

“He told you this?” His mom asks, tilting her head.

Keith nods. “Yeah. Only once, before the space whale. I promised I was going to look for it. Honestly I forgot until Shiro yelled in the bridge.”

He just needs someone who would know what he means. Someone who would notice the little mannerisms are different. Fucking hell he needs Lance. What would Lance do?

“Can you make a chart in here?” He asks.

Turns out you can. The ship is under blade security so he is not worried about being found out by Shiro. He doesn’t think that Keith thinks he is suspicious of him so it shouldn’t be a problem. They write down all their interactions they have had with Shiro or that he was able to weasel out of the other paladins.

“This is a… depressingly small chart.” His mom says.

“Yeah but look.” Keith points out. “All Shiro’s aggressive interactions have been when there are multiple people around. When he has one on one interactions he seems normal, more like himself.”

“Hmm.” His mom says looking like she is plotting something. “Interesting but we don’t have enough interactions to conclusively say that. We could manufacture two situations, one with a single person and one with a group, to help test this theory?”

“We could try.” Keith says. “Maybe I could ask him if he is feeling ok too. Lance said he was getting headaches.”

“Headaches?” His mom repeats adding it to the notes they have made but don’t have a place for on the chart. “Do we know when?”

“No.” Keith says.

“Hm. Try to find that out as well.” His mom says, then makes a note in Galran.

“What does that say?” Keith asks, squinting at the printing.

“Nothing.” She says. “Just something I need to ask Kovilan about.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“I don’t care how your please looks, I am not going.”

“I will bring you those cookies you like.”

“You will do that anyway.”

Lance pouts in the rolly chair he is sitting in. Zelia is chewing on some taser thing in the corner. Almost gave him a heart attack when it zapped her but apparently she likes it? He has just decided not to watch but hears a buzz every once in a while. He brought her for her puppy dog eyes she can whip out, not afraid to exploit her cuteness to get company to the banquet. Speaking of.

“Look I even brought Zelia here to ask you.” He gestures to her, her ears perking at her name. “How can you say no to that face?”

“Like this.” Nefertiti says and looks up from his notes to Zelia. “No.”

He immediately turns back to his work and Lance collapses dramatically onto the table.

“You are so mean to me.” Lance whines. “Why are you so mean?”

“I have never had a desire to go to a banquet and I will not be starting now.” Nefertiti tells him.

“For me?” Lance says giving puppy dog eyes.

“Is that supposed to help your case?” Nefertiti asks, raising an eyebrow. “What would motivate me to do it for you?”

“Because you like me?” Lance asks. “We are friends?”

“I do.” Nefertiti tells him. “We are. But my answer is still no.”

Lance sighs dramatically but doesn’t say anything further. They sit in silence for a couple of minutes. The only sounds being Nefertiti scratching on the paper and Zelia occasionally knocking into something as she inspects the lab.

“I would have thought you would enjoy the banquets.” Nefertiti says eventually. “All the people, the admiring fans. Everyone is going to worship you when you go there.”

“Yeah…” Lance says with a sigh. “I am just tired of it. It’s everywhere I go lately and it gets a bit much.”

“Just a bit?” He asks.

“Ok a lot.” Lance admits. “It was… easier with my friends. Now it just reminds me that… that I may never see them again.”

“Hm.” Nefertiti hums. “That’s a pretty pessimistic perspective. Do you have no faith you will get back?”

“Not no faith.” Lance tells him. “It just… things keep happening. I keep finding friends and I wonder, what if I get to the end of this place and I can’t get out? What if I come back to a planet, hoping to find someone and I find it gone? My new friends are dead? Or what if I do get out and then I am aware that everyone is just dying. Of old age or disease and injury and I am not there to help. I will never know.”

“So that’s a yes to being pessimistic.” Nefertiti says.

Despite himself Lance laughs, startling himself. “Fuck that’s mean.”

“And that was unnecessarily dark.” Nefertiti tells him. “Are you not in a war? People die every day.”

“This isn’t the same.” Lance argues. “You know that.”

“I suppose.” Nefertiti says leaning back in his chair. “If it is any condolence I will probably die before you leave ‘the end’.”

“That’s supposed to help?” Lance asks.

Nefertiti shrugs. “It is a fact.”

“So… no.”

“I am very aware of my own mortality.” Nefertiti says in a tone that he thinks is supposed to be soothing.

“Not reassuring.” Lance mutters.

Nefertiti smirks.

“You really don't want to come with me?” Lance says and he isn’t whining. He isn’t.

“Words cannot describe how much I do not want to go to the banquet.” Nefertiti said.

“... that’s not a no.”

Nefertiti sighs dramatically.

“Come on!” Lance says sitting up. “Just this once. I will never ask again and we can leave after an hour.”

“I will… consider it.” Nefertiti finally amends and Lance fist pumps.”That’s not a yes.”

“It’s better than the hard no.”

Nefertiti sighs dramatically and Lance laughs brightly.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A fun part about going to alien parties is that he can wear literally anything and aliens think it’s formal wear. But Lance likes to get dressed up. He has two sisters, sue him. He grins as he checks himself out in the mirror of Red. He has given up trying to straighten his hair, it looks fluffy because he has no product for it and brushed it out, though he attempted to style it with water so he wouldn’t look electrocuted but it hardly worked. Unfortunately finding something formal to wear with a limited wardrobe in space was very difficult. Grom had offered a backless robe that he politely declined, though he was extremely concerned he was going to see half naked aliens now.

He had decided on black pants he had gotten from Haralssox, they looked a bit too combatty but he was working with limited resources, a red sleeveless shirt with gold trim an overly affectionate alien gave him, and soft leather boots. He was excited to mingle in a fun way. So far everything has been getting so technical, training and meetings and bleh. It would be fun to dance and laugh with his new friends.

“Ok.” Lance said entering the cabin.

He clapped his hands together as he saw Pedro and Zelia cuddled up on his bed. Even though they had fighting? Chasing each other? Earlier. He has given up trying to understand them.

“I will be back in a couple of hours you two-” He pointed at the two of them. “Behave yourselves.”

Red grumbled in his head and Lance amended. “You three. But Red I know you are the responsible one and will never cause any problems ever.”

Red seemed amused at his words and Lance sighed. He was actually really grateful Red wasn’t overly sentient. The three of them would cause him so much chaos. A noise started from Lance's mini training room and Zelia’s ears peaked in interest, Red has started doing something to participate in the game of chase Zelia and Pedro do. She took off after it and Pedro started scaling a wall as Lance sighed and took his leave.

He crossed into the main city building that the banquet was being held in quickly. Red had moved to a courtyard close by, making his commute easier. He walked into the building and slunk into a corner, getting a lay of the scene before jumping into it.

Alien’s were twirling around the dance floor. Mostly they were in robes, full robes thank God, but some were in fancier outfits. Dresses, suits, made of lace or something that shimmered like water. People were drinking out of bowls, odd but weirdly whimsical, chatting as something that sounds like a recorder plays loudly. Lance grins to himself and dives into the crowd.

He finds a few people he knows, people he is helping train and important senators who want to lay eyes on him. He finds Akila with her girlfriend, an alien similar to Nefertiti with bright pink eyes and a brilliant smile. Akila sighs dramatically when he starts talking to her, which she seems to enjoy speaking to him about random topics as Akila begins to look around the room bored.

“Oh I love this song!” Akila’s girlfriend says and she rolls her eyes.

Lance could not tell if the song had changed but smiled. “It sounds very happy.”

“I know.” She says with a grin.

“Well you know I don’t dance.” Akila tells her, nudging her with her elbow. “Remember when I broke your ankle?”

“That was a freak accident.” She tried to assure her. “I am sure it won’t happen again.”

“Still.” Akila says and her girlfriend turns to Lance with a bright smile.

“Would you like to dance Lance?”

“Of course!”

Lance ignores the look Akila gives him as her girlfriend drags him to the dance floor. She leads him in the strangest gig Lance has done in his life. Ending with both of them laughing. Lance teaches her how to waltz, trying to find some sort of rhythm through the music but it’s very difficult. They eventually find it and she is thrilled to have learnt a new dance.

“This is called a wall you said?”’

“Waltz.” Lance corrects. “It’s a formal earth dance.”

“It is very fun. If a bit repetitive.” She tells him before glancing over his shoulder. “I must thank you Paladin Lance.”

“For the training stuff?” Lance asks. “Cause that’s really no problem.”

“Well of course.” She says. “But I mostly mean for making my girlfriend jealous.”

Lance turns his head to see Akila watching them with narrowed eyes and her arms crossed. Lance smiles and he and her girlfriend wave at her in synch before bursting out laughing. She rolls her eyes hard and turns away from them.

“Yeah no problem.” He winks at her. “Thank you for keeping me company.”

“Thank you for the fun night.” She tells him and leans in close. “I am referring to the treatment I will be getting soon from my very possessive and jealous girlfriend.”

Lance sputters, a blush rising on his face. She plants a friendly kiss on his cheek before winking at him and hurrying off the dance floor to Akila. Lance watches as Akila puts possessive hands on her waist and her girlfriend loops her arms around her neck. They look sweet.

He sees a crowd of people around the corner of the room and wanders towards it. He is surprised to hear that he recognizes the voice from the middle.

“-based on the latest test.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Woah that’s so cool.”

“Your work is very interesting you must be proud.”

“Well done Nefertiti.”

Lance gets a glimpse into the middle of the circle to see Nefertiti looking wildly uncomfortable with a fake smile on his face. Everyone is staring at him with awe and Nefertiti is leaning on his crutch and using the other hand to gesture as he is talking.

“Paladin Lance!” Grom cries out and Lance feels his own fake smile slide onto his face. “I must thank you for convincing Nefertiti to join us tonight!”

“It was no problem.” Lance says feeling his grin turn more real. “I just kept hounding him about it and he eventually agreed.”

He can see Nefertiti’s eye twitch even as the smile stays firmly on his face. “Anything for our dear Paladin.”

Lance tells him to go on and apologizes for interrupting. The aliens quiz Nefertiti for another ten minutes before he excuses himself to the drink table. Lance follows him stealing the drink out of his hand before he has a sip. Nefertiti glares but grabs another.

“This is why I hate these things.” He hisses quietly. “Everyone with all their stupid questions. They don’t even really care. Just leave me alone and let me work. It all seems so frivolous.”

“Cause it is.” Lance says and Nefertiti sighs before looking around quickly.

“Ok.” He says limping quickly towards the door. “No one is looking I am leaving.”

“Wait!” Lance hisses. “Take me with you!”

Chapter Text

“I cannot believe you talked me into coming here.”

“You say that like you aren’t dying to take apart Red and see what makes her work.”

“I would never do any such thing. Is that a maintenance hatch?”

Red sends a concerned emotion through him. Lance felt that he was being judged as Nefertiti wandered through Red. He could see him analysing the panels and pause by Lances bed. Lance suddenly felt like he should have made it and it definitely made Lance itch to rearrange his blankets and pillows but Zelia was playing on it. Maybe he could blame her?

Nefertiti pointed at something. “Is that your team?”

Lance leaned over to see that he was pointing at the picture of his teammates he had stuck to the wall. There were other things, drawings and his attempts at recreating the planets he has seen but everything is circled around the picture of his team.

“Yeah.” Lance can’t keep the fondness out of his voice. “That’s Coran, Shiro, Allura, Hunk, Pidge and Keith.”

He pointed to each one in turn.

“Ah. The famous Keith.” Nefertiti said, then smirked at him. “He looks suspiciously like those drawings you have been making on my notes.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Lance says quickly, face burning then shoos him into the cockpit.

“Here sit in the pilot seat.” Lance says then starts fiddling with the controls to set up his log.

“Because my poor frail self cannot stand?” Nefertiti says but takes the seat anyway, trying to subtly take apart the control panel on the arm rest to take a peak.

“Shut your face.” Lance tells him then clears his throat. “This is your wonderful, fabulous, tremendous, incredible-”

“Modest.” Nefertiti cuts in dryly.

“Yes thank you Nefi.” Lance says then turns back to the camera as he sees him roll his eyes. “And modest Red Paladin here. It’s log 8 I wanna say. I have been helping the people of the planet Grienutaonyr train and organize their military, as well as helping poor Nefertiti with my many ingenious ideas-”

“One you have had one good idea.”

“-That are going to help further the success of this planet.” Lance finishes with a smile at Nefertiti. “Um… we just snuck away from a Gala, and Nefertiti wanted to be introduced to Red.”

“You basically dragged me here.” Nefertiti complains. “Are these vlogs just how you make your life seem better than it is?”

“Exsqueeze me?” Lance says, putting a hand on his chest dramatically. “I will have you know that just because you may have a different interpretation of the events-”

“You mean what actually happened-?” Nefertiti asks but Lance cuts him off.

“Doesn’t make my reports any less real.” Lance finishes and flashes a smile towards the camera.

“I think it does actually.” Nefertiti says, tilting his head.

“Semantics.” Lance waves his hand and turns back to the camera. “Where was I? Ah yes. Nefertiti is awesome, I am awesomer and I have single handedly-”

“HONK!”

“What the fuck is that?” Nefertiti yelps and brings his feet off the floor quickly and stiffly.

“Pedro!” Lance says happily then winks at the camera and turns it off.

“Nefertiti, this is Pedro.” Lance says and gestures to the orange alien who… licks his own eyeball. Lovely.

“That is a vermin.” Nefertiti says disgusted. “This place is invested.”

“Nah.” Lance waves a hand and crouches on the floor. “It’s just Pedro. Look at him! He is so cute!”

Lance extends his hand towards Pedro who promptly bites him and runs into the hall. That was pretty much the reaction he was expecting.

“You are living in squalor.” Nefertiti annonces. “I apologize miss Red, I mean no offence.”

Red purrs in Lances head. Waves of fondness and amusement wash over him. She likes Nefertiti, she conveys, he has a good energy and loves her mechanics. Lance… those were actual thoughts? That she just conveyed? Or was that him.

He shakes himself out of his head when Nefertiti sneaks over to his map table and starts trying to subtly take it apart to see how it works.

“Hey, come on.” Lance says, grabbing his arm.

“I just want to see how the-” Nefertiti protests.

“Nuh-uh.” Lance tells him. “Red is a universe saving, all knowing beauty. You cannot take her apart.”

Nefertiti sighs in disappointment. Red seems to enjoy his interest in her and projects a blueprint on her map table. Nefertiti smiles in glee and starts zooming in on various parts. Red seems equally as pleased and Lance flops onto the pilot chair. He has been here for three weeks. It’s… it’s not enough. Everyone isn’t trained yet and he made friends again. Fuck he thought he learnt his lesson.

“You are leaving.” Nefertiti says and it startles Lance out of his head.

“I…” Lance trails off. “I don’t know.”

“All of your things are here.” Nefertiti nods to the hall. “I recognize the food and the shoes. You are ready to leave.”

Lance closes his eyes and sighs. “Yeah. I hate it. I hate that I keep making friends, then having to leave them. I’m never-fuck Neffy. I am never going to see you again.”

“True.” Nefertiti says then shrugs. “The odds of us ever having met are unbelievably small. You can see your departure as a depressing ending to a friendship, or you can be thankful we met at all. I am.”

“Me too.” Lance tells him. “But it still sucks.”

“Also true.” Nefertiti says with a nod.

They stay in silence for a moment before Nefertiti pulls a piece of metal out of his pocket.

“Here.” He says. “I was inspired.”

Lance inspects it for a moment. The metal fits nicely in his palm, grooves in the perfect places to allow a firm grip. He knows Nefertiti is testing him, seeing if he can figure out what it is before he explains. He has been fascinated to see how their brains work differently. Lance places his hand in the grips and almost jumps when a sword materializes.

“Woah.” He says and can see Nefertiti smirk in his side view.

The sword is a dark blue type of metal that Lance can’t decide if it is glowing or not. It is a beautiful curved blade about the length of his arm, and light. It has intricate swirls all over it and Lance swears he recognizes some of the shapes as letters from The handle's weight has not changed since the sword appeared, being unfairly light. Curious Lance moves his hand from the grips and is pleasantly surprised to find the sword stays.

“I will give you a hint for that.” Nefertiti says walking over, he has been watching closely and is very good at reading people.

He explains that Lance needs to put his hand back into the grip and will the sword away. Lance gives him a blank look and Nefertiti just smiles. Cocky bastard. It takes him a couple of minutes but the sword disappears and Nefertiti politely claps. Lance rolls his eyes.

“Jackass.” Lance says.

“I don’t know what that means.” Nefertiti says with a grin. He gets the implication the jerk.

“I hate this.” Lance says quietly looking at the metal in his hand.

“My sword?” Nefertiti asks. “Because I will gladly take it back-”

“No. This.” Lance says and looks up at him.

“Yeah.” Nefertiti says and places a hand on Lance's shoulder.

They are quiet for a moment, Lance leans his head onto Nefertiti’s hand. He soaks up the contact.

“Space is so fucking lonely.” Lance says.

“Yes. I believe it would be.” Neferiti says and rubs his thumb over Lance's shoulder. “I’m sorry you have to go back.”

“Me too.” Lance says. “... but I’m also not. I miss my friends and family like I am missing an arm. I just… I wished I could see how everyone turns out, see how I made a difference.”

Nefertiti grimaced. He pulled his hand away from Lance’s shoulder and ran it through his hair. He closes his eyes for a moment before he sighs heavily.

“Ok.” He says and takes a seat back on the map table.

Lance makes a mental note that the place can be used as a seat. Maybe he could pile some blankets on it?

“Ok.” Nefertiti says again with a nod, recapturing Lance's attention. “I’m only telling you this because you seem so depressed. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Uh… ok?” Lance says.

Nefertiti sighs and looks away from him. Lance watches as his face turns… blue? He is confused for a moment before he realises that Nefertiti is blushing.

“OoO.” Lance says suddenly excited. “What is it?”

“Shut up.” Nefertiti hisses at him, turning his shocking green eyes to him. “It-... your relationship with your Black Paladin has inspired me to reach out to an old… friend.”

“Sex friend.” Lance says and Nefertiti hits him with his crutch.

While he is rubbing his arm Nefertiti continues.

“We agreed to meet for lunch ‘catch up’” He says. “Since then we have been… getting along.”

Lance cheers, resulting in him getting hit in the arm with the crutch again.

“Shut it.” Nefertiti’s face is blue now and Lance is delighted. “But you have made a difference Lance. Even your presence is inspiring, I couldn’t stand for you to think otherwise.”

“Neffy.” Lance says almost like a whine

He gets up and engulfs Nefertiti in a hug. Nefertiti pats his shoulder. “I think you are incapable of not changing people's lives.”

“Thank you Neffy.” Lance says and he feels tears sprout in his eyes.

“You are incredible Lance.” Nefertiti tells him. “I… I don’t think you will ever understand how much you have impacted my life and I thank you for that.”

Lance embarrassingly feels tears gather in his eyes as he buries his face in Nefertiti’s shoulder. It is… nice to have someone hold him. Someone he trusts, someone who he knows. Nefertiti doesn’t make any move to let go of him so Lance holds on tight, soaking up the comfort.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey Shiro, could I talk to you for a second?” Keith asks.

Shiro seems to hesitate at the screen where he is with Allura. “Can it wait Keith?”

Keith doesn’t answer but instead just looks at Shiro. Shiro looks back at him before sighing and walking with Keith out of the room.

“What did you want to talk about?” Shiro asks when they enter an empty room together.

“I like Lance.” Keith blurts out.

“... me too?” Shiro responds tilting his head.

“No like,” Keith runs a hand through his hair. “Like romantically. I have an embarrassingly big crush on Lance.”

“Oh.” Shiro sounds surprised for a moment before he shakes his head. “Your business is your own Keith, but thank you for telling me. I will support whoever you like and choose to date.”

“Ok.” Keith says, embarrassingly feeling tears gather in his eyes.

Shiro engulfed him in a hug and Keith wraps his arms around him. This is stupid. Of course Shiro was going to accept him, Shiro was engaged to a man before he went to space. Shiro had to have known that Keith liked boys, he was never subtle about it, but he was still so fucking nervous to tell him he thought he was going to throw up. Shiro’s arms feel familiar, his smell and his heartbeat the same as what would comfort him when he was twelve and terrified of being alone.

“Adam is going to kill both of us when we get home.” Keith says quietly with a smile.

He smiles thinking about Adam. He was such a mother hen and Keith was already looking forward to the lecture he was going to get from him. Yeah it hurts to think about but he was one of the few people who has ever cared for him. He is going to be pissed. Chew them both out for hours and then refuse to let either of them out of his sight for days.

“Who?” Shiro asks, and Keith jerks away from him remembering exactly why he is here.

“Adam.” Keith says slowly. “Your fiance.”

“Oh right-obviously.” Shiro shakes his head. “Sorry, I’m out of it today.”

“It’s fine.” Keith says then forces a smile. “I should probably head out. I told Pidge I would help her with her techy stuff.”

“Of course.” Shiro says with a smile. “I’m going to the bridge. I’ll be there if you need anything.”

Keith nods and quickly leaves, trying not to make it obvious he is leaving quickly. As soon as he hears the door close behind him he is running. He just needs to put as much space between himself, and whatever is pretending to be Shiro. A chorus of fuck, fuck, fuck runs through his head almost as fast as he is moving.

He doesn’t know who Adam is. His own fiance. His fiance who helped him with Keith. Who has been in Keith’s life as long as Shiro himself.

He runs until he is punching in the door code, locking the door behind him then locking himself in the washroom. It’s only as he is sliding down the door that he realises he is in Lance's room. He only distantly registered this because the only thing running through his head is-

That’s not Shiro.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

“-should come onto the ship. We’ll jump at the same time.” Lance sings, navigating through an asteroid field with Red.

He can feel her amusement at his antics. She takes the controls back for a moment and does a barrel roll with the music.

“The things I’d do for you.” Lance finishes with a smile, he giggles to himself and Zelia rubs her face against his cheek.

They broke out of the asteroid field and Lance leaned back in his chair and sighed. The asteroids weren’t actually asteroids but pieces of a star that had exploded. Once they had made it to the center they were surrounded by the glowing gas leftover from the planet. It reminded Lance of when he was shown his quintessence.

“It’s beautiful.” He tells Red.

She agrees and dives down before sharply going up and hovering, watching the particles dance around him.

“I think we are all made up of this stuff.” Lance says pulling Zelia into his lap, he starts talking directly to her. “Isn’t that nice? No matter what happens to me, or… anyone. We are all just made of stardust.”

Zelia purrs and kneads his lap. Lance reclines his chair and tries to make sense of the colours as Red drifts through the supernova. Lance’s hand drifts to the side pocket of his chair and he takes out the tablet with Ragnar, Strom and Flaxa’s heartbeats. He tries to imagine what each of them are doing, Ragnar’s is slow so he could be sleeping, Flaxa’s is normal, maybe she is in a meeting, and Strom’s is slightly faster than it should be, probably training. He smiles fondly, feeling weirdly soothed by the steady patterns showing their heartbeats. He is wearing the sweater from Flaxa today. It somehow got stretched out in the wash on Grienutaonyr but he didn’t hate it, it made it cosy.

Red glides through the dust. He can feel her amusement as she follows a green dust out of the supernova and twists around it. She has been enjoying the rides more and Lance is crediting it to his music taste.

Lance grins to himself. “Red, can you play my summer playlist?”

Red pauses the music that was on and Lance hears a guitar strum. He grins as the song starts, it matches his mood perfectly. They are heading to a planet that from the humidity levels Lance is hedging is going to be a beach planet. He is trying not to get his hopes up but it is futile. He loves the beach.

They drift through space while Lance talks aimlessly. He has noticed that piloting Red has changed. When they are going to the location he mostly has to think about their path instead of using the controls. It’s more like they are moving in sync than he is controlling her movements.

We are a team, Red agrees in his head.

Lance settles into his seat a bit better, bringing his legs up onto the chair. He rubs a thumb over a new scar on his calf, gotten from training with Akila. It was the only time he had seen her actually show panic, he had stepped into her swing where she had been meaning to miss him. She had immediately brought him to their equivalent of a school nurse who gave him what is basically an ice pack. Akila took it easy on him the next day no matter how much he reassured her it was fine.

He liked it actually. It cut through the marks left on his leg by the Galra and made them easier to look at somehow. He has a couple of new scars on himself now actually, showing his journey. A map of what he has been through. He is super pissed that his eyebrow from when he first crashed Red has scarred. It makes him look like he is trying to be emo, the last thing he needs is to become Keith.

He shakes the thought out of his head before he can dwell on it. Zelia seems to sense he is sad and starts purring loudly.

“Aw I am ok hermosa-”

“HONK!”

Lance almost jumps out of his skin. “Pedro! Dios mio-do you have another volume? What the fuck?”

Pedro looks at him innocently from the floor before quickly scaling his chair and sitting on the arm rest making intense eye contact with Lance.

“What do you want?” Lance asks, narrowing his eyes.

Pedro licks his eye, which-ew, and his gaze shifts to above Lance's head. Lance looks up to see some of the golden fish have floated into the cockpit. Pedro, unfortunately, has taken to swallowing them whole.

“You are a menace.” Lance tells him but lets him onto his hand before raising it so Pedro can use it as a launch pad.

He does landing on one of the fish before it floats out of the room. He shakes his head in amusement.

“I don’t get him.” He says outloud.

Zelia chirps and Red laughs in his head.

I don’t ‘get’ you cub, Red tells him and Lance grins.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“See I’m not saying that Shiro is fake, but if I had to pick one person on the castleship who has been replaced by an imposter, it would be him.” Keith exclaims, waving his hands over his head.

“Uh-huh.” Lance says skeptically. “Ok.”

“Ugh, even my head doesn’t believe me!” Keith complains and face plants into the pillows.

“It’s not that I don’t… believe you,” Lance starts.

“I don’t need your pity.” Keith mumbles against the pillow.

Keith grumbles and he feels Lance lie down next to him, a gentle hand combing through his hair. Keith moves his head so he can look at Lance who smiles at him.

“You know.” Lance tells him. “I had a dream Shiro told me he had died and been replaced by a clone.”

“A clone?” Keith questions.

“Yeah.” Lance says, rubbing a thumb over Keith's cheek. “I mean, it was my brain making stuff up but it's not impossible. We see weird shit every day. We fly magical talking robot lions.”

“The lions don’t talk.” Keith says with a smile.

“Mind-reading lions-whatever.” Lance rolls his eyes.

Keith brings up a hand to place it over Lance's heart. Closing his eyes for a moment he feels the steady pumping of Lance's heart. Lance places a hand over his and holds it.

“It feels so real.” Keith whispers before meeting Lance's eyes. “You feel so real.”

“It’s a dream.” Lance tells him, Lance reaches out and brushes a piece of Lance’s hair out of his face. “You’re a dream.”

Keith presses their foreheads together intertwining their fingers.

“What would you do?” He asks him. “With Shiro, what would you do?”

Lance is silent. Keith would think he fell asleep if he wasn’t rubbing circles over his palm with his thumb.

“I would wait for you.” Lance tells him. “He’s your brother. It’s not… I wouldn’t ask you to do anything by yourself. But, he’s your brother Keith. What do you want to do?”

Keith is silent, he feels oddly choked up. “I don’t want to hurt him. Even-even if it's not him.”

“I know.” Lance says and pulls him into a hug.

Keith buries his face in Lance's chest. He feels Lance put his chin on his head, he does a good job of making Keith feel surrounded by him, even though he is taller than Lance now.

“He’s my family. But it-it’s not him.” Keith says tears are starting to spill down his face. “Lance, I don't know what to do. I don’t think I can do-fuck- anything to him.”

“You can.” Lance tells him carding a hand through his hair. “If it comes to that, you can. You will.”

“Right. Knowledge or Death.” Keith says making a weak joke.

“Hey, no.” Lance pulse back so he can look him in the eye. “It’s not-you being Galra has nothing to do with this. You will do what you have to because you are Keith. You’re kind and smart and beautiful-fuck you are so beautiful-you’re loyal and brave and you will never let anything happen to the people you love.”

“I-” Keith chokes out, feeling overwhelmed.

He doesn’t know what he was going to say and instead he kisses Lance. He returns the kiss gently, bringing a hand to cup the back of Keith’s head. He is so tender it makes Keith feel breakable. Not in a bad way necessarily. It’s like people have been breaking him his entire life. Chipping away at him, dropping him carelessly, not caring if he shatters. But Lance is treating him like he cares, treating him so gently and sweet he could cry.

“I’m in love with you.” Keith tells him when they break apart, he can tell he has stars in his eyes but can’t bring it in himself to care. “I’m so in love with you. I-I don’t know what to do without you. I still look for you everytime I enter a room, every time I’m happy I want to tell you. I can’t believe I never told you. All the reasons I couldn’t seem so stupid. I’m so stupid-”

“Woah, woah no.” Lance tells him, propping himself on his elbow on the bed. “You’re not stupid.”

“Fuck,” Keith says quietly. “I fucking miss you.”

“I miss you too.” Lance tells him and pulls him into a hug.

Keith can feel tears burn in his eyes. He buries his face in Lance's chest as he tries not to let them spill over. Lance engulfs him in his arms and Keith melts. He always feels so safe with Lance. Someone who saw all his flaws, called him on them, and stayed anyway. He mentally pushed the thought away and puts his ear over Lance hearts. Lance somehow senses the mood change, able to read Keith better than anyone ever has, and starts telling him a bizarre story about a flying cat and a man with glowing eyes.

Dreams are weird.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Lance McClain Log 10, I lied last time it was actually 9.” Lance tells the camera. “We are now headed to a planet I am pretty positive is going to be mostly beaches. I am so excited-but anyway I know that’s not what you guys want to hear. I am around a few days out from my last stop. I am honestly surprised Grom hasn’t found a way to contact me and tell me to come back somehow. Umm… I hate to say it but the food goo is starting to grow on me. The flavour changes with whatever food I give it to preserve and I am fully convinced that the goo at the castle is just stale.”

Lance smiles at the camera raising a hand to brush some hair out of his eyes. His sleeve falls a bit and shows a new scar he got from a battle a couple weeks ago. The skin is still pink and raised despite the healing salves and everything that has been given to him. He quickly adjusts his sleeve back. Something about how he has physically changed feels wrong when talking to his friends.

“Uh-anyway. I think Keith would have gotten along very well with one of the friends I had made on the last planet. She was quite stabby. But it’s probably a good thing you weren’t because I think Shiro would have killed an ambassador.”

Lance feels the sudden urge to mention his dreams to the camera. Where he keeps seeing Keith all warm and soft in a comfortable bed. But it feels too intimate to share with the camera. Even though he is pretty convinced no one was going to see the vlogs except himself and possibly whoever finds Red after he is gone.

He shakes his head and turns to the camera again with a smile. “Anyway. Um Zelia and Pedro are good-I think Zelia isn’t going to kill Pedro out of anything but annoyance.”

Not if I get to them first. Red tells him, grumpy in his head.

Lance grins brightly and shakes his head fondly.

“Anyway, I am really excited to take everyone to the beach! If we see anything that is dangerous for Zelia or Pedro we are leaving immediately-... I am turning into Veronica.”

Lance says the last bit with bewilderment before making a disgusted face. “Ew. I hate that. Anyway, Lance out.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The beach was better than he expected. So much better. The land around them was tropical. It didn’t look like there were any true trees, everything just looked like big bushes with weird blueish bulbs on them. Everything smelt slightly floral, offset with the salt of the ocean and the humidity of the air. It smelt like home.

The sand was soft underneath his feet and the water was warmed by the sun. He was just wearing a pair of shorts and the sun was warming his chest and shoulders. Pedro had elected to climb on top of Red and Zelia was watching from a safe distance from the shore where Lance was waist deep in the water. He closed his eyes and listened.

There were a couple of animals rummaging through the trees. Nothing sounded bigger than a squirrel. There must be some type of bird deeper in the mountains around him because he could faintly hear it. But the ocean was his favorite. The crashing of the waves and the sound of shells being pulled back in the undertow. It sounds like home.

He picks his feet up in the next wave and lets it carry him out a bit. He was pretty sure there was nothing dangerous in the water. And even if there was, it was worth the risk to float away for a moment. He looked up into the sky. If he looked slightly to his right he could not see the moon that was too close for him to pretend he was on earth. The sky was blue. Such a familiar blue.

Red felt strangely satisfied where she was laying on the beach. Lance hadn’t been aware the lions were able to lounge like house cats but apparently they were. When he finally came out of the water, his fingers wrinkled from the water he laid on the beach next to her. She had her head tilted back to the sun like she was basking in it. Maybe she was, she was the fire lion.

“Mm gonna take a nap.” He tells her, already sprawled on his back in the sand. “Make sure nothing kills me?”

Over my dead body, Red growls.

Lance smiles to himself. Zelia was curled up close to him, but in the shade that Red cast. She had warmed up pretty fast with her dark feathers and crawled into a shaded place pretty quickly afterwards.

There was something about swimming that always made him tired. The combination with the waves he had always heard growing up in a house on the beach, and the warmth of the sun. He fell asleep pretty quickly.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oof!” Lance woke up to Zelia jumping on his stomach. “Zee what are you-hey!”

She launched herself off of him to swat at a bug that was flying over them.

“Zelia ouch!” Lance said when she landed back on him. “You have wings!”

She ignored him and took off after the bug when it floated towards Red. Lance was slightly concerned if the bug was going to sting her but decided she needed to face consequences.

The sun was starting to set and Lance moved so he could lean back against Red and watch it. He has always loved sunsets, watching countless from the ocean back home. This one was looking particularly beautiful, even though there weren't any clouds, the whole sky was washed in purples and pinks and orange.

“It’s beautiful.” He tells Red who agrees with him.

Like a fire. She tells him.

He doesn’t roll his eyes but it is a close thing. He is finding out that Red doesn’t only spit fire, but she genuinely finds it beautiful and fun. Probably because of how dangerous it can be.

More of the bugs Zelia had been chasing start showing up high above them as it gets darker. Their wings start to light up in the darkness and Lance finds himself squinting at them, wondering if it is just a weird reflection from the sun. As the sun finally dips below the horizon the entire planet lights up again.

Weeds that had been in the ocean glow green and blue, the coral different shades of red and purple, everything faintly glowing around the edges. Together it lights up the ocean, giving Lance a clear view of fish who are also glowing in various colours. The bush that lines the beach glows faintly as well, leaving Lance in a sea of neon. He digs his fingers into the sand, happily surprised to find the point where he touches the sand to light up as well.

When the waves wash upon the shore and the water gets foamy it is starting to float into the air. Collecting together to form a blue glowing bubble. One floats towards him and Lance can’t help but stick his finger out to pop it. It doesn’t pop like he was expecting but instead sticks to his finger. He tries to brush it off in the sand and it sticks to it, it’s faint glow turned yellow, the inside looking like a galaxy.

“Woah,” Lance breathes out and Red rumbles in agreement.

He stands and walks into the water, finding the opportunity to cool to pass up. Zelia chirps and flies around him, staring into the water as if she finds it as interesting as him.

“Pretty cool right?” Lance says reaching down for a plant.

It feels slimy when he grabs it, almost wrapping around him to hold him back. When he lets go there is a perfect handprint of his hands where he had been touching the plant.

Zelia seems weirded out by it and lands on his shoulder to peer over it. She doesn’t use her claws, thank god, but has wrapped her tail loosely around his other shoulder. She leans down as far as she can while still being perched on Lance's shoulder and yelps when a wave splashes her nose. Lance laughs at her.

“It’s ok Princesa,” He coos at her, scratching her chin as she leans into his hand. “Is the water scary?”

She chirps in agreement and Lance laughs again.

“I love it.” He says fondly.

He cradles Zelia more like a baby as he goes a little shallower so she doesn’t get wet. He watches the little fish swim around his legs and Zelia’s tail flicks in interest, but is unwilling to get her paws wet.

“I grew up by the ocean.” He tells her.

His voice is quieter but he isn’t sure why. No one is there. He proceeds to tell Zelia about his family, and growing up on the beach. Barbeques on the lawn, nieces and nephews everywhere all the time. His siblings coming into his room without knocking to steal his things, without asking. Family spa nights, being able to communicate with a look or a simple gesture. How his Tia would say the most out of pocket things over christmas dinner, and he couldn’t look at anyone or else he risks laughing his ass off.

“They were just… there,” Lance tells her. “No matter what I did. No matter how stupid or mean I was. It was just unconditional, I never had to prove myself. I miss that, Zelia. More than the team I think.”

Lance whispers the last part. Of course he misses the team. There is a void where his friends should be. He misses their trust and the jokes, they were the only people who understood what he was going through out here. But he hasn’t seen his family for so long. Neither the team or his family knew he is alive, but it hurts more with his family.

Fuck, he hates to sound like a child but he really wants his mama. He had promised her he was going to call her the next day with Veronica but he had found blue. Veronica probably had to tell their mama that he is missing. She was going to kill him dead.

Lance finds himself smiling at the thought.

“You are going to love home Zee.” Lance tells her, then considers it for a minute. “Maybe not the ocean, but everything else.”

Zelia chirps at him, she has wisely been avoiding the bubbles which are migrating towards the trees sticking onto the plants and Lance is now realising they are the weird bulbs that he had seen earlier on the trees. Lance takes Zelia back into Red, Pedro almost tripping him as he sprints up the ramp and Red laughs inside his head.

He sighs as Zelia jumps out of his arms and makes her way towards the bed. She curls up on a blanket Nefertiti had gifted him his first week on the planet. He had been admiring it in his home and he had all but begged him to take it. Claiming Grom had gifted it to him but he hates the deep red and blue of the pattern but cannot get rid of it. If the paladin of Voltron insisted then he would have an out.

The blanket was heavy and almost felt like a carpet but Zelia loved to knead at it. Lance liked it to sometimes, it was heavy and sometimes he needed the grounding weight it brought. The blanket trapped heat and he needed it sometimes because of how cold space was. It was currently folded at the base of his bed because he wanted a light blanket on the warm planet they were on. Zelia was kneading the blanket and purring like a chainsaw as he hurried to get changed for bed.

Red was slowly getting more personalized to his taste. He has a carpet in front of his bed, with some fabric he had been gifted stuck to the roof with magnets. Blankets were all but falling off of his bed with how many he had stacked on it. He has pillows shoved into all the corners and shelfs by his bed, and as many pieces of paper stuck to the wall has he has been able to. Drawings he has attempted, pictures people have given him as gifts and the picture of the team in his eye line.

The shelves Ragnar installed have been a god send. He has been steadily collecting more skin and hair care than he needed, but who was he to turn down gifts?

He had gotten some weird small towel he was using as a bathmat. He was pretty sure it was made of the planet's equivalent of hay, but it was better than standing on the cold metal floor. He brushed his teeth, smiling at the doodle of Red he has in the corner of the mirror from a market he found in one of the bins Ragnar sent him.

Best Improvement. Red said in his head, proud.

“Absolutely.” Lance told her around his tooth brush.

He took a long shower. Red was going to fill up from the ocean before they left and he took full advantage of unlimited water. He felt more like himself when he crawled into bed after drying himself off putting product in his hair and putting on a coconut like lotion.

Zelia curled into his arms and Red dimmed the lights. Pedro sleeps god knows where. Probably a good thing because Lance could kill him by rolling over.

“Night Red.” Lance mumbles, tired from swimming.

Zelia starts purring against him and Red is doing something similar in his head. Effectively shutting off his brain as he falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Keith’s heart pounded as he walked through the halls. He was officially panicking. He didn’t want to send his mother a message about Shiro not being Shiro. She has proved herself to be trustworthy, he knows she would help him. But it was Shiro. His Shiro.

He loves his mom, he really does. He may be a bit bitter about growing up alone but that was how he got Shiro in his life. And Hunk, Pidge, Coran, Allura and-fuck-Lance. There isn’t any point at being upset over something they can’t change now.

She gave him a code phrase. ‘Stop by for a quick meal’. She claimed it would be casual enough for a previously estranged mother-child relationship that no one would question it, and she would be able to get to him quickly and efficiently. Anyone who interrupted would be dealt with. He was pretty sure that his moms solution for a Shiro imposter would be to lock him up and find out what was controlling him-or who he was-whatever was going on. Keith didn’t want that. He doesn’t think at least.

Fuck he doesn’t know what he wants.

“Woah! Slow down there. You are running like a jiggly-puff from a monfy!”

Keith is startled to find he almost ran over Coran.

“Oh! I’m sorry Coran.” He apologises.

He didn't realise till now that he was actually taller than Coran. He is looking down at the man and Coran suddenly seems smaller. Not as loose and goofy as he usually is, the spark he normally holds gone.

“That’s quite alright my boy.” Coran tells him. “I should be watching where I am going, I don't want to become another stain on the floor!”

He says it cheerfully but for some reason the fact Coran doesn’t put a hand on his shoulder makes Keith feel uneasy. Coran nods to him with a smile before turning and walking down the corridor. Lance had always helped him clean the castle when he had free time and Keith has the horrible thought about where Coran spends his time when they are busy.

“Coran, wait!”

Asking to help turned out to be a mistake. Sure Coran gets his spark back. Telling Keith stories there is no way they are true and doing dramatic reenactments of them all. As much as it relieves him he wishes he wasn’t stuck dusting an ancient library. Why do they even need a bunch of altean books when they have all been digitised.

“-He was a sneaky one you see. But I am too! Don’t worry one bit!” Coran reenacts a sword fight using his duster. He manages to spread the dust through the room and sneeze violently.

Coran then sighs fondly. “Young love I suppose.”

Keith tilts his head confused for a moment before nodding in agreement. He thought Conan was telling him a battle story but apparently not? Whatever, he deserved to love as much as Keith does.

“Yeah.” Keith tells him.

He sincerely hopes Coran doesn’t ask any follow up questions.

“You would know about that I suppose.” Coran tells him polishing a surface and frowning at it.

“I-I would?” Keith chokes out.

“Ah-I should not have said anything.” Coran shakes his head. “I know you two were-complicated.”

“Us two-who was complicated?” Keith asks.

Coran gives him a look before shaking his head fondly and straightening up.

“Well this was fun my boy!” He fondly slaps Keith's shoulder. “I have not had help cleaning since-” Coran chokes on his next words before shaking his head. “But I promised the Princess I would help her look through the itinerary for the next couple weeks. We are quite popular you know.”

With that Coran gives him a wink and exits the room. Leaving Keith by himself staring at the surface he has polished so much he can see himself, and his confused look.

Do… how many people know that he is in love with Lance?!

He shakes his head. He needs, he needs fucking Lance, but he can’t have him. Fuck. Maybe-he can talk to… his mom?

Kosmo suddenly appears by his side and he jumps as his dog starts yapping at him. He crouches down to give him a hug.

“You have excellent timing,” He mutters into Kosmos fur as he wriggles excitedly. “Can you take us to my room?”

Kosmo barks and with a flash they are back in his room. Keith collapses onto the bed to stare at the ceiling. Kosmo inspects every inch of his room, sniffing evrything he has worn in the past couple of days before coming and joining him in the bed. Keith complains about everything to him.

How Lance is gone. How this made him realise his feelings for Lance. How apparently everyone knows about said feelings for Lance and never bothered to tell him. How he had to clean with Coran for hours today. How absurdly happy spending time with Coran made him. How Shiro isn’t Shiro and he doesn’t know who he can trust with this information. How he does know who he can trust with this information but he is missing. Hoe he dreams about what their relationship could be if Lance somehow returned his feelings. How he missed Indian food from earth, and Korean food.

“What do you think?” He asks, looking down at where Kosmo has laid his head in his lap. “Do I have a hard life?”

Kosmo wags his tail and licks his hand in response. Keith doesn’t know what kind of answer that is and collapses back onto the bed. Kosmo takes the opening and starts licking Keith’s face, not stopping even when Keith tries to shove him away laughing.

“Knock it off.” Keith is finally able to escape him but he is panting and has his tail wagging behind him.

Kosmo decides to lie down against Keith’s side, curled up facing away from him but pressed up against him. He likes the constant pressure against him as he shimmies down the bed.

“Lance would hate that I am in outside clothes.” He tells Kosmo.

His heart aches imagining the teasing. “Should I call my mom?”

Kosmo doesn’t answer, predictably. He pulls out his phone and hesitates for a moment. He doesn’t want to bother her. Especially because he could be wrong about Shiro, and maybe he is just over reacting to this whole situation. He almost backs out of it before he rereads his moms last message. It’s from earlier today. Even though she has only been gone for two days she has messaged him once in the morning and once in the evening everyday.

‘I hope you enjoyed your day. Let me know whenever you would like the have a meal together.’

With that he is able to send their secret code, asking his mom to come to the castle because he needs help. It’s nice to know that she is coming, that he has someone willing to come to his aid. Even though the person who he really wants won’t.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance misses the beach. He stares longingly out Red’s eyes. She has put up the video he took of the sunset from their second night on the planet. He had found a buoyant leaf and Zelia was ok with bobbing in the water while Lance floated. He had made a sandcastle replica of the space castle that he thought was pretty cool and the way the sand lit up at night was really pretty. He stayed up longer than he should have, especially because he had hardly slept the night before for the same reason.

He watched fondly now. Red was cold, it was just part of space. No matter how temperature controlled she made it he never feels warm, just not cold. With the picture he can almost imagine the sun warming his skin, the sand keeping his feet warm and keeping the heat after the sun dips below the horizon.

He somehow picked up a cold on the planet. Definitely not because of the lack of sleep and playing in the cold water for hours. He is blaming Pedro, no specific reason he just looked guilty before they came back onto Red. He was tired and pretty sure he had a mild fever. Unfortunately Red doesn’t have unlimited water so as much as he wanted to have a steamy shower to clear his throat he couldn’t. He warmed up some water in his mini microwave, putting in some herbal mix Ragnar promises would help if he was sick.

“Alright Hermosa.” Lance says with a yawn. “I think it’s time I head to bed.”

Sleep, Red agrees.

“Yeah,” Lance smiles. “Sleep.”

He had already changed into pyjamas and unfortunately he was still cold and uncomfy. He pulled a heavy blanket out from one of his cupboards and placed it on his already big pile of blankets, sliding under them and hoping to warm up.

“Brrt?” Zelia chirped looking for him.

She found him and after sniffing his face thoroughly she cuddled close to him under the blanket. She was a nice little heater but he was still so cold, unable to warm up. The room seemed lighter than he was used to and he cracked open his eyes to look up at the ceiling.

Some of the bubbles he had seen on the planet had somehow gotten into Red, sticking to the ceiling above him. They were faintly glowing yellow and he didn’t hate it. He thinks he saw small vines sprouting from it which is a problem, but for later.

He was so tired, but unable to fall asleep. He started shaking with shivers and could feel Red’s distress through his brain.

‘I’m fine,’ He tried to reassure her. ‘Just a cold, it will pass.’

He hopes at least. He laid there for a few more minutes, he thinks. Zelia could sense his distress he was sure and was cuddling closer purring against him. It didn’t help but he appreciated the effort. He had accepted that he wasn’t going to sleep and to just try to warm himself up somehow.

A weight dips on the bed and Lance shoots up before Red starts purring insistently in his head, calming him and making him relax. He rolls over and is pretty sure he is hallucinating when he sees a huge Red Cat in his bed. It curls its head over his and the warmth radiating off it finally makes Lance stop shivering.

“Red?” He asks, confused.

Sleep cub, She reassures him.

He wants to think more about what the fuck is happening, but he finally feels warm. A steady purr starts and it soothes him to sleep.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance wakes up confused, the warm weight in his bed is as comforting as it is confusing. He cracks open his eyes and jumps.

“Red?” He asks.

The big red freaking lion that is in his bed stretches out more. His head feels foggy. He feels exhausted even though he just woke up.

Sleep Cub. Red grumbles in his head.

Lance squints at the giant shape in his bed, sure he is hallucinating, but he doesn’t feel that sick. The lion curls around him and it’s so warm. She starts to purr and Lance can’t help it when he curls close to her. He feels warm and safe.

He’s pretty sure Red is using some space lion magic to soothe him because he feels something like a weighted blanket settle over his head. His eyes feel heavy and he basically melts into the bed, Zelia curling up on his back between him and the big lion.

His mind wanders and he considers if he should be concerned about if he has died. Last time he had a hallucination this vivid that he was pretty sure wasn’t a dream he was being tortured.

But that came with pain and suffering. This makes him feel warm and cosy. Like he is curled up in front of a fireplace under a knit blanket. He feels gross and sticky but nothing like when he was being held by the Galra. Despite the warmth radiating from his two cats now? he still feels a shiver rack through him. He falls into an uneasy dreamless sleep.

When he wakes up he jumps at seeing the big red lion in his bed.

“What the fuck?!” He yelps jumping to the other side of the bed.

Red and Zelia both give him an unimpressed look. He feels judged.

“Your here! Like I’m in the cabin though-? What is going on?” Lance asks.

Sleep cub, Red sounds in his head. You are unwell.

She starts purring and Lance feels his eyes grow heavy again. He can tell he is sick because everything looks hazy, almost dream like. But he has never hallucinated before. Does he have a fever?

“Your messing with my head.” Lance accuses Red even as he yawns.

Encouraging, Red assures him.

Lance blinks heavily. He really does want to go back to sleep but they need to move.

“We need to get moving.” Lance tells her. “I’m f-fine.”

A shiver runs through him when he says fine and Lance is surprised Red can give such an unimpressed look. He stares her down.

“Don’t give me that.” Lance tells her.

Red stretched out on the bed with her paws in front of her and blinks lazily. Lance can feel her trying to tell him something in his head. When he lets her he is shown the beach they were a couple days ago. He can almost feel the sun in his skin and hear the waves, so much like his home. He only realizes his eyes were closed when he starts tipping to the side.

He flinches back upright and fixes a glare on Red who returns the look.

“Fine.” Lance tells her. “I will nap for one hour. Then we will be on our way.”

Lance grabs a blanket when he stands stumbling before he slips in his slippers. He can feel Reds smugness behind him and the lights leading to the washroom brighten slightly. He also grabs a food and water pouch both for himself and Zelia on his way back. Red may have had a point as his legs feel weak and his knees feel like they are about to buckle as he walks. Zelia floats over and eats hers as soon as Lance is within reach. He leaves her to it and dives back into bed with Red.

“How are you doing this?” He questions as he cuddles close to her.

She is so warm, like a heated blanket.

You needed it. She tells him simply.

Lance hums in response. Now that he has had something to eat it’s like all his energy has been zapped from him. A bit unfair as it is supposed to be the other way around. Lance shivers as he pulls more blankets over himself to get warm.

“This is inconvenient.” He complains, even as he lays down. “I can’t be sick, we have to get back to the team.”

Rest, Red grumbles.

“One hour.” Lance mumbles. “Then you are explaining this.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance wakes up reassured when there is no giant lion in his bed. Zelia has returned though and is grumpy when his movement wakes her. He rubs his hands over his eyes and sits up. The chill that was plaguing him earlier is still there but it isn’t as bad. He wraps a blanket around him as he heads into the cockpit, almost stepping on the fish as they swirl through the air next to his bed.

He stumbles into the cockpit in his slippers, wearing Ragnar’s sweater and he is sure his hair is a curly mess. He can feel Red’s amusement in his head at his state and sighs.

“Don’t laugh at me.” He whines. “I’m sick!”

He startles when Red projects his video screen in front of him. Showing him what he actually looks like right now. He was right, he looks awful. He almost laughs at his appearance. His hair is a frizzy mess, he has dark bags under his eyes and he looks sick.

“Ew Red!” He complains then realises she has started the vlog. “You’re recording me?! This is a violation!”

Red purrs in his head.

“Red.” Lance whines. “Stop it. I look like I have died and been resurrected.”

Lance pauses. Then he shrugs and says. “Well, I mean-Jesus!”

On the camera Lance sees a huge red blob he spins to see what it is and is not as surprised as he should be to see Red.

“A little warning next time.” Lance says as Red purrs and rubs against his legs.

Lance sighs exasperatedly and runs a hand over her head. He sees the video cut off as he does.

“We should really be moving.” Lance tells her.

Red’s ear flicks and she gives him an unimpressed look before disintegrating into a bunch of red sparks. They brush his cheek before melting into the wall and the room grows brighter. Lance didn’t even realise that it was dim.

Red starts floating, only picking up speed when Lance puts his hands on the controls. Red seems to read his mind and puts on his soft pop music playlist. The sky is dark, but the vastness of space doesn’t scare him as much as it should. It kind of reminds him of the void of the ocean. Nothingness broken up by little specs, stars or planets doesn’t matter but it’s pretty. They are getting denser the closer they get to the exit of the edge, or whatever he is stuck in.

Pedro joins him about an hour in. Scurrying in from nowhere and trying to lick Lance’s eye.

“Oh my god. Ew! No!” Lance says, trying to squirm away from him.

He is fast, hurrying from Lance’s face down to his hand. He feels his little paws latch onto his wrist and then he just… stays there.

“You good little dude?” He questions raising his hand to look at him.

Pedro’s eyes were closed but have blinked open to look at him. He looks mad that Lance interrupted his sleep and turns his head away from Lance.

“Ok, sorry.” Lance tells him and lowers his hand back to the controls.

It feels weird but he adjusts to the weight quickly and continues humming along to the music. The day passes quickly, or Lance is just more sick than he thought and Red lands then on a large asteroid.

“We can keep going.” He argues with her.

No. She tells him. Sick, need sleep.

“I had sleep.” Lance says. “I slept for a day!”

Need more sleep. Red decides and shuts down the controls.

Lance glares out the front windows over the shut down controls. “You're not my mom.”

Cub, She purrs. Cub needs sleep. Needs to heal.

Lance huffs and crosses his arms. Is he aware he is acting like a five year old? Yes. Does he care? No.

Red brushes against his mind, thinking of a crow and a cane? Also a gun and a knife, then a heart-Oh. Lance had been telling her about his sister's favorite book series. He had forgotten because his head was so foggy.

“I’m fine.” He cuts himself off with a sneeze.

He can feel Red amusement and sighs. “Fine. But I am going to bed because I want to. Not because you told me to.”

He showers quickly. Feeling more sick after standing up for a long time. He always feels worse in the morning and the evening. He staggers into bed. Only remembering to feed Zelia because she is insistently circling his legs. He collapses into the bed, Red immediately shutting off the lights. The ache in his head lessens immediately and he sighs as he curls up. Red puts on his sleep playlist and he is out in minutes.

Chapter Text

“It is quite nice of you to be having lunch with Keith. Especially so soon into your mission. You haven’t been gone a week and I can tell he has missed you.”

Keith fights back spitting something cruel at Allura. Finding himself surprised he is able to do so and wondering if growing up has actually had an effect on his impulse control.

“Of course,” Krollia says, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder.

He honestly doesn’t know if she is able to read him that well because of their time together or he is just too much like her.

“I have spent enough time away from my son already.” She says with a smile.

She squeezes Keith’s shoulder and it makes him force a smile. “Yes. We have had a lot of catching up to do.”

“Of course,” Allura says with a smile. “I will let you two go.”

They both turn to leave but before they can Allura catches his arm. He is surprised and faces her with a confused look.

“I am glad you have found each other.” Allura says with a smile.

“Oh, um.” Keith is surprised by her words. “Thanks Allura.”

He is genuinely surprised by her words and doesn’t know how to feel. Her eyes are kind as she looks at him and her words seem genuine. No one else has really expressed how they feel about Keith having found his mom and he finds himself begrudgingly pleased that she is happy for him.

“It’s a story to show how you never give up.” She tells him with a smile. “Like with me finding other Alteans. You can never know what to expect.”

Keith feels his smile fade but thankfully his mom thanks Allura and drags him out of the room before he can say anything he regrets. He is still unbelievably angry when she is bringing him down the hall and away from Allura.

“I know.” His mom mutters as she continues pulling him along.

“She just-how can she- did she not hear herself?!” Keith exclaims when his mom finally brings them to a stop in an empty room.

“Apparently not.” She mutters. “It was a ridiculous thing for her to say, I know. But-”

“Ah! There is no but!” Keith cuts her off. “There is absolutely no justification for this! She-she thinks you are a good example of learning to never give up, but she gave up on Lance immediately.”

“Very frustrating.” His mom nods.

“You are too calm!” Keith exclaims, grabbing the nearest thing and throwing it at a wall.

It was some Altean cup or something so it just bounces harmlessly to the floor. Keith is seething when he feels his mom place a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you want to go to the training room?” She asks.

“No.” Keith closes his eyes. “No. I’m fine.”

“Ok.” She says.

They stand in silence for a moment. Keith calming himself down and his mom letting him.

“...is that why you called me here?” She questions.

“No,” Keith shakes his head. “No. Sorry.”

He sits on the couch in the small living room they are in, his mom taking a seat across from him.

“Do you remember when I told you about Adam?” He asks.

“Yes,” She says with a nod. “He was engaged to Shiro, and helped in taking care of you.”

“Yeah,” Keith says with a nodd. “I mean… he is more than that-”

“You also mentioned he is going to ‘murder’ you when you return? Is that why you called? You are concerned-?”

“No,” Keith shakes his head, cutting her off.

Fuck, Adam is going to fucking kill him when he gets back. He is going to be in so much shit. He is going to put a tracker in everything Keith owns. He hasn’t really thought about it besides a passing comment, but he is going to be so mad. Maybe he can play up the orphan bit? Nah, never worked on Adam, he could always tell when he was playing it up vs when he was actually sad, plus he is bringing his mom back. It makes him feel a little warm and fuzzy, having someone care enough to notice he’s gone. To be upset he is gone. At least he knows Adam is going to tell him how much he was worried and how much he missed him before tearing a strip off of him.

“No-that’s a figure of speech,” Keith shakes his head. “It means he’s going to be mad. Very mad. But that’s ok-it-it means he cares.”

His mom nods approvingly. “He was taking care of you and you disappeared. Being mad seems like an appropriate reaction.”

“Yeah but not the point.” Keith said looking his mom in the eye. “I made a comment about Adam to Shiro and he didn’t know who I was talking about.”

His moms eye narrow for a second. What Keith has learned to be her contemplating face.

“What do we think the odds are he has forgotten his Adam?” She questions.

“Zero.” Keith tells her. “There is no way, they had been together for years.”

“Ok,” She nods her head. “What about… repressing his memories of him? It is difficult to think of your loved ones while in an active war zone. Believe me.”

“No.” Keith shakes his head. “Not to the point he wouldn’t know who I was talking about. They are- Adam is the love of his life. He wouldn’t just… repress it enough to forget him.”

“And this means?” Krolia prompts him.

“That-It means that whoever that is, is not Shiro.” Keith says.

Even though he is fully aware of this it still feels like a stone in his stomach to voice it to someone else. Because he could have ignored it until voicing it to someone else. Now he has to deal with this. Do something about the person wearing his brother’s face.

“I don’t know what to do.” He admits miserably.

His mom places a comforting hand on his shoulder. He is still pretty awkward when it comes to shows of reassurance, but the weight and pressure of her hand grounds him a little bit.

“We need to come up with a plan.” His mom says firmly. “If you have an imposter on the ship, then we have to eliminate the threat.”

“I know,” Keith says, running a hand through his hair. “I just didn’t want to be right.”

“I’m sorry.” His mom says, sounding sincere. “If I could do this for you I would. But I think this is something you need to do.”

“I know.” Keith repeats softer.

They sit in silence for a while. His mom gets out her blade and starts to sharpen it and Keith does the same. He is grateful to have something to distract him from what he has just admitted to his mom. He tries to form a plan while his hands go through the comforting familiar motions of sharpening his blade, but it’s difficult. He has always found it easier to dive head first into action then plan what to do step by step. He wishes he could be confined in Hunk or Pidge, they are better at this than he is.

The thought makes him pause. “I don’t think this is something that I need to do alone actually. I think we’re going to need help.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance is sitting with his back to his bed criss-crossed on the floor glaring at his lion. His lion who is sitting across from him, meeting his gaze because apparently she is able to appear like this.

“You have been able to do this the entire time?” He demands.

You have, Red tells him, blinking at him.

“Literally-?! Fine, have I been able to do this the entire time?” He rephrases.

Yes, Red tells him.

Lance throws his hands up in exasperation. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?!”

Didn’t need to know, Red says.

“Didn’t need to know.” Lance mocks.

His fever cleared up and he took some of the alien meds he got from Ragnar. He doesn’t know what they did but he was super hyper for about an hour, cleaning Red and blasting music before passing out for six hours. He woke up feeling normal though, so yay? But now he has to figure out what to do with the information of Red apparently being able to project herself as a small lion.

Red stretches before coming over and flopping her head into his lap, nudging his hand for head pets like she has seen Zelia do. Lance begrudgingly starts petting her head. Her fur is really soft, softer than it should be.

“What can you do like this?” Lance asks her. “Like attack? Can you breathe fire-are you like a small dragon lion?”

Red seems amused but doesn’t interrupt him as he goes along with his theories about her abilities. Unfortunately it seems that it’s just for aesthetics. At least as far as she is telling him.

Eventually he thinks that Red is ready to go to bed. She stands and starts nudging him until he does the same. Lance groans dramatically before going through his regular routine. By the time he is ready for bed she has disappeared but is urging him to sleep in his mind.

“I wish you would be in more of a panic that we are lost in space.” Lance says with a yawn as he burrows under his blankets. Pedro squeaks where he is buried in them and gives him a stink eye when he crawls out. “When there is an active war happening?”

Red seems to fondly disagree, which Lance thinks is ridiculous. Keith probably would have stopped to sleep or eat in an attempt to get back as quickly as possible. Cause he is just perfect like that. Red seems very fond of the image in Lances head.

Sharp cub, she thinks.

Lance wonders if she means smart or pointy. Cause Keith is both, and also very fond of sharp things. Like to a degree that Lance is concerned. But he figures it is probably a coping thing from the lack of control he has had over his entire life so he lets it slide.

Something he doesn’t let slide is the fact that by next week, less than seven earth days, he should be out of this void. They have no more stops needed and Lance is dying to get out of here about as much as he is nervous to head back. He misses everyone like he is missing one of his senses. Everything just feels wrong without them but he is also nervous that he is going to get in trouble. He has been doing a pretty god job of looking after himself and a couple of living creatures if he does say so himself. Liberating planets in his down time, and exploring when he has had the chance.

He wants to see his friends but more than that he wants to go home. He misses the beach, the earth beaches, and his family. He wants to get sunburnt and get scolded for it by his nana. He wants to smell the rain once it hits the humid plants of his yard. He wants the sting of salt water in his eyes, and for everything he eats to taste like the ocean. He wants to listen to his papa snore, have his mom give him a look when someone says something she knows would make him laugh at an inappropriate time. He wants to find Rachel stealing his sweaters, and Lewis using his surfboard. He wants family skincare nights, kids movies and garlic knots and to know that he is loved no matter what he says or does.

But first he needs to get out.

“I’m ready to go back.” He admits to Red. “Not that I… you know.”

Good cub now sleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You know I never considered how fucking boring space is.” Lance muses to Red put loud. “I mean we have mostly been making pit stops and fighting while we have been out here. I am not opposed, don't get me wrong. But dude. There is literally nothing here.”

Lance leans back in his seat dramatically. Zelia and Pedro are curled up in her basket judging him. He is impressed they are able to make such disappointed faces as he look back at them.

“Don’t even say it.” He warns pointing a finger at them and narrowing his eyes. “I am not in the mood.”

Red seems to ponder this before she starts playing some music for him.

“Oh hell yeah!” Lance cheers sitting up in his seat. “Country music always makes me feel like I gotta be productive. Hang on everyone!”

He accelerates Red’s speed, swerving a little to the beat of the music with a grin. It makes him almost feel like he is dancing with Red.

“-about holding her hand. And now everybody wanna die happy, man.” Lance sings with a smile.

It’s the kind of music his dad would play when they were working on his boat back home. He doesn’t know why exactly as his dad wasn’t fluent in english and despised slow music. He and V had a theory it was because it made him work faster so that he could leave the proximity of the music. But it worked, and now it made him feel like he had to be working whenever it came on.

Fuck he’s nervous.

His heart feels like its beating hard. Not fast but thumping painfully against his ribs. He feels a knot in his stomach now that he is about to be back. He shouldn’t be stressed but something is nagging him about going back. Something he needs to remember.

The thought disappears when he spots a light in the distance that has been steadily getting bigger over the last couple of hours. The rift.

He is silent as they get closer to it. The light getting bigger as it seems to grow to encase everything around it as they approach. Red turns off the music. Zelia and Pedro are able to sense the mood change and silently join him. Zelia in his lap and Pedro clinging to his ear which is…interesting. He doesn’t let himself slow down as they approach it, worried he will over think it and end up stuck just takes a deep breath when the light is all but surrounding him until everything goes white.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yor-Keith I need you to assure me that you are completely sure you want to go through with this.” His mom asks as they stand outside the lounge.

Pidge, Hunk and Allura are inside all ignoring each other and working on separate tasks.

“Yes.” Keith tells her. “I am sure. Just-just trust me?”

He looks at him mom who nods before pulling him into a quick and awkward hug. Despite not knowing how to repocate it he appreciates the action. He takes a controlling breath before stepping into the lounge.

“Hey guys?” He calls, cringing internally at how all their eyes fall to him. “There is something I need to tell you.”

“What?” Pidge questions.

“Are you finally admitting you are in love with Lance?” Hunk asks.

“I-what?” Keith asks bewildered. “I’m-no. It’s about Shiro.”

“You are in love with Shiro?” Allura questions then makes a face that shows she is judging him harshly and is disgusted. “I thought you were brothers?”

“Ew. I’m not in love with Shiro. That’s so gross-we are getting off topic.” Keith responds.

He can see his mom turning her head to hide her smile. He feels slightly betrayed. She should know that this is serious. Fuck, he is not going to live this down.

“What I am trying to say is that whoever is on this ship is not Shiro.”

It takes a couple of minutes of shouting and arguing before Keith is able to plead his case. None of them willing to believe that they have been living with an imposter for months. Even when they settle down and start listening to his reasoning Keith can tell they are extremely skeptical.

“So you,” Allur says with her arms crossed, a move she learnt from Lance, “Are telling us that you think Shiro died, at some point, and was replaced with someone who looks exactly like him?”

“And remembers all the same things.” Pidge chimes in.

“No-not.” Keith drops his head into his hands. “It’s-more complicated than that. He jokes around like Shiro, cares like Shiro, but he doesn’t remember things.”

“Like what?” Allura demands.

“Like things from earth.” Keith argues.

They squabble for a minute about how finicky human memories are when Hunk speaks up.

“I think-,” He cuts himself off when everyone turns to look at him. “I trust Keith. If anyone would be able to tell that Shiro isn’t himself it would be Keith.”

“I… guess.” Pidge admits begrudgingly.

Allura doesn’t comment, but Keith takes that as a win. They believe him. Holy fuck they actually believe him. Now he just needs to execute the next part of his plan. Get everyone to a safe spot before he confronts whoever is pretending to be Shiro.

Then the emergency alarms inform them the ship has been put on lock down and the red lights illuminate the panic on his friends faces.

“Who-?”

“The bridge.” Allura says standing up. “I left-Shiro was in the bridge. It is the only place you can activate the emergency protocol. Quiznack and the cameras.”

“So… he knows.” Pidge says.

“And he shut down the castle.” Hunk says slowly.

“Fuck.”

Chapter Text

“Ok, you guys need to get out of here.” Keith says, pulling Pidge and Hunk to their feet.

“What do you mean get out?” Pidge says angrily, ripping her arm from his grip.

“Get somewhere safe.” Keith says. “My mom can take-”

“Keith, we are not leaving.” Allura says.

“I can protect the castle.” He insists. “Don’t worry-”

“Keith we aren’t leaving you.” Hunk emphasises.

Keith stops, stunned by the comment. “What?”

“We aren’t going to leave you to defeat what is apparently evil Shiro by yourself.” Pidge tells him then pinches his arm. “Idiot.”

“You guys can get hurt.” Keith protests.

“Uh, so can you?” Hunk tells him. “Literally any argument you make we can say the same thing dude.”

“...yeah. Ok.” Keith agrees. “But you are going to do exactly what I say and if anything get’s hairy you leave, even if that means leaving me. Alright?”

“We’re not going to-”

“Allura?” Keith interrupts Pidge.

She stares him down. “We aren’t losing anyone else.”

Keith blinks, then glances at his other two friends who are giving him the same look. Unwilling to give up without an argument that he really doesn’t have time for. His Mom is standing slightly behind them, ready to do whatever he asks. Whether that means forcing his friends off the ship or fighting for him.

“Fuck, fine.” Keith runs a hand through his hair. “We really don’t have time for this. Ok, ok. We need a plan.”

The plan ends up being Hunk and Pidge going to reroute some tech thing they explained but Keith didn’t understand. His mom escorting Romelle, and Coran off the shuttle to the nearest blade base, she didn’t like the plan but thankfully didn’t argue. Finally Keith and Allura are at the bridge. Keith goes to take a deep breath to prepare himself but almost chokes when Allura just opens the door with no hesitation.

Keith raises his blade but the room is empty? Allura walks through with purpose when she sees the open door. Already heading for the control stand.

“I’ll raise the shields. Who knows what he could have done-”

Before she finishes her sentence the door slams closed.

“Allura!” Keith yells, trying to jam his knife into the seam of the doors.

“Keith!” He can hear her muffled voice. “I can’t open the doors!”

“And she won’t be able to.”

The voice sounds from behind Keith and he whips around holding his blade out in front of him. Shiro is standing across the hall from him. About fifteen feet away but Keith knows he can cross the room in two seconds.

“Keith!” He can hear Allura scraping something at the door. “He’s welded it somehow, it won’t open.”

“Raise the shields! I’m fine!” He calls back to her.

He hears her swear and something crashes against the door before the noises stop. Shiro grins then. Whatever he is has given up all of Shiro’s mannerisms. The posture too perfect, the grin too sharp, none of his nervous or absent habits, and his eyes are glowing purple.

“Shiro.” Keith says “This… this isn’t you. I don’t want to fight you.”

“Then don’t.” He says. “Join me. Join us. They don’t care about you”

Keith doesn’t move. The tension between the two of them crackles like a frayed wire. Anything going to set it off and light a fire.

“You’re not him.” Keith shakes his head.

“I am whatever you need me to be.” Shiro says.

His eyes, that had been glowing dim and Keith is looking into the eyes of his big brother. He rolls his shoulders and like a flip has been switched Keith can recognize his posture as being normal. He extends a hand towards Keith giving him a soft smile.

Fuck that’s his fucking brother. That’s his big brother. The alarms are still blaring, calling the Galra to the ship where all his friends are. To where his family is. There is a heat in his chest making him feel like he is going to cry and all he can think about is movie night.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Lance begging for a movie night for months everyone finally gave in. Once everyone had been settled into the common space Coran had turned on a movie, only to find they were all in altean. Determined not to let it ruin their movie night Hunk had suggested they describe their favorite movies together and Pidge claimed she had shawshank redemption memorized but was taking some… artistic liberties.

“A rat is a traitor, a conceiver-”

“Uh, this is Snitches & Rats by 21 Savage.” Lance interrupts.

“Shhh.” Hunk shushes him.

Keith has to laugh at the exasperated face Lance makes before collapsing dramatically onto the couch behind him.
Pidge clears her throat dramatically from where she has been retelling the movie like a prophecy in front of them.

“As I was saying,” She gives Lance a pointed look. “A rat is a traitor, a conniver, planner or physical participator. He doesn’t sell secrets for power or cash, he betrays the trust of his team or family hoping to save his own cowardly ass.”

“Language.” Shiro says tiredly, making them all break out in giggles before composing themselves.

“The difference is, at least a snitch it human, but a rat is a fucking rat, period.” Pidge says pretending to drop the mic.

“That’s not in the movie.” Lance protests.

“It should be.” Keith says. “It’s true.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true.” Lance says. “It’s not in the movie. This is movie night! That doesn’t even have anything to do with the plot.”

“But it takes place in a prison.” Keith argues, just to argue with him. He likes when Lance gets all passionate about stupid things. “When would it ever be more relevant?”

“No, I think Lance is right.” Hunk interrupts, he looks like he is thinking. “It doesn’t have anything to do with rats or snitches.”

“Ugh!” Pidge throws her hands up. “Shiro, tell them.”

“Um, why me?” Shiro asks.

“Cause you're old.” Keith says with a grin.

“I am not that-Why do you all think I’m old?” Shiro asks, sounding offended.

“You are the same age as my Tio.” Lance tells him. “Now tell them they are wrong about Shawshank.”

“I don’t see how that makes me an expert on Shawshank but...yeah.” Shiro says with a sigh. “Lance is right about Shawshank.”

“Ha!” Lance jumps from the couch. “There are no snitches or rats in the movie. No one qualifies as either.”

“I guess.” PIdge mumbles then sits down and crosses her legs

“Probably a good thing.” Hunk comments munching on something he insists tastes like popcorn and chocolate but Lance's face turned green when he had some. “The movie would be boring if they killed him because he is a rat.”

“I don’t know if they would have killed him.” Keith protests. “They would probably have just made his life hell. No one likes a rat.”

“No, they definitely would have killed him.” Pidge insists. “A rat is no longer a person. The only thing they care about is surviving. The best way to punish them is to kill them.”

“Yeah,” Lance says, weirdly serious. “A rat is just trying to save itself. Trading your life for their freedom. They don’t give a fuck what happens as long as they can save themself.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Trading your life for their freedom’ echoes in Keith’s brain. Before he is really even able to register it he activates his bayard. Shiro’s eyes turn cold and his arm glows purple. Galra purple. Keith doesn’t say anything, though he is tempted to ask his big brother for advice even as he is the one analysing Keith from across the hall.

Keith would like to say that he doesn't make the first swing because he was being cool and calculated. But he really just doesn’t want to hurt Shiro. His blade clashes with Shiro’s arm the force of the block making his arm sing with the force of it. He doesn't flinch, just clenches his jaw, locking eyes with Shiro.

“You’re hesitating,” Shiro says softly, too softly like he is trying to make conversation. But there is a threat in his words, just like there is in Shiro waiting to pounce.

“I don’t want to fight you.” Keith says through gritted teeth, both through trying to hold his block and by the fact he doesn’t want to admit this to him.

“But you will.” Shiro says, pulling back from him. “You have to, if you want any chance of saving your pathetic little friends.”

Keith plants his feet on the floor. ‘Your friends’ ringing in his head. Not ‘our’ friends ‘your’ friends. A clear separation between Shiro and the rest of them. He finds himself desperately searching Shiro’s face, looking for a sign of approval, of pride, of sympathy, anything. But he doesn’t find it.

“You’re not him.” Keith says, the words pain him. The last pathetic part of him that had been holding onto his big brother giving up. “Not anymore.”

Shiro smiles. Finally looking pleased with him. But it looks cold. So much colder than Keith is used to.

‘He’s a rat.’ Keith can swear he hears Lance say. ‘Rat’s only care about themself.’

Keith slides into a proper fighting stance and Shiro runs towards him. His arm is glowing Galra purple instead of paladin blue. Keith swings first when he gets close enough. There is a clang when his blade hits Shiro’s arm and Keith can’t help himself from flinching.

He is used to pulling his punches when sparring with Shiro or anyone else on his team. It feels wrong to hit him with all of his strength. Fight him as the enemy instead of training with him as a mentor.

He strikes again once Shiro stops putting his weight into the hit. Desperate to try to push him back and make some sort of space between them. Give him room to think, to plan. Shiro absorbs the blow and tries to kick Keith in the stomach which he narrowly avoids. Shiro is looking at him with a grin when they are both preparing for the next hit, analysing each other for the slightest hint they are going to strike.

“Is that all you got?” Shiro taunts, he tilts his head and his eyes glow purple. “Pathetic.”

Shiro runs at him, he’s fast, too fast. Keith is barely able to meet the blow, almost buckling under the strength behind it. Shiro is inhumanly strong and his glowing eyes are scarily close to his face. The grin on his face makes anger rise in Keith’s stomach and he grits his teeth before pushing him back.

Keith can feel a growl in the back of his throat that doesn’t surprise him as much as it should as he clashes with Shiro again. The pleased look on Shiro's face just eggs him on and they meet blow for blow, neither gaining the upper hand until something hits the ship.

It throws them both off balance. Keith has to dive into a roll so Shiro doesn’t take his head off. Shiro takes the opening and runs at him, arm glowing as he tries to land a hit on Keith when he is trying to find his balance. Keith blocks it but ends up losing his balance and landing on his back. Shiro tries to leverage the momentum by pushing Keith’s blade into his own neck but Keith flips them to do the same to Shiro. They struggle for a moment while the castle starts groaning and tilting to the side, sending them sliding across the floor though neither of them disconnect to stop it.

“Thought you had more self preservation instincts.” Shiro tells him, causing Keith to lean more heavily into his blade with grit teeth. “Dont all Galra want to save themselves? Your ship is going down Keith.”

“Shut up!” Keith snaps before leaning down towards Shiro. “At least if this ship goes down, I know you are going with it.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it.” Shiro says that smirk still on his face.

He strained up against the blade, allowing it to cut into his own throat and told Keith in a hushed tone.

“You don’t know all the tricks of the droids.”

His eyes glow bright purple again before there are flashes of white. In the moment it takes Keith to blink away the light he is somewhere different. The world is a light rainbow and he is no longer fighting gravity as well as his brother. The astral plane

The second it takes him to take in his surroundings Shiro is able to throw him off. His feet stop immediately, the soles stopping on the glass like ground but Keith’s momentum makes him fall anyway. He dodges to the left, thanking his instincts when he sees Shiro’s blazing hand swipe where his neck just was. He gets to his feet quickly holding his knife in front of him.

“The Astral realm?” He asks, panting for breath.

“This is where they made me.” Shiro tells him, his voice sounding echoey and distorted. “Beat me, chained me. If you want to kill me you have to do it here.”

Shiro lunges at him again, making their fight start again. He looks different in the Astral plane. His teeth look like fangs, his skin looks grey and his eyes are glowing the same colour of his arm. It makes it easier to swipe at him with his sword. Makes him feel like he is fighting the enemy instead of his brother.

And fuck he is good. He moves inhumanly fast and is strong, much stronger than Keith. Everytime Keith tries to land a hit on him he blocks it easily and everytime Keith gets a little slower to block Shiro, letting him get a couple of good hits on Keith. He’s getting tired, and there is no where to go.

“Shit!” Keith hisses when Shiro kicks out his knee.

He falls to one leg and tries to swipe at Shiro’s stomach to make him move but Shiro grabs the fucking blade. Keith tries to tug it back but Shiro is like a wall and he can’t get leverage from his position. He lets go and tries to lunge from his position on the ground, but he underestimated how bad his leg was, it buckles under him and Shiro takes the opportunity to kick him hard in the stomach.

Keith wheezes as the air is knocked out of him, curling onto his side instinctively and Shiro kicks him again onto his back. Shiro plants a hard foot onto Keith’s chest and it’s like getting sat on by a statue. Not matter how much Keith squirms or kicks he can’t get Shiro to move. Shiro casually lines up Keith’s own blade to Keith’s neck.

“Shiro, no.” Keith says, real panic entering his voice now as his struggle gets harder.

“It didn’t have to be this way.” Shiro says in that fake sympathetic tone. “You would have made a wonderful addition. But I can see you will never leave your little friends, and you are too big of a threat to be left alive. Good-bye paladin.”

“Shiro! Don’t!” Keith pleads as he watches his brother raise the sword behind his head to bring down and decapitate him. “Please! It-it’s me-”

Keith closes his eyes and braces himself as Shiro starts the swing that is going to end his life. He doesn’t want to see it. Doesn’t want to see what used to be his big brother, the only person to never leave him, the first person to love him, take his life. But a sharp sound breaks through the eerie quiet of the astral plane.

Keith opens his eyes and meets Shiro’s own surprised gaze. The hand that had been holding Keith’s blade is nothing but a smoking piece of metal on the end of his arm. Keith’s blade lies next to him and Keith is too shocked that he isn’t dead to grab it.

“Get the fuck off of him.”

Keith’s head cranes to see who the person standing behind Shiro is. Shiro is blocking him but he would recognize that voice anywhere. It’s Lance.

Keith can’t fucking see him but he takes the opportunity made by Shiro’s shock to push him off and grab his blade before spinning around to face Shiro, and Lance.

“I-I don’t.” Shiro says his gaze flickering between eerie white and his normal gaze.

Keith takes his eyes off of Shiro, which he knows is stupid but it’s Lance. He isn’t wearing a helmet and his hair is different with a faint scar going through the eyebrow of the side facing him. He looks taller and stronger but it’s undeniably him.

“Lance.” Keith croaks out.

Lance doesn’t look at him, he is instead studying Shiro. His gaze flickering between Shiro’s broken arm and his eyes.

“Shiro.” He says cautiously, “Is what you told me true? On the couch?”

Keith has no idea what the fuck that means, and is frankly kind of offended Lance hasn’t said a word to him directly. Mostly because he is pretty sure he is dead and this is some kind of fucked up thing his brain is making up.

Shiro’s eyes flick up to him. Looking angry and bearing his teeth at Lance before his gaze goes back to normal and he gasps out.

“Yes.”

“It’s the arm.” Lance says quickly, finally looking at Keith. “Get it off.”

Then Lance spins the gun he was holding and Keith watches as it shifts into a blade. Keith only has a moment to process that before Lance is launching himself at Shiro. Shiro uses the stump of his arm to block him and spins to face Lance when he angles himself so Shiro’s back is to Keith. He isn’t as much as a threat anymore, it’s almost comical watching the sparking end of Shiro’s arm wave around at Lance. It a hard hit wouldn’t slice him open.

Shiro has lost his composure, growling and swiping at Lance with no strategy. But he’s violent enough that Lance is playing defence. Blocking hits and dodging punches before dancing out of the way. Fuck, Keith needs to help him. He creeps closer, keeping his footsteps light and quiet so Shiro doesn't detect him.

Get it off? How the hell is Keith supposed to remove Shiro’s arm? It’s not like it’s detachable. Shit.

“I’m sorry.” Keith whispers, mostly to himself before he slices Shiro’s arm off.

Chapter Text

Shiro’s screams ring in Lance’s ears for a moment. Before they cut off abruptly and he collapses like a tree from a single, powerful chop. Lance rushes to catch him, Keith looking dazed behind Shiro. It’s a risky move cause he isn’t sure if Shirps is going to fucking bite him, he was acting like a pissed off cat like 10 seconds ago, but he is unconscious.

Or dead. Or a figment of his imagination. Lance has no idea what the fuck is going on. One second he was in Red the next Shiro was trying to take Keith’s head off. He could be in the astral plane, or he could be dreaming, or he could be dead.

Regardless he lays Shiro down on the ground gently, well as gently as he can. He’s fucking heavy. Then he turns to Keith standing and unable to stop the glare he gives him.

“Are you real?” He asks, he can’t keep the anger out of his voice. “I’m sick and tired of not knowing what’s real and what isn’t. So?”

Keith looks flabbergasted at his question before he frowns. “Am I real? You are the one who went missing!”

“How is that my fault?” Lance snaps back at him. “I didn’t get a fucking say in that, and you weren’t even there!”

“Oh so it’s my fault then!” Keith takes a step towards his anger radiating off him. “You get a nice vacation from saving the universe who the fuck knows where, and that’s somehow my fault!”

“I didn’t say that!” Lance snaps at him. “Stop twisting my words! God you are so fucking abrasive and annoying! How the fuck am I in love with you!”

“I love you too!” Keith basically yells before smashing their mouths together.

It’s not a nice kiss. It’s angry, and aggressive with too much tongue and teeth. Keith kisses him like it is a way to continue their argument, dropping his blade and grabbing Lance’s hair and his shoulder to pull him closer. Lance drops his own blade to drag Keith closer, feeling the warmth radiating from him. The sharp clarity that this is real makes him cling to Keith like a lifeline. Keith breaks the kiss and buries his face in Lance’s neck.

“I love you.” He says quieter, pulling Lance close in a hug.

“I love you too.” Lance echoes Keith’s earlier words, unable to keep the stupid smile off his face.

They stand there for what is both not long enough, and too long considering there is an unconscious Shiro at their feet. Lance is unwilling to let go of Keith. Even though this doesn’t have the hazy quality his dreams usually have he is convinced he is going to blink and Keith will disappear. Eventually Shiro groans and Keith sighs.

“Guess we gotta do something with him.” Keith mutters.

“Rude.” Shiro rasps out and both their heads snap to him.

Keith picks his head off of Lance’s shoulder and takes a step towards him. “Shiro?”

“Unfortunately,” Shiro mutters, trying to sit up and slamming back onto the ground without the use of his arm. “Ow.”

“Holy fuck that’s Shiro.” Keith says and rushes to help him.

Lance helps and they get Shiro into a sitting position. Shiro’s eyes are half open and he is frowning down at where his arm is supposed to be. Keith is peppering him with questions he is trying his best to answer, but Lance can tell he is exhausted.

“Keith,” He tries for the tenth time gently.

This time Keith hears him and looks at him. Lance freezes for a moment. Keith loves him. He shakes his head and gathers his thoughts.

“Let’s let Shiro rest.” Lance says gently.

“Yeah.” Shiro agrees, slumping back to the ground. “M’just… gonna have a nap.”

“Uh no.” Keith argues but Lance grabs him by the arm.

“Were you with him when you entered the plane?” Lance asks him.

“Uh, yeah.” Keith looks at him quizzically. “We were fighting.”

“Ok.” Lance says with a relieved sigh. “Good. That means you’ll probably be in the same place when you get back.”

“I-yeah? Why would-oh.”

Lance watches a train of emotions fly over Keith’s face. Too quick to decipher. Lance shakes his own head.

“Don’t worry about that.”

“That-t’at me’ns you should.” Shiro chimes in.

“Stop.” Lance says, lightly hitting him.

Shiro hums, and Keith looks at him. “Shiro?”

Lance feels like he should give them a moment alone but he can’t help but watch as Keith pulls Shiro close in a hug. Keith looks taller than when Lance last saw him, but still smaller than their leader. He almost looks like a kid the way he is clinging to Shiro.

Lance takes the opportunity to try to call out to Red. closing his eyes and telling her it is time to go. A glow seems to pierce through his eyelids and when he opens them he can see the astral plane slipping away.

“Wait!” Keith calls, reaching for him. “Lance, come here!”

Lance takes Keith’s hand and plants a kiss on the back of it. “It’s ok Keith.”

“Wait! Wait!” Keith pulls him closer with his hand.

“Keith-”

“No!” Keith yells. “I-I just got you and Shiro back!”

“It’s fine-!”

“Stop!” Keith yells. “Just wait!”

But it was too late. Everything was getting washed in a red and Lance could feel the plane slipping away from him. He could only see the back of Shiro’s head but Keith looks a mixture of desperate and pissed off. Keith tries to pull him closer by the hands and yells.

“Red!”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lance blinks his eyes open. He’s… he doesn’t know where he is. He is lying on grass that almost looks blue looking into a sky washed in pinks and purples. He twitches a hand in the grass, surprised that it doesn’t hurt though he expects it too. He sits up slowly, trying to take in his surroundings but quickly gets a face full of feathers.

“Zelia!” Lance says and gathers her in a hug.

She is purring loudly and rubbing his face like she is trying to rub it off. Lance buries his face in her feathers as she cuddles as close to him as possible. He was worried about her, he hates leaving her alone.

He peaks up and is relieved to see that Red is sitting about a hundred meters away from him. Her eyes are glowing yellow and he is relieved that she is ok. He looks around quickly to see if anyone else is in what looks to be a clearing around him. He is disappointed to see that he is alone.

“Ok,” He says with a sigh. “Ok, let’s go to Red.”

He stands slowly, closing his eyes when he feels like crying. He doesn’t know what to do. He has no idea where he is, and if the fucking light tunnel that had been his goal since he got trapped didn’t work he doesn’t know what he will do. He doesn’t know what he can do.

“Lance?”

Lance flinches and turns at the voice, half sure he is hallucinating. Keith has just stumbled out of the trees and is making a bee line for him.

“Lance!”

Lance stands there blinking until Zelia makes her whinging charge noise. Her feathers are ruffled and she is zoomed in on where Keith is charging towards him, lips curled back at the approaching figure.

“Zelia, no.” Lance says and shakes his head slowly.

Zelia listens but hovers anxiously, then Lance can’t see her anymore because he has been tackled to the ground.

“Lance!” Keith exclaims.

Lance’s back hurts, the wind has been knocked out of him, Keith’s arm is digging painfully into his back, and there is a rock digging into his leg. It feels real.

“Keith?” He asks hesitantly.

“Oh my god.” Keith says, pulling away from him and starting to run his hands over him, testing to make sure he’s real. “I-I don’t-Lance.”

Keith is running his fingers over his face when Lance grabs his hands. “Ok, you’re gonna take an eye out here dude.”

“Oh my god.” Keith says quietly to himself. “I can’t believe it-you’re here. You’re real.”

“Yeah,” Lance says with a squeeze of Keith’s hand. “Me neither. Was that thing with Shiro-?”

“Real.” Keith says, “He’s with Allura but then I could sense Red and I just-you’re here.”

“Allura is here?” Lance asks. “And Shiro?”

“And Hunk and Pidge and Coran.” Keith says. “And the mice, and your cow and my mom and Romelle-well you don’t know them yet I guess, but you’ll like them. I think.”

“I’m back?” Lance asks, unable to keep his voice from sounding small.

“You’re back.” Keith says with a smile. “You’re really back.”

Lance laughs, pulling Keith close in a hug. “Oh my god. Oh my-Keith I’m-I don’t-”

“I know.” Keith says, sounding watery. “I know.”

Lance holds him close, confident he is crying but unwilling to risk letting Keith go to check. Lance eventually let’s him go when Zelia starts making chipping noises by his head. As soon as they sit up Zelia perches on Lance’s shoulder and glares at Keith.

“Hey Hermosa,” Lance tells her, raising a hand to smooth her ruffled feathers. “It’s ok. That’s Keith.”

She stares Keith down unblinkingly and Lance rolls his eyes. “She’s-uh-protective.”

“I can see that.” Keith says, eyeing Zelia back.

Lance sighs internally, even though he is giddy that Keith is here the two are too stubborn for each other.

“Zee doesn’t handle new people too well.” Lance says, “She doesn’t like when strangers touch me. Let’s bring her to Red then you can show me where everyone else is.”

Keith nods, still having a stare down with Zelia until Lance turns away and starts back towards Red.

We’re home, Red tells him bending down eagerly to let Keith and Lance inside the cockpit.

Not quite, Lance tells her.

He glances over to where Keith is grinning up at the lion. He looks so happy to see her that Lance isn’t even jealous. It makes something in his chest feel warm seeing him be happy like that.

“Hey Keith,” He says once Zelia flies off in a huff, probably to stake her claim somewhere in Red.

“Yeah,” Keith turns to him.

The pure joy that had been on his face when looking at Red is still there and solidifies Lance's decision when he kisses him. Keith freezes for a second before melting and grabbing Lance to pull him closer. It’s a sweet kiss and they are both grinning when they pull away.

“Hi,” Keith sounds almost shy but is still pulling him in by his hip and shoulder.

“Hey.” Lance says back and plants a kiss on his mouth just because he apparently can before stepping away. “We really should go see everyone. I really want to, plus we have an audience!”

He says the last word loudly and Red stands up despite them still being on the ramp. Keith stumbles but Lance catches him and drags him inside. Too used to Red’s antics. Plus she is laughing at them, he needs to give her a talking too.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith feels a bit drunk. He is warm and happy and he can’t stop smiling. Lance is here, Lance is in his arms, and his brother is waiting for him with his mom. There are happy bubbles dancing through him as he follows Lance closely into Red.

He can’t hear her which is weird, because he can sense her presence. She must be talking to Lance. Keith stops once they go down the small hallway into the interior of Red, it looks so different.

The bed that he had kept with the pillow Red that had been in Red and the simple blanket was covered in various pillows and blankets of all shapes and sizes. It looks more like a nest with nothing matching but somehow looking inviting. There is also a weird carpet next to the bed, as well as some funky looking slippers. What really gets his attention is the vines across the ceiling with bubbles that seem to be glowing and the back wall covered in pictures and drawings. He tries to get closer to a couple of the pictures to see what they are of but is startled by a loud-

“HONK!”

Keith jumps three feet in the air and has his knife pointed out in front of him. A creepy lizard looking creature comes out from the middle of the pile of pillows. It doesn’t blink as it creeps closer to him and as much as Keith doesn’t really want to resort to stabbing it on Lance’s bed he thinks it’s going to attack him.

“What are you-?” Lance peaks his head out from the cockpit to see him and eyes the Lizard which Keith now see has round ears and whiskers. “Oh that’s Pedro-are you going to stab him?!”

“No!” Keith denies quickly.

He doesn’t want to turn his back on the-Pedro. He buries himself back into the pillows and Keith turns back to face Lance. He is tapping on a holopad that Keith doesn’t recognize, and he takes a moment to admire him. His hair is curly and short on the sides, his skin looks brighter with freckles popping up on his cheeks and there are a couple faint scars that Keith doesn’t remember that make him frown.

“What?”

The voice startles him and he meets Lance’s eyes. They lock onto him and Keith is helpless but to step closer to him. They are still the same and that thought alone makes him brave enough to put his hands on Lance's shoulders and pull him into another kiss, because he can now. It’s just as amazing as it was in the astral realm except that it feels more real, Lance feeling more solid beneath his hands. It only makes it better when Lance pulls him closer by the waist. Keith breaks the kiss to look at him, just admiring the fact that Lance is here, under his hands, kissing him.

“I'm so glad you're here.” He says.

“Me too.” Lance says back.

They stand their grinning at each other like idiots for what is probably way too long until they hear an irritated huff from the cockpit.

“Yeah, yeah.” Lance steps back after giving Keith a squeeze and rolls his eyes. “He’s coming.”

“Does your cat want to try to kill me again?” Keith jokes following Lance through the familiar short hall unable to take his eyes off him.

“Uh… not quite.” Lance tells him.

Keith is looking at a basket hanging from the ceiling before he sees a flash of red. His jaw falls open when he sees there is a red lion sitting and staring at him from the floor. Even without her voice in his head it is undeniably Red.

“Wh…” He trails off, his brain unable to compute what he is seeing.

“Yeah,” Lance agrees, stepping forwards and running a casual hand over the lionesses head which she leans into, a deep purr sounding through the cockpit. “It’s weird I know.”

Keith doesn’t know what to say when the lion comes closer to him and rubs against his legs, almost knocking him over. He reaches out to pet her, surprised his hand doesn’t go through her like she is a mirage.

“How-...What?” He is able to choke out.

“I don’t know man,” Lance says, fiddling with something then casting a glare at the red cat. “Apparently it is something she could always do, but she only likes to when she can be a pain in the ass.”

Red huffs before running forwards and diving into the window, nearly giving Keith a heart attack. Instead of it shattering Red’s interior lights up, making Keith aware of how dim it had been beforehand, and Red’s presence fills his head with amusement.

“You might want to hold onto something.” Lance tells him and Keith is amazed when Red starts to move without Lance touching the controls. “I think she is going to show off for you.”

Keith is semi frozen but quickly grabs the back of Lance’s seat when Red launches herself straight upwards. It causes Lance to laugh, and the noise is something Keith decides he would do anything for.