Chapter Text
The team docked, chattering excitedly (and almost in disbelief) about the battle, and Sendak was transported into a kind of cryogenic pod. The alien was pushed straight into it from Black, Shiro holding him firm. Coran and Allura then closed it, and the glass fogs briefly with some gas that made Sendak unresponsive.
“It was originally made for a crew in emergencies,” Allura explained, pressing a button that caused the pod to start floating. Coran and Pidge were mesmerized; Coran tapped it lightly as if it would come to life and slap his hand. It began to drift away, but Allura quickly got ahold of it. “This castle is very advanced… it’ll take a couple days to fully read through all the documents…”
“Yes! But it’s in a different language, which makes it harder.” Everyone gaped at Coran like he grew two heads.
“Wait,” Lance interjected, pointing a finger back and forth, “how were you and Allura able to--”
“Oh, there must be some universal translator or something…” She shrugged. “We still don’t know what most of the words mean or are referring to. In any case, we have to decide what to do next.” Coran began to take Sendak deeper into the ship, no doubt to put the pod back where it came from, and the rest of the group dissolved into a heavy silence.
“... Whatever empire Sendak is a part of,” Keith started, slowly, “they’ll be back…” Allura nodded solemnly.
“I think that we must be the ones to keep Voltron. We cannot let the aliens get ahold of it.”
“What about, when they come, we just give the lions to them? Like, y’know, send them on their merry way--”
“I don’t think it’s that simple, Hunk,” Shiro murmured, running a hand through his fringe. He looked as worn out as they all felt. “From what little information I gathered about Sendak when we were interrogated--they don’t spare.”
“What do you mean, ‘don’t spare?’” Pidge heaved a sigh. “They didn’t question me much, just shouted something about where Voltron was.”
“I mean--he said they destroy planets. I don’t really know what their goal is--but there’s definitely more of them, and they’re not nice. And they want Voltron bad.”
“Okay, so wait--what I’m hearing is one;” Lance cut in, waving his hands incredulously, “we can’t give up the lions because bad things will happen, two; those ‘bad things’ are the aliens coming to destroy our planet or something, and three; we’re the only ones standing in between them and worldwide annihilation?” Almost everyone looked down at the ground. Keith looked to the side, catching the desperate glint in Lance’s eyes.
“I mean, we don’t have to leave Earth, do we?” He looked around at everyone, and Keith’s fists clenched tighter. Lance stuttered, voice softening. “D-do we?”
“It’s not just about us anymore,” Shiro said quietly, though it was loud enough to break. “It’s about--it’s about worlds. Whole other galaxies--an entire universe.”
“Shiro’s right,” Allura added, wringing her wrist, “I mean--I looked up some information about Voltron and the lions while in the control room, and--” she cleared her throat. “The lions chose you. It’s not like we can find other pilots… Not to mention debrief them and...” Her voice dies as she catches their expressions.
“But that’s… I--I have a whole family, brothers and sisters--my mom needs me,” Lance’s voice broke.
“I’d like to stay,” Hunk said, and everyone turned to him. He flinched under the weight of their stares and backtracked. “I mean--this is all really cool and wonderful and stuff and all but like--I don’t know! I’d like to--I mean, space? For an indefinite amount of time? Without my family?” He shook his head. Pidge frowned.
“Well, I think we need to go.” They lifted their chin in almost a slight defiance, but their lip wobbled. “Sure, I’ll miss my family--but… it’s not like anyone but my brother will miss me much.”
“I think it’s our duty to do so,” Allura said simply, Shiro nodding approval. Then, everyone turned to Keith. He frowned, shifting back and forth on his feet.
“I… Allura, you said before when Sendak was coming--that if we didn’t fight, we wouldn’t have an Earth to come back to.” Keith bit his lip, letting that sink in before he continued. “I think… we owe it to our families and friends, and all the rest of humanity to protect the Earth.”
“I need--I need time,” Lance muttered, and walked out of the bay. Hunk followed, flashing everyone an apologetic smile.
“I guess it’s decided, then.” Shiro took a deep breath. “We leave in a day.”
{--+--}
Keith didn’t really have anywhere to go besides his apartment--no one to spend his time with. He did call his aunt in Korea, though, and explained to her that he’d be going to a boarding school tomorrow and that she didn’t have to pay for the apartment anymore. She was a bit skeptical at first; but luckily, his uncle butt in as his lie got rocky, and Keith was able to sell it.
“Maybe you can come visit here next summer,” his uncle said as they parted, “Jin Ah really wants to see you.” Keith nodded vigorously, even though it’s been years since he’s seen his cousin--and he wondered if it was just a necessary act of politeness. Regardless, he couldn’t help but get choked up.
“Yeah--yeah, that’d be great.” He cleared his throat, and then, “I--I gotta go, you know--a lot of packing to do. I’ll be in touch.” It was so easy to lie; but for some reason, the words that left his mouth carried a kind of poison, only heightened by the way his chest was tightening.
“Alright. And Keith--your mother and father would have been proud.” He shook his head, then, and leaned forward. His uncle… definitely seemed to know at least something was up.
“Yeah.”
“Take care of yourself,” his uncle murmured, and Keith straightened, almost missing it. He tried not to think about how much it sounded… like an apology.
“Of course. You and--and Jin Ah.” The line clicked dead, and Keith wondered just what kind of stars aligned for his uncle to show interest in him again. His aunt hadn’t much cared for him, especially when he got kicked out, but…
It’s pretty weird; he hadn’t really thought about how much he was leaving behind, but after that conversation it was put a little more in perspective. Keith walked up to his shelf of plants, and wondered what he’d do with them. He didn’t really know; he wanted to take a few with him, of course… but he liked each and every one of them.
He sighed as he sat down, and began to sort through them. He guessed he could give the rest to either Lance’s family or Hunk’s; but he figured that’d be pretty weird--also, he felt like they’d want this time to themselves.
In any case, he chose to take Pidge’s cactus with him; that one for obvious reasons. He also picked out an aloe plant, another with pink marbled leaves, an ivy, and a small plant that, in the summertime, produced blue flowers. The rest, he figured, were either too fragile for space travel, or would survive on their own if he planted them outside.
With only a few hours of remaining daylight, he took the rest of the plants and drove them around the neighborhood, his bike’s engine gunning softly as he left them at people’s doors. He gave the tall grassy one to a girl he used to know in highschool, who helped him understand a math problem once. Another spiny cactus he gave to a that one quiet guy in the back of one of his Garrison classes--was it astrophysics or philosophy? He didn’t remember. Anyway, the guy helped him when Iverson caught him sleeping in the back of class and called on him for a question.
On and on like that; people he didn’t get to know at all or not too well got a random plant on their porch, and whatever they decided to do with it was their decision. Finally, he took a nice, slow drive back, feeling the wind in his hair one last time in the setting sun. Tonight, a kind of humidity hung in the air; it tasted slightly of rust, but it wasn’t unpleasant. He wondered if there were other planets like Earth. But still… it definitely wouldn’t be the same.
He rolled up slowly to his apartment, and decided to take at least a small duffel bag of clothes. He stared at the bike keys on his counter; he wanted to take it with him… but where’d he get the chance to ride? He phoned Hunk’s brother, leaving a message for him about the bike and to pick it up in the morning, outside his apartment.
It was weird; he wondered what poor soul was gonna get the job of cleaning out his apartment, and finding all this random, useless stuff. Keith only had a handful of belongings, so it wasn’t hard to take care of everything, and after that--he just laid there.
When his mind couldn’t take it anymore, he paced around; walking the tiny floor space in his apartment and trying to ward off second thoughts. The sun set far below the horizon and the moon rose--and still he didn’t stop, biting his lip, hard.
If he was having this much trouble, he couldn’t imagine what kind of difficulty the others were having. He wandered out into his driveway and looked up at the sky; it was clear tonight, and full of stars.
“Can’t sleep?”
He nearly jumped out of his skin as Lance walked up, toting a huge bag behind him. Keith gaped slightly, before remembering to answer.
“I mean… me and sleep don’t mix well anyway,” he mumbled, and Lance laughed, but it was heavy and almost forced.
“Yeah, you can say that again.” Keith wasn’t surprised when Lance sat down next to him, or even when he leaned on Keith’s shoulder.
“I had so much trouble figuring out what to bring,” he said, and Keith bit the inside of his cheek at how hollow Lance sounded. “I mean, how can you prepare for something like space travel?”
“Lance…”
“I had to leave before I lost my nerve.” Keith turned to look at him, but Lance had his gaze set on the sky, eyes glistening. “I mean--Pierce caught me, of course. That one’s such a light sleeper--” he chuckled, wiping his eyes, “but I had--I had to lie.
“It doesn’t feel real yet,” he continued, and Keith hummed in agreement. “It still doesn’t--I mean, what’s so real about aliens and mechanical war-lions?”
“Lance--”
“Keith, we don’t even know what we’re up against. We don’t know if we’ll go into space and die immediately, or even if we’ll get so far just to fail--I mean, hell, Sendak almost killed you. Why would I--” His voice broke, then, and Keith couldn’t look at him.
“There’s… there’s a lot of uncertainty,” he started quietly, and felt Lance shift to glance at him. “You could very well be right--we could fail, in more ways than one. But from what I feel, and what Allura’s saying--what Red tells me, deep in my gut--I know that even if we fail, we have to try. That one chance to succeed... I just--” Keith paused, composing himself. “I just wish it didn’t have to be like this.” Keith met Lance’s gaze, and Lance’s eyes soften.
“I told… I told Pierce to take care of everyone,” Lance’s voice broke, and he gripped Keith’s arm. “I’m--”
“I know,” Keith interrupted, leaning his head on Lance’s. “I told my aunt and uncle that I’d be going to a boarding school in California.” Lance snorted.
“California? You? California?” Keith frowned lightly, the heat between him and Lance filling him.
“Hey, it could happen.”
“The only thing ‘California’ about you is that mullet,” Lance smirked, body relaxing as they joked. Keith took the bait, if only to calm Lance and get his mind on another subject.
“Wha--I told you, I don’t have a mullet.” Keith felt like he didn’t have to pretend to take the bait, though.
“Mmhm. Whatever you say, mulletman.”
“What’s with that name, anyway? You keep--”
“Mulletman, take me by the hand; lead me to the land that you understand,” Lance sang, and Keith’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Mulletman, the voyage to the ends of the world are a real trip. Mulletman--”
“What--”
“The hair of a pale man styled by his hand--”
“That doesn’t make any--”
“--Soaking up the thirst of the land... “ Lance leaned back on the pavement. It rang a bit familiarly in Keith’s ears, the melody at least--but he couldn’t place it. “That’s all I got.”
“What--”
“Oh hey, what’d you do with all your plants?” Keith sighed.
“I planted some, gave the rest away…” He closed his eyes.
“And you didn’t give any to me?” Lance faked getting stabbed in the chest. “I’m wounded.”
“Shut up,” Keith said, unable to stop a smile--and smacking Lance lightly on the shoulder to hide it. “I have one for you, actually.” He froze as Lance suddenly stared at him very intensely--and then, a second later, the moment passed.
“Well, that’s good, because when we’re on the ship and I need someone to talk to, and you and Hunk and Pidge and Allura are all taken--I can talk to my plant.” Keith snorted, and Lance whipped around. “What?”
“You can always come find me, you know--” And then Keith blinked, realizing. “I mean--a plant can’t talk back at you, so--and I’m sure Hunk wouldn’t mind if you--” Lance chuckled softly, and Keith cleared his throat. God, he's acting like such an idiot--and his warm face isn't helping. Neither is Lance's stare.
“Thanks, Keith.” He didn’t really know how to respond to that; this Lance was completely different from the one he’s seen previously, all bravado; but somehow, it fit. Keith closed his eyes.
“Remember that time we talked about flying?” He felt Lance turn to him, and breathed out before continuing. “You told me… that you wanted to see the universe, everything you could.” Lance snorted, a bit bitterly, and Keith’s eyes snapped open. “It’s still your dream, Lance. Maybe… it wasn’t what you were expecting, and maybe… you don’t give a shit now that the circumstances are so different.” Keith gave a wry smile.
“But we’re gonna see it, Lance. We’re gonna experience the universe, all the beauty, all the ugly, too--but it’s gonna happen.” Lance’s eyes began to water, and Keith tried to will him to feel the possibility in what they were about to do. He hoped it was a positive thing. “We’re gonna see it all,” he added softly, choking on his words, and the dam finally broke.
{--+--}
They started to walk as the sun began to rise. Lance with his belongings, Keith with his, the bike left for Dezmond to take when he got the message. They didn’t talk; they didn’t need to.
The castle of lions looked different from afar; instead of a gigantic tree, it was more of a gleaming white rock formation. A smooth one. With only about a quarter of the tree still left intact. It was a sight to see, and the sun shining full and strong in the sky would only highlight that. Literally.
“God, I still hate this damn jungle,” Lance grumbled, wiping off a cobweb and adjusting his duffel. “That’s one thing I won’t miss-- spiders.” Keith paused.
“Wait, Lance--what about if there’s a planet of giant--” Lance shook his head, locking his arms in an X formation.
“Nope! No, definitely not, no, no, no! No input from Keith Chang, the hearings have closed for the day--”
“But it could totally--” He covered his ears and kept shaking his head, his eyes screwed shut. Keith laughed and patted him on the back, then scooted around him on the path and stood in front. He grabbed Lance’s wrists and quickly pulled them off his ears.
“It’s alright,” Keith said mischievously, “I’ll kill them for you.” Lance opened an eye and glanced at him, but still suspicious. “--With a big giant space boot.” Lance melted.
“Nooo! Keith! How could you! I imagined that! Oh no, I imagined the huge boot and the--How dare you,” he stopped his antics, suddenly, and fixed Keith with a hard look. “I sat with you when you cried--”
“Uh! You were crying for so much longer than I was--”
“And I nurtured you when you were sick! I even made you breakfast!”
“You did not! You burnt the toast! Remember, I had to come down and make it because you set off the fire alarm--” Lance waved his hand in front of Keith’s face.
“Details! Details! Unimportant!”
“Excuse me, Earth to Lance Diaz! It’s super important!”
“Okay, whatever, but it still doesn’t take away from me taking care of you!” Lance stuck his tongue out, but Keith sat back and thought about that for a minute. Lance had been the only one that was really with him every step of the way.
“Fine, fine--come on, we’re gonna be late,” Keith mumbled, turning around and starting again. Lance pursed his lips.
“Mmm, what’s this? Keith Chang, admitting defeat? I can’t believe--”
“It’s not defeat! It’s--” Keith huffed. “No more spider talk! Just get over here.”
“Uh, hold on--I couldn’t really make it out, repeat it to me one more--” Keith marched straight up into Lance’s personal space, looking him straight in the eye.
“I,” he said, frowning slightly, “am extremely grateful for you looking out for me the past few weeks.” Lance blinked, and Keith opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He coughed lightly, feeling as heat rose up to his face, and made to take a step back. But Lance’s hand caught him, and god he needed to get about 200 feet away because jesus christ--
Then he froze, as he realized that Lance had just probably planted a kiss right on his cheek. They pulled back, Lance still gripping Keith’s arm.
“Uh--” he said, and they both glanced at the other, and if Keith wasn’t burning up before, he sure as hell was now.
“That--”
“I kinda like you?” Lance blurt out, rushed and desperate, face growing even redder the more Keith looked.
“I’m--okay?” Keith spluttered slightly, mind whirling. This is what he wanted, right? This is--
“Um, I’m glad you’re okay?” Lance blinked confusedly at the other boy, and Keith tried to regain his composure.
“I--I mean--I just--what?”
“What?”
“No, like--”
“You know, usually me telling someone I like them isn’t really this hard to grasp--” Keith took a deep breath, and then shushed Lance.
“Okay, okay… well, how about I start over, then?” Lance’s brows furrowed.
“Do you--do you want me to start over too? I mean, I can if you want but it’s kinda--”
“No, shut up.”
“Okay? You’re kinda killing me, man.” Lance looked at Keith a bit warily, and Keith chuckled softly. This was Lance, and damned if he wasn’t going into space to fight aliens who wanna take over the world with a huge robot lion.
“I like you too,” he stated, and coming out of his mouth, for the first time ever--he felt how true it was. Lance paused, though.
“Wait, you mean like as friends? Or do you mean--” Keith rolled his eyes.
“Really? You tell me that this usually isn’t so hard to understand and you--”
“Okay! Valid point, but also you’re kinda really pretty so I don’t--”
“Wha--You can’t just say that!” Keith covered his face and turned away slightly, but Lance frowned.
“Why not?”
“‘Cause you--” Keith sighed, wondering if he could spontaneously combust, “ you’re the pretty one.”
“That’s!” Lance leaned back, pointing at Keith with an accusing finger. “That’s illegal!”
“Now you understand how I feel!”
“Well it’s true!”
“I wasn’t lying either!”
The two of them finally broke their stare-off, and Keith groaned, both hands covering his face. Lance was no better off, throwing his hoodie up and pulling the strings to block his face.
“We’re really bad at this, aren’t we,” Lance muttered, and Keith barked out a laugh, moving a finger to glance at him. It was pretty funny, seeing Lance like that, because his nose was sticking out. He snorted, trying to stifle his laughter, but Lance heard; not that he was trying too hard to hide it. “What?”
“Your nose,” Keith said, and as Lance started to open the drawstrings, Keith whacked his hands away. “No! No, no, wait--” He quickly pulled his phone out and tried to snap a picture, but Lance jumped away and put his hands up in a mock-karate stance.
“What about my perfect nose, Chang?”
“Wait a minute and find out,” Keith countered, and even from under the fabric he could tell Lance was giving him that look. The one where his eyes narrowed and his brows scrunched together, and his lips puckered out. Wasting no time, Keith’s phone shutter went off, and Lance immediately started.
“Keith!” He undid the hood and glared while Keith just snickered and looked back at his photos. “Keith!” Lance began to stomp forward, but Keith danced away, sending the pictures to both Hunk and Pidge. “I swear to god, if you don’t have those deleted--”
“I deleted them! I swear!” Keith waved the phone around in surrender, but Lance wasn’t convinced. He crossed his arms.
“Phone. Now,” he said, and Keith snorted.
“What are you, my boyfriend?” They both froze, before Keith burst out laughing. Lance quickly followed. “Okay, that was unintentional--”
“That was a terrible joke--”
“I know, but--” Lance dove towards Keith suddenly and managed to swipe the phone, and Keith glanced at Lance, then his hand, where the phone used to be, and then back to Lance.
“Wh--hey!”
“Oh. You actually did delete them,” Lance huffed, and Keith tried to cover up his snort. He beckoned to Lance.
“Yeah. Phone?” Lance shook his head.
“Only on one condition,” he said. Keith tilted his head slightly, sizing Lance up. “Answer this question.”
“What?”
“Will you,” he paused for dramatic effect, “go out with me?”
“I--” Keith rolled his eyes again. “Get over here, Diaz--”
“Just answer the--”
“Yes, now just--we’re really gonna be late--” Lance shortly pumped his fist.
“Hell yes, but also are we really that late? Shiro said a day and it’s only like 7 am.” Lance joined Keith as they started back on the path, and Keith snorted.
“I bet you they’re all there by now.” Lance frowned at that.
“I’ll bet you they aren’t,” he said, just to be difficult, and Keith stuck his tongue out.
“Okay, what do you bet?” Lance narrowed his eyes.
“A kiss, in front of everyone.”
“Wha--no! No way,” he spluttered, face going back to the red mess it was before.
“Yep! Whoever loses has to initiate--”
“No! Not in front of everyone,” he added, and he couldn’t believe he actually liked someone like Lance. The universe wanted to kill him. Death by teenage love. He could tell Lance was going to argue it, so he quickly amended his statement. “Shiro is like my older brother, dude. How would you feel if Nancy and her future--”
“Okay! Okay, I get it, fine!” Lance glanced at him. “Do we have a deal, though?” Keith smirked.
“Be prepared to lose hard, Diaz.”
“Pretty tough words for someone who’s about to eat them.”
{--+--}
When they were about to enter the ruins, Lance laced his fingers with Keith's, and Keith just about had a heart attack. He refused to look at Lance.
"This is some corny shit," Keith sighed, wanting some kind of god to strike him dead. He wondered when the flames lighting his cheeks would goddamn stop.
"Yep," is all Lance said, popping 'p' and glancing pointedly at every tree and vine that was nowhere near Keith.
{--+--}
The two teens arrived last; it seemed that Pidge had gotten there even before the sun came up, Coran a bit after them; Allura had been there all night, and Shiro appeared at the same time as Hunk, coincidentally. Once all together again, they stood in a circle, regarding one another. Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance, who just pouted at him.
“It’s time,” Allura said, and they nodded.
They headed into the control room, Allura and Coran taking the helm, the rest of the crew sitting in their respective seats. The realness of everything seemed to be hitting everyone at full force, because even Allura hesitated over the dashboard. She straightened, though, and Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder. They shared a look. She cleared her throat, then turned around.
“You are now the paladins of Voltron,” she said, voice ringing clearly around the ship, “and we are your support. Late last night, we picked up an enemy vessel approaching Earth; we have to assume it’s one of Sendak’s reinforcements. And going by this intergalactic map, where I traced Sendak’s fundamental biological signature--” the room exploded into star systems, some floating right in front of Keith’s face; most all of the planets were red, “we have to assume that whatever faction he’s apart of have conquered most of the known universe.” Hunk exhaled loudly, shakily, and Keith clenched his fist.
“So, everyone; get ready for the fight of your lives, for the rest of your lives. We are now Voltron, and we’ll either rid the universe of this evil and save the Earth, or--” she turned around, and put her hands back on the controls. “We die trying, and the Earth and every other plant out there follows suit.”
Keith looked to the screen, where he could see the clouds and the sky, and the town he left in the distance; and he grit his teeth. Lance didn’t look much better than Hunk did, instead looking at Keith with a pale, anxious expression. He tried to flash Lance a smile, but he didn’t think it worked. Shiro looked determined, and Pidge was biting their lip. Coran and Allura, Keith couldn’t see.
There were many unknowns in the future for the team; but that’s what they were now. A team. He had to believe in that, as they rocketed off out of Earth’s atmosphere; he had to trust in his gut, trust in Red and trust in Voltron--and let the future play out.
Red purred encouragingly in the back of his head, and he took a deep breath; even if his mind was in doubt, he knew, deep in his marrow, that this was where he was supposed to be, that this was what he was supposed to do.
No one ever said being a defender of the universe was easy. After all, he didn’t know anyone else who’s ever done it.
{-- Epilogue --}
Keith huffed, wiping the sweat off his brow as the level 5 gladiator disappeared. He sighed, wondering just how long it’d been since they’d left Earth. Two months? Three?
He walked over and downed a good portion of his water, sighing and sitting down on a bench. Yeah, it’s been about two and a half months. They’ve battled Galra--that’s what they’re called, Galra--left and right, front and back and every angle in between. They’ve taken some pretty serious damage, with Lance and that bomb, and then Allura being taken--he jumped suddenly when Lance’s voice range out.
“Hey, mulletman!” Keith rolled his eyes.
“Jesus, Lance,” he grumbled, watching Lance walk toward him, that lopsided grin same as the one he wore when they first met. He raised his water to take another sip, but Lance stole it right from his hands and started to drink. “Hey, don’t put your mouth on that.”
“We exchange spit every few hours, brodude,” he said, handing it back and wiping off his mouth. Keith frowned.
“Whatever.”
“What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Keith muttered, wiping the mouth of the bottle and finishing it off.
“Nope, no, something’s the matter, what is it?” Lance’s tone softened at the end, and Keith sighed. Count on Lance to notice even the slightest change in mood; not like… it was particularly hard to detect. “You missed dinner, and nobody has seen you today.” Keith squinted at the clock above the door. It was almost 11 pm.
“It’s--I’m just…” Keith sighed, shaking himself. “I’ll tell you after I shower, I’m sweaty.”
“Alright, but Chang--” Lance pulled his shoulder back and placed a kiss on his lips. “I’m not letting you get away this time.” Keith chuckled softly, pushing him away.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
{--+--}
Keith stepped out of his room around 11:45, finding Lance leaning against the door waiting. He jumped slightly, towel still around his neck, and Lance presented a plate of food to him.
“Let’s go to the deck,” he said, and they walked down the corridor, Keith glancing down at the food goo and accompanying spork. Hunk had been right about that.
They entered the observation deck, and since the lights in the castle had already dimmed to mimic nighttime, they kept the lights off so as to not get a shock. It was nicer this way, anyway; they could gaze out at the stars and experience their full beauty.
“So,” Lance started, settling down, “you gonna eat your food?” Keith snorted.
“Yeah.” Keith dug his spoon into the goo and shoveled it into his mouth. “I was gonna, but I can’t exactly eat while walking.”
“Uh, yeah you can?”
“No,” he insisted, eyebrows scrunching, “you can’t. You’ll choke.”
“Well, tell that to twelve year old me who just found out about gogurts.” Keith paused, thinking.
“Maybe for gogurts it’s different. Can you choke on gogurts?’
“I don’t know, why’re you asking me? I never choked on one.” Lance shrugged, stealing some of Keith’s food goo.
“Hey! You already ate!” Lance leaned in really close, eyes flicking down to Keith’s lips, and then he took some more goo.
“Should’ve come to dinner.”
“You dick,” Keith deadpanned, and Lance smiled innocently.
“Anyway, why’re you so down today? Even if you do get some alone time, you show up for dinner.” Keith sighed and drew his knees up, wrapping his arms around them loosely.
“My parents,” he started, and Lance’s face immediately changed. Keith looked back at the clock. It was slightly after midnight. “Today is the anniversary of their death.”
Lance leaned against him, and Keith blinked, resting his head on Lance’s.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly, and Keith nodded.
“It’s alright,” he murmured, breathing deeply. “It’s just--this is the first year I can’t visit them. It's hard."
"Yeah," Lance's hand found Keith's, and entwined their fingers. "I sometimes wonder how my mom is faring, how Pierce is doing, if Nancy made tryouts; if the twins are giving their teacher a hard time, how my dad is. Just--how everyone is doing. I think about them all the time." Keith nodded, rubbing Lance's thumb. "It's an ache," he continued softly, "and... it's so, so deep."
"I wonder how my aunt and uncle are, and my cousin. I told them I would visit, later in the year." He chuckled at that, but it was humorless. Lance squeezed his hand. "My parents... I just... wonder, sometimes..." Keith didn't finish, but Lance understood.
“They’re proud,” Lance said, with such conviction that Keith was caught off-guard, “They’re definitely proud, Keith.” Keith laughed softly, looking back at the stars, a whole life ahead of them, space spanning out for all that amount of time and more. He thought about Voltron, about Red and Zarkon and the fate of the universe--he thought about Lance, and Pidge, Shiro, and Hunk, and Alllura and Coran. Everything.
“I know,” he mumbled, turning his head more towards Lance, smelling his shampoo. “I know.”