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Aurora’s Curse
Something didn’t feel right, and It wasn’t just the way the Altean formal wear felt against Keith’s skin. There was something else and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. .
While the other paladins and the guests at King Nagan of the Planet Uthar’s Coronation seemed happy and at ease enough, the hair on Keith’s body stood on end, his heart pounded hard in his chest and his senses heightened. Keith was on high alert despite the apparent jovialness of the crowd.
And the crowd was jovial.
King Vistor, Nagan’s father, wished to enjoy his later years without the responsibilities of running a Kingdom, and was eager to pass on the throne on to his son; there were no tears for a death of a King, like many coronations, only the joy and extravagance of crowning a new one.
The excitement was infectious to everyone but Keith it seemed.
Keith watched Shiro smile proudly as King Vistor extended him a handshake.
“Thank you for your attendance. I feel safer knowing the defenders of the universe are providing security for the coronation of my son.”
“You’re welcome. Thank-you for joining our alliance in our fight against the Galra.” Shiro responded.
“I am honoured to have such handsome bodyguards,” Queen Nina teased.
At the compliment, Shiro stood taller and smoothed the wrinkles in the white and blue trimmed tunic Allura suggested he wear.
Keith tugged at his blue and red one.
“I still don’t see why we couldn’t have worn our armour?” Keith whispered to Shiro once the Queen was no longer in hearing distance.
“Allura said it wouldn’t be proper. Our armour might raise alarm. We blend in better this way.” Shiro replied.
“Because we are going to blend in?” Keith looked around at the banquet hall full of gray skinned, 5 foot tall, Utharians whose eyes and hair came in every colour of the rainbow.
“Not the point, Keith. We still have our under armour and our bayards. I am sure things will be fine anyways,” Shiro attempted to assure him.
Keith tapped his thigh nervously where his bayard laid dormant, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.
Shiro left him to mingle and Lance took Shiro’s place by Keith’s side.
“You could at least try to look like you are having fun, Broody Brow,” Lance teased, “It’s a coronation, not a funeral.”
Keith’s face softened at Lance’s smile.
A young, jittery Uthanian took a seat at what appeared to be an organ like instrument, and the room filled with a warm but commanding melody.
Keith and Lance stood to one side of the three large ornate thrones that marked the front of the banquet hall. Hunk and Pidge took the other. Shiro and Allura manned the door at the other end.
The crowd bowed their heads as King Vistor and his queen made their way down the aisle.
The pair took their seats in the slightly smaller, less ornate thrones that flanked the large main throne.
Next down the aisle came Princess Zuzana, Nagan’s 18 year old daughter.
“Well, would you look at that?” Lance whispered under his breath at the sight of Nagan's beauty.
“No!” Keith whispered urgently while nodding his chin towards the balcony, “You look at that!
Lance drew his bayard, already set to stun, and turned to see a masked figure with a cross-bow like weapon trained on the princess.
Lance pulled the trigger at the same time as the masked figure released a dart.
“Look out!” Keith yelled as he dashed in front of the princess, knocking her to the ground. He felt a sharp pain just below his jaw.
The crowd gasped.
Hoping he made a hit, Lance took off after the shooter.
Keith tried to follow, but he stumbled. An odd, warm feeling ran down his neck. His fingers and toes tingled and buzzed as the murmurs and faces of the crowd began to fade.
***
“I got him!” Lance said proudly as he led a struggling masked man into the throne room. It was not an easy task. The Utharians appeared slight of figure compared to the average Earthling but they sure were mighty.
Lance froze at the sight of Shiro knelt on the floor, cupping Keith’s face in his lap.
“Keith, are you with me? Stay with me, Bud,” Shiro half commanded, half pleaded.
“Keith?!?” Lance’s voiced cracked with alarm.
Prince Naggan directed two of his officials to restrain the shooter.
With the shooter no longer in his grasp, Lance dropped to his knees and skidded towards Shiro and Keith on the floor.
Coran knelt to inspect Keith’s chin.
“It’s not much more than a flesh wound,” he observed and carefully removed the dart.
Coran directed Shiro to hold pressure onto the wound while he rooted through a medical bag he was handed and began to dress the wound.
Keith never stirred.
“Luckily, the dart missed his artery or Keith might be more than passed out. It is odd that he would be knocked out by such a small dart though unless-”
“I don’t know the details of your personal life, Sir, but I wouldn’t lick that.” the shooter warned.
“Oh, and why is that?” Coran asked.
“It’s a sleeping curse, Sir.”
A wave of murmuring rose from the crowd.
A well-dressed young man pushed his way to the front of the room.
“No, no, no, no. That arrow wasn’t meant for him!”
Princess Zuzana charged towards the young man.
“What do you mean the arrow wasn’t meant for him, Argass?”
“It- It was meant,” Argass scrunched up his face and sighed, “It was meant for you.”
“Me? What? Why?” Disbelief washed over the Princess. She crossed her arms as if they would protect her from any further blows. “Why would anyone want to hit me with a sleeping curse?
Argass averted his eyes.
“I asked your father for your hand, and he refused me. I thought if I could prove that I was your true love, by waking you with true love’s kiss, he would be unable to deny me.”
Anger replaced the disbelief on Princess Zuzana’s face.
“I am not a thing to be earned or bargained for! I can’t believe you!” Princess Zuzana threw up her hands. “You were willing to disrupt my father’s coronation and put my life at risk so you could prove in some twisted, narcissistic way you have my heart?”
Argass hung his head in shame.
Princess Zuzana continued with her tears in her eyes, “I am glad that dart didn’t hit me. You wouldn’t have woken me. There is no way my heart would be matched with someone as self-entitled as you.”
Princess Zuzan turned and stomped towards her father.
“Zuzana!” Argass cried out.
“Lock him away too,” Naggan commanded, “I will deal with him later.”
Argass held back tears and stood up straight as a guard took him away.
“Wait,” Shiro called out when the other guard turned to follow with the shooter.
The guard and the shooter stopped.
“So, you are telling me that Keith can only be woken by True Love’s Kiss like some sort of fairytale?” Shiro asked incredulously.
“That is true,” the shooter replied, “if you want to see your friend awake again, you will need to find his true love.”
The paladins looked from Keith to one another in alarm.
“Let’s take him back to the Castle of Lions. We can put him in a healing pod.” Shiro commanded.
“The healing pod, won’t do much good I am afraid,” Coran confessed, “The healing pods are good for wounds of the flesh, but are not programmed to heal wounds of the mind or magic. The best we can do is make him comfortable and begin the search for Keith’s One True Love.”
***
Back on the ship, Allura arranged a bed for Keith in her father’s room where there was room for all the paladins to gather round him.
Shiro laid Keith gently upon the bed.
Coran checked on Keith’s wound, and decided it would heal quickly enough without the pod and tucked Keith under the blankets.
For a few moments, the room was filled with an awkward silence as Allura, Coran and the Paladins watched Keith sleeping until Pidge broke the silence.
“So, does anyone have any ideas who Keith’s true love could be?”
Shiro and Hunk shrugged.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Hunk commented.
“I don’t care where we start as long as we find her,” Lance declared.
Hunk and Shiro exchanged glances.
“Ugh...this is Keith,” Hunk corrected, “I’m not sure we should limit our search to girls.”
“Or necessarily even start there;” Shiro added, “We never talked about it much, but I never got the sense Keith was much of a ladies’ man, if you catch my drift.”
“I don’t think searching the whole universe will be necessary,” Coran offered as he pulled up a screen from near Alfor’s night side table and began typing. When he found what he wanted, his eyes quickly skimmed the text.
“We can probably focus our attention on Earth or the planets we visited thus far. My understanding is that such a curse only works if the person hit has met their true love already. That will narrow down our options considerably.
“To what? 10 billion people,” Lance sighed.
“That’s down considerably from the nearly infinite number of souls in the universe,” Coran replied enthusiastically.
No one could tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
“We can reduce the number further if we limit the search to Keith's age range and areas that we know Keith has been-” Pidge began to calculate.
“Does anyone even know where all Keith has been?” Hunk asked.
“I’m not sure,” Shiro replied, “He was in and out of Foster homes when he met me.”
“Well, maybe we can start with the people he was close to and work from there.” Pidge directed.
“Do we know who he was close to though? He always seemed such a lone wolf at the Garrison,” Lance said as he began pacing Keith’s bedside like a caged lion. He wrung his fingers as he wracked his brain for Keith’s possible love interests.
“What about you, Shiro?,” Pidge asked. “You and Keith were close. I know he felt strongly for you. Perhaps, you could try to wake him up?”
“I-I-I don’t know, Katie. I love Keith. I really do. He is like a brother to me. I owe him my life, several times over, but his true love?” Shiro stole a glance at Allura. “I can’t say he has my heart.”
“At least try,” Lance pleaded.
“Maybe the true love doesn’t have to be romantic love?” Shiro offered a sliver of hope. He stroked Keith’s face with the back of his hand and laid a soft quick kiss upon Keith lips.
Keith remained lifeless.
Shiro sighed. He let himself be hopeful. Now the ache of seeing the person he was closest to lay still burned more than it did before.
The others looked to their feet in disappointment.
Shiro fell beside Allura’s side. She looped her arm in his as gesture of comfort.
Lance scanned the room as if he could find the answers written on the walls.
“It was awfully nice of you to put Keith in this room, Allura,” Lance observed. “You must have a fondness for him. Perhaps your kiss could wake him?”
Allura’s gaze feel upon Shiro before looking at Lance with sympathy. She nervously bit her bottom lip.
“I have grown fond for Keith, as I have grown fond of all of you. Keith is a fearless and honourable warrior and owe him and all of you so much. You are my family now, so yes, I do love him, however, I love him as I love you all. But I will kiss him if it will make you feel better, Lance.”
“We should all try,” Lance replied, even though there was a time when he thought the thought of Keith and Allura together would kill him.
Allura took her turn and kissed Keith.
Lance watched Keith's chest rise and fall.
Nothing.
Lance winced.
“Hunk?”
“I don’t know man. Keith and I, we’ve gotten close but not close-close. I’ve never really kissed a dude. Never thought I’d kiss a dude. Maybe you Lance, on one of your dares or something, but,” Hunk squeezed his eyes tightly, “Here goes it!”
Hunk awkwardly placed a kiss on the corner of Keith’s mouth, mostly catching his cheek. Hunk opened one eye at a time.
Keith’s eyes remained closed.
Everyone looked at Pidge.
“Me and Keith? Soulmates? I don’t know. I guess...We both like conspiracies and stuff.”
She stepped up to him. Her cheeks flushed despite herself.
“Pucker up, Emo boy,”
Pidge hesitated and then kissed him. She stepped back. Feelings of sadness and relief churned in her stomach when he did not wake.
“Coran?” Pidge asked.
“I am afraid I am beyond the age of being anyone’s soul mate. I prefer to fill the zany uncle role.”
“That leaves Lance, and Keith hardly tolerates him,” Pidge sighed, “Should we make our way back to the Garrison?”
Pidge was right, Lance thought. Feeling helpless, he clenched and unclenched his fists to help hold back tears.
“The Garrison is as good a place to start as any,” Shiro affirmed.
“Wait, though. Would Keith want that?” Hunk asked, “Would he want us to risk leading the Galra to Earth to wake him?”
“That’s cold, Hunk,” Pidge objected.
“Is it? Are you sure Keith wouldn’t say the same thing?”
“We can’t form Voltron without him. Keith pilots the black lion now. We need to wake him. We can’t protect anyone if we don’t wake him!” Lance persisted.
“I hear your concerns,” Shiro replied, “Hopefully, if Voltron is needed, the black lion will accept my leadership again but we can’t just leave Keith here, sleeping like this. But Hunk’s concerns are legitimate. How are we going to go home to Earth without leading the Galra to our door-step?”
“Pidge and I have been working on a decoy technique that might be useful,” Coran offered.
“We are hoping to find a way to send a combination of fake distress signals and trace particle signatures of Voltron and the Castle of Lions to random points in the galaxy to make it look like we are where we are not,” Pidge explained.
“The only problem is scrambling the point of origin.” Coran warned.
“However, if we make it look like we are in several places at once, the Galra will have to split up to determine our real location. That combined with improving our cloaking measures may buy us a little time on Earth. It maybe be a few more days until we have things up and running but I think it can be done,” Pidge continued.
“Ok, that sounds like a plan,” Shiro approved. “Hunk, Pidge, Coran, you three go to the Engineering deck and continue working on this decoy plan. Allura and I will be on the main deck, determining which locations make sense to set up the decoys. Lance, you can…”
Lance sighed. What could he do to help?
“Just stay with Keith and keep him company.”
Lance watched as his friends all left the room, leaving him behind with Keith.
He continued his pacing, as his mind processed the direness of the situation.
Hunk was right. Keith wouldn’t want them to risk leading the Galra to Earth. If they go, they’ll have to be quick but how on Earth were they going to be quick?
They had to try. They could not give up on Keith. Keith would not give up on them.
Lance pulled up a chair by Keith’s bed and took a moment to study Keith’s face.
Keith looked soft and peaceful. He was beautiful even when he was asleep.
Lance brushed Keith’s hair from his sleeping eyes and began to prattle.
“How are we going to find the person who managed to win the heart of Keith Kogane, The Golden Boy of the Garrison?” Lance huffed. A touch of jealousy still lingered even after fighting alongside Keith for over a year.
“You’ve never mentioned being interested in anyone. But why would you?” Lance averted his gaze to his bouncing foot.
“Do you even know who your soulmate is?” Lance’s attention returned to Keith’s face.
“Maybe meeting your soulmate was just some passing glance when you were a kid?” Lance’s foot bounced faster as panic began to rise in his voice.
“Did you meet someone when you were in the desert? You were so focused on studying at the Garrison I don’t know when you would have found time to date. At least, I never noticed you dating anyone. I think I would have noticed.”
Lance’s expression softened.
“In case you didn’t notice, I may have been a little obsessed with you. Just a little. You were everything I wanted to be. You kicked ass in the simulator, you aced all your tests, you were so confident and amazing in the pilot seat.”
“Why am I saying were? You are.” Lance squeezed his eyes tight as if holding them tight enough could keep his emotions from escaping.
“I don’t know how we are going to find your one true love but we will find them, Keith. I promise you. The teams needs you. The universe needs you. I need you.”
Lance swallowed hard. The lump in his throat hardened until he found it hard to breathe.
When his breath escaped in one harsh sob, he let the tears fall.
“What will we do if you don’t wake up?” he whispered.
Lance took one of Keith’s hands in his and hung his head.
“No, you have to, Keith. I can’t bear the thought of you not waking up! I love you too much.”
Lance brought his shoulder’s back and his eyes widened.
“Wait? I love you,” Lance paused.
“I LOVE YOU!” Lance stood up and in his excitement sent the chair flying back against the wall.
“You are a total idiot sometimes and you frustrate me beyond belief but most of that is jealously because I love you. You hear me, Keith Kogane! Maybe you hate me, but maybe you don’t. I never did take my turn.”
Lance’s heart pounded as he looked at Keith’s lips.
He took a deep breath and pressed his lips against Keith’s.
He let his mouth linger.
“No,” he gasped against Keith’s lips.
Lance felt his heart break and pressed his furrowed brow against Keith’s.
His tears splashed against Keith’s skin.
Lance froze. He thought he felt Keith shift. He pulled back, but didn’t dare open his eyes.
“Lance? Why is your face so close to my face?”
“Keith? Keith!” Lance scooped him up in his arms and hugged him as tight as he could, “You’re awake! Thank the stars, you are awake!”
“What happened?” Keith asked when Lance let go, tapping the bandage on his neck.
“Oh, Keith, do I have a story for you…"
When Lance finished recapping the events of the day, the red and blue paladins sat side by side on the bed facing the door.
“So...it was your kiss that woke me? So that means we’re - you and I are - you’re my,” Keith stuttered.
“Soul mate?” Lance answered for him.
“True Love?” Keith interlaced his fingers with Lance's and gave Lance’s hand a squeeze.
Lance looked at Keith's hand and smiled.
“I suppose so. Should we go tell the others you’re awake?” Lance asked quietly, running his free hand through his hair.
“Probably. Though they’re going to know I am awake eventually. Can we, uh, just sit here a minute,” Keith asked and rested his head on Lance’s shoulder.
“Yeah, sure, Buddy. We can sit here for a while longer,”
If Lance’s heart was pounding before, it was racing now.
“I need a moment to process this before everyone knows you and I - that you woke me, which means we are...,” Keith stammered. “What are we?”
“A thing, I guess? I mean we can be. We can be whatever you want. If we are soul mates, we could try being a thing.”
Lance turned to look at Keith.
He reddened as Keith let go of his hand to put his arm around him.
Keith scooched closer.
“So Lance, if we are a thing...” Keith brought his nose so close to Lance’s the tips touched.
“Yeah,” Lance’s voice cracked as his breath hitched.
“Could we maybe kiss again now that I am awake?” Keith blushed.
“Ugh, sure, I guess” Lance replied tentatively. He hoped Keith didn’t notice he was shaking.
Keith moved impossibly closer and Lance felt his breath on his skin. With his free hand, Keith tilted Lance’s chin.
A tingle rose up Lance’s back at his touch and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered.
Though it was merely a fraction of a seconds wait, Lance grew impatient for Keith’s lips to meet his and he leaned forward, meeting Keith halfway.
Lance felt Keith smile against his lips then let himself melt into the kiss.
Keith’s kiss was really several firm and tender kisses and Lance managed to steal a small extra one or two as Keith pulled away.
Lance felt warm and giddy at the sight of Keith’s flushed smile and he rested his forehead against his.
“I like this side of you,” Lance said.
“I like you,” Keith replied.
Lance still found that hard to believe but he had no evidence to refute him. Not knowing what to say, Lance leaned in for another kiss.
It was at that moment, Hunk happened to walk in to check on Lance.
“What am I looking at here?” Hunk asked as he scratched his chin and took a moment to process the scene before him.
“Keith’s awake,” Lance beamed proudly.
“Keith’s awake!” Hunk ran over to the two boys sitting on the bed and scooped them both up in his arms so tight they could hardly breathe.
They gasped when he released them
“But how?” Hunk asked.
“It seems a sleeping curse is no match for the affections of Lancey Lance, I had the magic kiss,” Lance arched an eyebrow and grinned.
“Wait, what was that, Curse? There has been a mistake? I have to go back to sleep?” Keith groaned sarcastically and fell back on the bed. He laughed when he felt Lance hit him with a pillow.
Hunk smiled, “I should have known there was more to your obsession with Keith than rivalry.”
“Hunk!” Lance whined indignantly. It was one thing to admit it to yourself and another to have your best friend say it aloud.
“Obsessed with me, huh?” Keith smirked.
Lance blushed.
Hunk pulled up the intercom to call the others.
“Paging Team Voltron to Alfor’s Room. There is something you’ll want to see!” Hunk said in his best radio announcer voice before abandoning it with glee, “Keith’s awake!”
Shiro and Allura made their way to the room first.
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you awake, little buddy!” Shiro said as he pulled Keith in for a hug. Shiro ruffled his hair and gave Keith a kiss on the crown of his head.
“But how-,” Shiro turned to Lance. A grin of realization spread across Shiro’s face as he pulled an unexpecting Lance into a hug next.
“I am so glad you woke him, Lance,” Shiro said as he squeezed him tighter.
“Me too,” Lance squeaked.
Soon the rest of the team filled the room.
After taking her turn to hug Keith, Pidge tapped on Lance’s arm.
“I’m sorry I suggested that Keith hated you,” Pidge began to apologize.
“It's ok, Pidge. Part of me thought Keith hated me too.” Lance sighed.
Keith’s smile fell with concern. He wrapped his arm around Lance.
“I never hated you, Lance. Not for a moment. And if anyone was going to wake me from a sleeping curse. I’m glad it was you.”
Lance turned towards him and took Keith’s hand in his. He gave it a squeeze.
“Me too."
