Chapter Text

All over the world, on a every kid’s fifth birthday, they travel to a magic ring shop to one day potentially find their soulmate. There was only one soulmate ring shop in the world due to almost all of the wizards dying off in a war. Before the war, there used to be magic shops everywhere, so you could easily get to a magic shop and ask for an enchanted item to lead you to your soulmate. Wizards and non-magic people (normies), co-existed.

But then the war broke out. The war was between two feuding wizards, and the rest picked sides. Normies were advised to stay out of the war to minimize casualties. There is only one known wizard left in the world. So now there is only one magic shop. Now to find your soulmate, instead of just going into the shop and asking for an enchanted item to lead you to your soulmate, a system was put into place.

Kids everywhere learn about how the rings work, either from school or from their family members. When a child turns five, they and one of their family members would take them to the ring store. There, the kid would get their ring. But since the ring is magic, the ring chooses you, not the other way around. Your ring has a match to it, the person with the match is your soulmate. And the first time you and your soulmate are in the same town together, the rings will activate and draw you and your soulmate together like magnets. But the rings have rules. In order for them to activate, you have to be wearing it. So it’s almost treason not to wear your ring at all times.

The rings are bound by magic, so it is very rare not to meet your soulmate. But in rare cases, they just never meet each other. Or in very very rare cases, some are drawn to a grave. But those almost never happen.

Age 5

It was October 23, Keith’s birthday. He was currently staying at the Shirogane household. Keith is in foster care, and this is the first house that he felt actually welcomed in. He’d already been told about the rings by another foster family, and Keith being excited about potentially finding his soulmate was an underestimate. Even if he didn’t find a home, he’d still have a way to have a family with his soulmate. Keith was going to finally get his ring.

Takashi, but every one just called him Shiro, was driving Keith to the ring shop. He was 14 years old. They were blasting their favorite classic rock radio station while singing along. The two spent hours in the car just singing along to the radio and eating combos.

Shiro tuned down the radio. He side glanced Keith, he was ecstatic. Shiro already had his ring, so he knew where the shop was. “Keith, we’re about fifteen minutes away.” Shiro said. He watched Keith glow up. Shiro looked back to the road, but he could hear Keith fidgeting in the passenger seat. Shiro knows that Keith is probably too small for being in the front seat, but Keith played the birthday card.

Shiro pulled up to the shop, and before he could even take the keys out, Keith unstrapped and rushed through the shop door. Shiro sighed and got out of the car and ran after Keith.

They entered the shop with the bell above the door chiming and Keith circling the room with bright eyes. Blue fairy lights and tapestries covered every wall in the room; along with shelves containing various herbs, crystals and rocks, bowls, glass bottles, and other odd objects. On a small table in the corner, there was a record player, filling the shop with music. Voltron, an old wizard band, to be exact. Also on the table, were more records and CDs and cassette tapes. An extravagant chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling with a soft yellow glow. Crystals hung in the windows, some catching the light and casting small rainbows into the room. Throughout the shop there were candles and incense burning. There was a beautiful red rug on the ground that lead up to the counter. There was a curtain hanging in a doorway that lead somewhere past the counter.

The person at the the counter was a tall, ginger, middle aged man with a moustache, pointed ears, and blue markings under his eyes that glowed. He wore a white, button down shirt, with blue pants. When he spoke, he had somewhat of an Australian accent. “Welcome! I am Coran. I assume you are here for your ring? Which one of you is it?” The man named Coran joked.

Keith’s arm shot up, “Me! I’m Keith, that’s my foster brother Shiro.” He screamed as he pointed back to Shiro.

Both Shiro and Coran chucked at Keith’s enthusiasm. “Ah! Yes, I see now. May I see your hand Keith?” Coran said.

Keith gladly complied and gave Coran his hand over the counter. Coran inspected Keith’s hand for a minute and then called back to someone else in the shop named Allura to get a ring for him. A girl’s voice yelled back, “There’s a customer and you didn’t tell me? I love the kids that come in here! And yeah, I’ll get the ring!” The girl that said this had a british accent and appeared to be  in the back room, Keith assumed that was Allura.

A moment later, a tall girl with dark skin, silver hair, and blue eyes, drew back the curtain that leads to the back room. She too, had pointed ears and markings under her eyes, but they were pink. Allura looked around Shiro’s age and she wore a knee length dress, the top half blue with white lace, and what flowed past her hips was a pink silk. She had a small box in her hands, she smiled at Keith and brought it over to the counter. “Hi, I’m Allura. And you are?” Allura introduced herself, and handed the box to Coran.

Keith smiled at the new person who entered the room. “I’m Keith! That’s my foster brother Shiro!” Keith introduced himself the same way he did with Coran. Allura’s smile brightened. “Are you guys wizards?” Keith blurted out.

Shiro shot Keith a glare, but the two behind the counter told him not to worry. “No, we’re not wizards, but we’re Alteans.” Allura said. Seeing the two customers confusion, she decided to extend on it. “Alteans are almost extinct, an aftermath of the war, yes.” her face fell a little bit, but she still continued after putting on a (fake) smile. “Alteans are more of an elven race with magical abilities to some extent. Our magic isn’t as strong as wizards and more restricted in ways.” She concluded.

After seeing recognition in the two humans’ eyes, Coran chimed in to change the topic. “So do you want to try on some rings Keith?” Coran asked. Keith’s eyes lit up and nodded his head. The rest smiled at Keith. Coran opened the box that Allura brought out, there was only one ring in the box, even though there was two spots. It was a woven band of wood. It was pretty simple, but was still very beautiful. Coran put it on one of Keith’s fingers, but nothing happened. Keith looked puzzled, and stared at the ring disappointedly. He expected something to happen, considering it was a magic ring. Coran took the ring off Keith’s finger. “Not that one I guess.” he said. “It has to be a different one I presume.”

Coran went to the back and came back a little later with a couple different boxes in his arms. He placed them on the counter, and opened the first box. This time there were both rings in the box. The rings were identical like twins. They were iodized steel with a small opal gem attached to the band. Once one of the rings were placed on Keith’s finger, nothing happened. Coran took the ring off and tried a coupler more. It was until the fifth try that a ring really caught Keith’s attention. It was a rose gold band with swirls that reminded Keith of waves, it also had a small amethyst on it. Once Coran placed the ring on Keith, the room flooded with a soft, purple light that sprouted from the ring.

Keith looked at the ring in awe. He smiled so bright. “Looks like that’s your ring!” Allura said enthusiastically. His smile grew even brighter. Keith looked in the box and saw that the other ring was still in the box, so his soulmate has yet to come to the shop. So I’m older. While Shiro paid for the ring, Allura went over the ring’s rules with Keith. “So don’t take your ring off, if the ring is off your body, the magic won’t work. The ring will grow with you so you don’t have to come in and resize it. It’s waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about swimming or anything. Do you have any questions?” Allura asked.

Keith thought for a second. “Does the ring still work if you wear it on a necklace?” Keith questioned.

Allura paused, “I believe so, but it’s not advised. It’s easier to lose that way, and once you take off the necklace the ring won’t work until you put it back on.” She said.

Once Allura and Keith were done talking, Shiro’s ring sparked and started to drag him out of the shop. “Uhh, could Keith stay here until I’m back?” Shiro asked Coran and Allura.

“That should be fine, right Coran?” Allura said.

“Totally.” Coran agreed.

“Ok, thanks! Keith, behave and don’t touch anything they don’t want you to.” Shiro warned.

“I’ll be fine Shiro, go and get your man, or woman.” Keith encouraged Shiro. With that Shiro left with his ring pulling him out the door and let out an excited squeal. Keith turned to Allura and Coran. “Do you think his soulmate will be a girl or a boy?” Keith asked them.

Allura paused, “I’m not sure, there’s not really a way to tell unless Coran remembers who has the other ring, which I highly doubt.”

Coran looked offended. “I remember every face, and person that comes into this shop!” Coran declared. “And the ring that Shiro was wearing didn’t have a match when it came into this shop, but I do know who has the ring.” Coran said.

Allura’s eyes lit up as if she understood what Coran was talking about. “Oh! Now that you mention I have seen Shiro’s ring match on him. Do you think it’s really him?” She asked. Coran nodded.

Keith was so confused. “How could someone have the match to Shiro’s ring if it came alone?” Keith was curious, and so lost.

Coran looked at Keith. “We believe that the new ring maker is Shiro’s soulmate.”

Keith’s jaw dropped to the ground. “No! Way!” Keith was shocked.

“I know!” Allura exclaimed.

After letting that settle in, Keith helped put the other rings way. The bell over the door chimed, Shiro walked in with someone that Keith assumed was Shiro’s soulmate, they both grinned from ear to ear while slightly blushing. Shiro’s soulmate has ginger-brunette hair that is shoulder length, hazel eyes, and pale-ish skin. He was wearing jeans and a green t-shirt. The two were holding hands and had matching rings. “Keith, this is Matt, my soulmate. Matt, this is my foster brother, Keith.” Shiro said a little nervously, but he was mostly over the moon with finding his soulmate and also smitten . Keith was happy for them, but also wanted to puke because of the look on Shiro’s face.

Keith ran up to Matt. “Are you really the wizard that makes the rings?” Asked Keith.

Matt stared back at Keith, he then turned to Allura and Coran. “Did you guys tell him?” He asked them. They shook their heads ‘yes’ and Matt sighed. He looked back at Keith. “Yes, I’m the wizard that makes the rings. Well, more like wizard in training. My great-great-grandpa was the wizard that started making the rings in the first place. I’ve been learning magic from my dad. And the myth that there was only one wizard left from the war isn’t true, there’s more of us that you’d think. And some humans can learn magic as well, you just have to have it in your genetics.” Matt said, giving an answer much longer and more complicated than Keith was looking for. Yup, definitely Shiro’s soulmate.

Keith was five years old, he had the attention span of a goldfish. So Keith zoned out after he heard Matt say, “Yes, I’m the wizard”. The rest was just white noise after he stopped paying attention. “That’s cool!” He said contently. Matt and Shiro started talking and exchanging contact info, so Keith rolled his eyes and walked back to Allura and Coran. “How long do you think they’ll be talking?” He whined.

They chucked. “I don’t know, why don’t you go ask them?” Allura suggested.

Keith nodded in agreement. He turned around and saw Shiro and Matt kissing; Keith visibly gagged. He turned back to Coran and Allura. “Maybe in a minute.” Keith said sickly. “I think I’m scarred for life.”

It was Lance’s fifth birthday, July 28. He and his mom were on their way to the ring shop. Lance was bouncing in the backseat of his mom’s car. He was so excited. He’d finally get his ring! The ring was his ticket to finding his soulmate. And he would love her endlessly.

Lucky for Lance, the shop was only a few towns over. So he only had to travel about forty-five minutes to get to the shop. But those were the longest forty-five minutes of Lance’s life. Lance was impatient and jittery. He wanted to be at that shop within two minutes, but that was impossible. So the best thing he could do to distract himself was to keep talking and listen to the radio.

Finally they pulled up to the shop. Once Lance’s mom put the car in park, Lance shot out the door and into the shop. His mom quickly ran into the shop after him. Lance was only a couple feet in front of the door, taking in his surroundings.

There was a dazzling chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The blue glowing fairy lights on the wall caught Lance’s attention right away, and also in a curtain draping in a doorway. The curtain peaked Lance’s curiosity, but there was a counter in front of it, blocking any chances he had to finding out what was back there. On shelves, there were some cool rocks and crystals, but whatever else was on there didn’t catch Lanc’s attention. There were more crystals in the windowsills, the clear ones casting small rainbows on the floor. A decorative rug led him back up to the counter, where behind it stood a tall, dark skinned teenage girl with blue eyes and silver hair. The weird thing was that she has pointed ears and pink markings under her eyes. “Hello! I’m Allura. I’m guessing you’re here for your ring. Yes?” the girl introduced himself with a british accent.

Lance smiled. “Yes, yes I am! I’m Lance!” he said excitedly. He extended his hand for Allura to shake. They shook hands and she called for someone named Coran to come to the front of the store.

From behind the curtain Lance was curious about earlier, emerged a tall, pale, man with orange hair and moustache. He sported the the same pointed ears and markings as Allura, but his markings were blue. “Hello, I’m Coran, and you are?” the man said, Lance guessed he had and Australian accent.

Lance looked up at him. “I’m Lance. Nice to meet you.” Lance beamed. He extended his hand out to Coran the same he did with Allura. Coran took it and they shook hands.

Coran smiled. “Nice to meat you too. Now, may I see your hand?” He said, a little impressed with the small child’s manners.

Lance gladly gave Coran his hand for him to insect. Coran studied Lance’s hand for a few minutes before telling Allura something in a language that Lance didn’t understand. Allura responded in what Lance guessed was the same language that Coran spoke in, and left the room, going behind the curtain. Lance’s curiosity for what was behind the curtain only grew with the minutes Allura was gone. Five minutes later, Allura came back with about six silver boxes roughly the size of her hands. She set them on the counter, “Here you go Coran, the rings you asked for.” She said, switching back to english.

With the word ‘rings’, Lance was bubbling with excitement. Coran opened the first box. There were two identical rings in the box. They had an opalite band that was carved with intricate swirls that made Lance a little dizzy. Coran placed one of the rings on Lance’s finger, but nothing happened. Lance pouted at the ring. He thought since the ring was magic, something cool and, well, magic-like would happen. Coran took the ring off, “Not this one,” he said. He placed the ring back in the box and closed it, setting it off to the side.

He opened the next box, it only had one ring in it, even though there was a spot for the second one. Coran took the ring out. It had a silver band, it looped around twice and looked like a vine. The thorns on the vine were polished labradorite and blue goldstone. Lance thought that the ring was very cool. Coran placed it on Lance’s finger, and once again, nothing happened. Coran waited a few seconds before taking it off and putting it back in the box.

Coran picked up a third box. “Third time's the charm.” He said. Coran opened the box, and this one also only had one ring in it and he took it out. It had a rose gold band with swirls that reminded Lance of the waves at a beach in Varadero, Cuba that his family visits every year for family. There’s a small amethyst gem at the top of the ring that catches the light just right. Coran placed the ring on Lance’s finger and the room was filled with a purple light.

Once the light faded away, Coran said, “I guess that’s your ring.”

Lance couldn’t contain his happiness and giggled. “I can’t wait to meet her!” His mom smiled while Coran and Allura shared a brief look before joining Lance’s mom. Lance’s mom stepped closer to the counter to pay.

Allura went over the rules of the ring with Lance. Lance nodded along, listening to every word. Once she was done explaining, she asked, “Do you have any questions?” Lance couldn’t think of any, so he shook his head. “Alright then, you should be on your way! Good luck out there!” she called out when Lance was walking out the door.

Lance turned around and he was still smiling. “Thanks! Bye!” He said. And with that he left the store and got into the car.

Once Lance and his mom were out of the parking lot, Allura and Coran shared a look again. “Do you think he knows he’s bi? Well, at least bi, he could also be pan.” Allura asked Coran.

Coran sighed. “Nope. But he’ll somehow figure it out sooner or later .” He said.

Allura laughed. “Fair enough” She then proceeded to put the other rings away.

Chapter Text

Age 7

Keith was officially adopted by the Shirogane family. And he couldn’t be happier. He finally had a permanent home. But that didn’t stop all of the other problems in his life.

For example, the bullies at school. Lotor was the king of the bullies and always got away with everything because his mom, Mrs. Haggar, was the principal, and his dad, Mr. Zarkon, was the mayor. So, Lotor had all the power in the world. Whereas Keith? None. He and his gang (Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid, and Narti) bullied him mercilessly. It was always because of him being an orphan and was adopted or his “weird fashion sense” or how “weird” it was to have violet eyes. No one dared to stand up to Lotor, and if Keith tried to stick up for himself, it was always responded to by, “Wait ‘till my dad hears about this, Kogane.” Keith’s only escape from them was after school when Shiro would pick him up.

His only new friend was another new kid named Pidge (they turned out to be Matt’s younger sibling). Lotor made sure that Keith didn’t have any other friends. Keith didn’t know what Lotor’s deal was, Keith did nothing to egg him off. Keith’s guess is that because of all of the work his parents do, he’s somewhat neglected. And who better to take that out on? The new kid, Keith. Because of Lotor and the foster care system, Keith is now shy and has social anxiety.

Another problem in Keith’s life is that he’s dyslexic. (Yet another thing he’s bullied for.) It’s hard. But not only does Keith mix up b’s and d’s, and m’s and w’s, and other letters like that. His brain likes to switch the letters and words around to make other words and sentences that don’t make sense. It’s not only letters though, it’s also numbers. So not only does his dyslexia mess up his reading abilities, but also his math skills too.

There’s also the nightmares of the car crash that killed his parents, making it so he can’t sleep very well. Try being sleep deprived and dyslexic. Hint, it’s not fun.

So basically, Keith’s life is a living hell. But at least he doesn’t have to worry about foster care or finding a home anymore. He has that going for him. There’s also the hope that somewhere he has a soulmate that is just waiting to meet him the same as Keith is dying to meet his. He also has at least one friend.

So maybe it’s not too bad.

It could be worse.

Lance was an uncle! He was the youngest of seven kids, and the eldest (at age 24) had a daughter with her husband. Lance had the cutest niece named Marisol.

His best friends are Hunk and Pidge. Even through the devastating event of Pidge moved away in the first grade, they all still stay in touch and have sleepovers at Hunk’s house at least once a month.

Lance was diagnosed with ADHD… or… ADD… or one of those. Lance couldn’t remember which one, but he was pretty sure that it was one of those two. He had a hard time staying focused in class and he spaced out a lot. He’s always bouncing his leg or fidgeting with the bracelets his siblings, cousins, and parents have made for him. Focusing in class gets harder towards the end of the school year when all he can think about is going to Varadero Beach, and possibly meeting his soulmate.

Lance knows that two years isn’t long to have your ring and to find your soulmate. But he really wants to meet her. He’s impatient, he blames it on his ADHD.. or ADD… or whatever it is.

Age 12

Keith has inevitably learned that he was in fact, gay. He’s known for a few years now, and so has Pidge. They knew before he even did. It’s mysterious really, it’s like they know everything. Pidge knows all. It’s just a known fact throughout the universe.

There’s no doubt that the bullying against Keith had gotten worse ever since Shiro graduated and moved out of town to start helping Matt with the ring shop. With the whole “everyone has a soulmate deal”, there’s not too much homophobia. Which is a very good thing. But unfortunately, there’s still transphobia. Not that bad, but bad enough that the dickwad that is Lotor, is transphobic, and apparently, homophobic as well. He may not even be homophobic though, Keith’s pretty sure that Lotor was just looking for another reason to pick on him.

The second Lotor started bullying Keith for being gay, and Pidge for being non-binary, one of the best events in Keith’s life went down. Lotor’s so called “friends”, turned on him. Acxa started giving Lotor shit about how she was done with how much of an awful of a person he was. After Acxa stood up to Lotor, Ezor, Zethrid, and Narti were there to back her up. Lotor made a big scene of how he “didn’t need them anyway” and “you’ll be crawling back to me” and finally, “you’ll regret ever crossing me”. In a blink of an eye, Keith had gained three new allies. And not just any allies, the first people to ever stand up to Lotor.

Within a month of this fateful event, Acxa, Ezor, Zethrid, and Nari have been adopted into Keith’s and Pidge’s friend group. They apologized so much, they never wanted to go along with Lotor and bully Keith, they’ve even tried to talk Lotor out of it a few times. But they also didn’t want to be on the other side of Lotor’s wrath either, like everyone else, they were too afraid to stand up to him. So now, whenever Lotor comes even close to either Keith or Pidge, one of them is always there to protect them. Everyone else isn’t as scared of Lotor anymore as they used to be. Looks like he’s been knocked down a peg. Keith just feels bad for the poor soul who is his soulmate.

Speaking of soulmates, Keith has been really wanting to meet his soulmate. Meeting him would be one of the best things to ever happen. There’s still a possibility that his soulmate is a girl, but that’s like a 0.1% chance. Everyone knows that the rings go with your sexuality. Every once and a while, there’s a mix up with the rings, but even if that person isn’t of your sexual preference, they’re still your soulmate. And apparently, one of those hiccups isn’t too bad. They just have one of the best friendships ever.

Same thing goes for people who are asexual, like Pidge. They are ace and have a soulmate like everyone else, hell, Pidge had already met their soulmate. It’s this guy, Rover, that lives in the town over. They’re both ace, they don’t want anything to do with anything sexual. But they sometimes go on dates and hold hands, but it never really goes farther than that. And they have the best friendship anybody could ask for. Of course that’s not the only type of ace. And every match does things differently.

But Keith really wants his soulmate to be a boy.

 Yeah, Lance really wants to meet his soulmate. He’s been getting a little annoyed. He complains at least once a week to his friends. If he’s annoyed, others should go through his pain with him.

Lance just started to notice that he might be a little, tiny, bit… bi. And when he told Pidge and Hunk at one of their monthly sleepovers at Hunk’s house, they both weren’t surprised in the slightest.

“Oh come on! You guys knew and didn’t tell me?” Lance whined. “And for how long have you known?”

“We’ve known for years now. I can’t believe you’ve only just now noticed yourself. We were going to wait for you to figure it out for yourself. And you wouldn’t have believed us if we did ask, or tell, you about it.” Hunk reasoned.

Lance pouted. “You know me too well.” He grumbled. They laughed and Hunk continued painting Lance’s nails. “And you’ve known for years? What the hell guys! I’m sitting here having a sexuality crisis and you two act like you just ran into your good friend Bob, that you’ve known for years, at the grocery store!” Lance threw up his hands to exaggerate his point. “Some friends I have.”

“Lance! Your going to ruin your nails if you keep flailing around like that! Now stop being so dramatic and give me your hands so I finish painting your nails.” Hunk scolded.

Lance made some incoherent noises before he gave his hands back to Hunk. Hunk finished up painting Lance’s nails and gave his hands back to him. “Don’t touch anything before their dry, I don’t want you to be getting any nail polish on anything. And when they do dry, don’t bite your nails like you always do too, your nails will be ruined. It also leaves a bad taste in your mouth.” Hunk warned.

Lance rolled his eyes. “I got it, don’t touch anything ‘till my nails are dry. But not biting my nails is easier said than done.” Lance said like a little kid repeating back his mom’s directions. “So Pidge, how’s Rover.” Lance called over his shoulder.

“Pretty good, why?” They said.

“Was just wondering. Can’t I just check up on my friend and how their doing? Is that a crime?” Lance joked. “So how about school, or the famous Keith that we’ve still never met. What’s up with that? Why haven’t we met him yet if he’s one of your best friends? Are you hogging him? Because he’s too good for you!” Lance questioned.

Pidge looked at Lance for a minute. “What are you talking about? He’s been to one of our sleepovers before.” Lance gave her a confused expression, and Pidge had a moment of clarity. “Oh! Wait, you were out of town! Now I remember! Hunk met him, not you. He’s antisocial, more so than me, I know right, ‘how could that be?’. But anyway, I’m not sure how many sleepovers I could get him to come to, but I could skype him if you want me to, so you aren’t feeling left out.”

“That would sound lovely” Lance said in a content voice. Pidge pulled out their computer (they almost never left the house without it) and skyped Keith.

It was a few rings before he picked up, and when he did, he said, “Hey Pidge, I thought you were at a sleepover or something.” despite how late it was (1am), he sounded wide awake. Even Pidge was getting tired and they never sleep. They probably pulled an all-nighter the night before.

Lance poked his head into the camera of the computer. “Hello.” Lance said, sounding like a little kid. “So you’re the famous Keith.” He cooed. Turning to Pidge, he added. “You didn’t tell me he had a mullet.”

“Hey! I do NOT have a mullet! My hair is just longer than yours.” Keith said defensively.

“Sorry, it was just a joke. But get this, I just come out as bi to these losers,” Lance points to Hunk and Pidge, “and they blow it off as if they’ve known for years! Can you believe those two? I was expecting from Pidge, ‘cause they’re a genius, but Hunk! My bud! He’s a genius too, don’t get me wrong, but I thought he’d at least badly act like he’s surprised.” Lance said.

“Hey! I’ll have you know that I am a terrific actor!” Hunk declared.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night buddy.” Lance called over his shoulder

Keith started to chuckle at the light banter and the predicament Lance just described him. Like, they have just met, and Lance just talks to him like they’ve been friends since they were two years old. Lance flushed a little at seeing Keith’s smile, but he pushed that deep down. Even though he’s not your soulmate doesn’t mean that you can’t notice the beauty of others. Right? It’s not a crime. Is it?

“Oh my God!” Lance exclaimed. Everyone looked at him to explain what he just screamed about. “I just realized that I’ve been calling my potential boy soulmate a girl all these years. Well, my soulmate could still be a girl, but now, possibly a boy. Woah, I’ve done goofed up.” Lance was done, he sounded absolutely bewildered. This sent everyone in a fit of laughter. “Hey! This is serious!” Lance was slightly mad and embarrassed, but their laughter was contagious, so he joined in.

Their laughter died down and there was a comfortable silence. “Like, I know what you mean, with Pidge knowing about your sexuality before you. Like, a few years ago when I told them, they just were like: ‘oh I know, known for years, but thanks for telling me.’” Lance snickered at Keith’s imitation of Pidge. “Their glasses even did that anime glare, I kid you not.” Keith said, almost a little mad, but mostly full of humor. Lance roared of laughter.

Lance quickly masked his face. “So you like anime?” Lance asked seriously.

“Yeah…. Why?” Keith stated suspiciously.

Lance smiled as bright as the sun. “Me too! I love anime! What’s your favorite one?” Lance said excitedly. Keith smiled back. They both started talking lively about the animes that they’ve watched. They both agreed on ATLA as their favorite.

Pidge just smiled knowingly and their glasses did a trademark anime glasses glare. They took off their glasses and went to bed after warning Lance not to kill the computer’s battery.

In the morning, Lance was out cold and the computer’s lid was still open and was dead from Lance talking to Keith all night. They let it pass, this one time.

Chapter Text

Age 15

School has been so much easier without Lotor tormenting him 24/7. He still struggles with his dyslexia a little bit, but he’s been working on it. Axca, Narti, Zethrid, and Ezor have been eating lunch with Pidge and him. They’ve even been to a few of the monthly sleepovers with Hunk and Lance.

Keith has broken out of his shell a bit more too. He’s also let Pidge talk him into going to more of the sleepovers. All of which Lance was out of town for. He’s never officially met Lance, but they’re like best friends. They know almost everything about each other, Lance’s favorite color is blue. They text and facetime as much as they can. But, they are very competitive, but is that such a bad thing?

As much as they facetime, they’ve never caught a good look at each other’s rings, just flashes of moving gold. But they didn’t think anything of it. It’s not like Keith secretly wants Lance to be his soulmate or anything. It’s not like he has a crush on him or anything. Like, they’ve never seen each other’s rings, so it’s a possibility that their rings match. And they’ve never been in the same town at once before to prove this theory wrong. It’s not like Keith constantly thinks about these facts and has a theory page about it in his cryptids journal. That’s not it. If you are thinking any of that was true, you’re wrong.

.... Okay, maybe a little, tiny bit true. But it’s not obsessive Pidge, leave me alone!

So... anywho, Keith has been getting in cryptids. Like mothman, and bigfoot, and ghosts. They’re all real, and there’s nothing you can do or say to change Keith’s mind of this. Their cool and mysterious. They’re very cool! Keith loves them all equally. (that may or may not be the reason why Lance’s soulmate theory page is in that journal, not that he has a theory page of the sorts or anything.)

Lance makes fun of this journal (he has no idea of the soulmate theory page about himself that may or may not exist). But it’s not in the way Lotor would have. It’s more playful and light, like he enjoys it, but likes to give Keith a little bit of a hard time on it. It’s the same way Keith makes fun of Lance’s skin care routine. It’s out of love, not actually judgmental. It’s part of  what Lance calls their “rivalry”, whatever that means.

Keith has been really wanting to meet his soulmate. It’s even got to the point of complaining to Pidge about it. It’s that bad.

Lance has been getting more in control of his ADHD and has been able to focus more in class. Which has really helped with his grades. His mom had him go and do some group thing that helped a lot. Hunk helps a lot too when it comes to studying.

Once puberty started getting worse and he saw his first pimple, he decided he needed a skin care routine to make sure that would never happen again. It took some trial and error and advice from his sisters to perfect. His smooth skin didn’t come without putting work into it.

Lance facetimes Keith all the time. They know almost everything about each other, Keith’s favorite color is red. They’re best friends, right next to Hunk and Pidge, Lance couldn’t chose. That was like asking who was his favorite niece or nephew. It’s just too close of a call for all of them.

Lance really wants to find his soulmate. Almost everyone in Lance’s grade has found theirs. Even Hunk has found his soulmate, a nice girl named Shay. They’re actually perfect for each other. His normal day would go something like this: get up, do his skin care routine, go to school and complain to Hunk about still not having his soulmate, go home, do his homework while complaining to Keith or Pidge over facetime, talk so more, do his skincare routine again, and then finally go to bed.

Lance maybe, sorta, kinda, likes Keith’s smile and laugh and his eyes and his hair and his…. okay. So maybe, sorta, kinda likes Keith and hopes he’s his soulmate. But it’s best he doesn’t get his hopes up. But the slim chance that it’s possible, makes Lance happy.

There have been many new additions to his family. He is now an uncle to several nieces and nephews. A few more of his siblings have gotten married and have had a kid or two. So now Lance gets to compete with his other siblings for the kid’s favorite tío or tía. Lance really wants kids. They’re cute and adorable and wow, does Lance really want one of his own some day. Wanting a kid really just adds onto really wanting to meet his soulmate. She or he really needs to hurry up.

Age 17

Everything has been pretty mellow. Despite being dyslexic, Keith has found he loves to read. Like, a lot. He’s also found that he likes documentaries, especially ones about cryptids.

Keith is so close to being done with school, just one more school year. Sure, since Lotor stopped bullying him(maybe not by choice, but it’s better than nothing), it’s been getting easier. But school is still school. If it weren’t for all the awful people, homework, and waking up in the morning, school wouldn’t be that bad. But now it is currently the summer. Keith doesn’t have to worry about school. Not now at least.

Because it’s the summer, there have been more of the monthly sleepovers than usual. They now occur once or twice a week. Keith was actually on his way to Hunk’s house for one of their sleepovers. He pulled up into the driveway and knocked on the front door. He hear some footsteps, probably from the stairs. Seconds later, Hunk opens up the door. “Hey, Keith! You know you don’t have to knock, right? You can just come on in. But just announce yourself.” he said warmly, stepping out of the way for Keith to come inside.

Keith stepped inside and took off his shoes. “I know, but it’s weird to just walk into a house that’s not yours.” Keith said. Even though Keith has been to many of the sleepovers before, this will be the first one that both him and Lance will be at one at the same, be in the same town at the same time. 1) he’d finally meet Lance for the first time, 2) he’d get to test his theory on Lance possibly being his soulmate. But it’s best not to get his hopes up. That’s what Keith keeps telling himself anyway.

Hunk was heading towards the basement, where all their sleepovers take place. “Shut the door behind you, would ya?” Hunk called over his shoulder. Keith shut the door and joined Hunk in going down into the basement.

Pidge was already in the basement, setting up the TV for movies while sprawled out on top of their green and grey sleeping bag. Without even looking up, they said, “Hey, I got a text from Lance, he said that he’s about fifteen minutes away from town, so he’ll be here in like twenty-ish minutes or so.” Keith smiled brightly. “Oh yeah! This is your first time officially meeting Lance, isn’t it?” Pidge said, after seeing Keith’s face light up.

“Yeah, it is. I don’t know why, but I’m nervous.” Keith said shyly, looking down at his feet.

Hunk and Pidge shared a look. “Well, you’re always nervous when you meet new people. Right?” Hunk reasoned.

Keith thought on what Hunk said for a moment before he said,“That’s true, but Lance isn’t new, we’ve known each other for years now. It’s just the first time that we’re officially meeting.”

“Fair enough. So I think we can get through maybe half an episode of Friends before Lance gets here, and when he does we’ll pick out a movie. How’s that sound?” Pidge said. Hunk and Keith agreed. Pidge turned on Netflix to put on Friends. The episode about Monica, Ross, and Phoebe trying to figure out Phoebe’s grandma’s cookie recipe came on.

Lance’s life has been pretty slow. Everything was pretty normal, or what strange chaos that Lance calls “normal”.  He was taking a cab directly from the airport to Hunk’s house. He always spends almost half the summer in Cuba with his family. And the rest is practically spent at Hunk’s or Pidge’s house. Lance stared out of the right side, backseat window of the cab, watching the scenery speed by.

Lost in his music coming from his earbuds and the blurring of the tall grass and wheat, Lance almost didn’t realize how close he was to town. He sent a text to Pidge about ten minutes ago, saying he’d be about twenty minutes. Right now he was about five minutes away from the town border, and Lance was starting to feel the anxiety and excitement from getting to finally meet Keith for the first time. Lance had low-key hoped that Keith was his soulmate, but now he’ll actually find out for sure.

Once again, Lance was lost in his own thoughts, and didn’t notice that he passed the town line, but he certainly did when his ring let out a soft, purple light. It was exactly like the first time he first put it on.

About half way through the episode, the room filled with a soft, purple glow. Just like the first time he ever put on the ring at the shop. Pidge and Hunk looked at Keith, their mouths dropping to the floor and eyes wide. “Guy’s! Or, guy and non-binary person! It-glowing-my-- RING!” Keith stammered out, his mind not wanting to properly function. Before Keith could even comprehend what was happening, his ring was pulling him up the stairs and into the front door, not even giving him enough time to put on his shoes.

So Keith was walking on the sidewalk barefoot. Well, at least the ring has a sense of “not going through people’s yards”. It was dark, but there were still lights on in houses and street lights to help him. Once Keith got past the shock, excitement was slowly replacing it. It bubbled up from his stomach, making Keith want to squeal. But that wouldn’t be the best thing to do at night, when people are trying to be peaceful in their homes. Keith tried not to trip over his own feet while the ring held his right arm in front of himself; almost as if it was trying to escape, but was stuck on his finger instead. Keith was barefoot, making this journey a little harder.

Keith started making it a little more into town. He was downtown, at night, barefoot. Keith was just trying to avoid stepping on anything that would possibly harm his feet. The excitement was starting to fade, now replaced with nervousness.  His palms were sweaty and there was nothing he could do to try and wipe his right hand. The pull was getting stronger and it is near impossible to try and get his hand by his side. Keith just hopes his soulmate doesn’t mind a sweaty hand.

Keith was lost in his thoughts when he bumped into someone. “I’m so sorry-” Keith started to say, but he cut himself off as he looked at the guy who he bumped he into. The pull of his ring stopped, making Keith notice that their hands were intertwined. He looked at the boy’s ring and then into the boy’s blue eyes, and smiled.

By the glow of Lance’s ring, he could say that they passed the town line. Apparently, the cab driver has dealt with this kind of thing before, because he pulled over and told Lance his total. He paid the cab driver and asked him if he could take his luggage to the address he gave him before, Hunk’s house. The cab driver said he would do it, as long he got paid. The funny thing about their exchange was, Lance’s ring was pulling him away, so the driver was driving alongside Lance while they talked about what to do with the luggage. Lance gave the driver and extra fifteen dollars for the drive to Hunk’s house, and the cab drove off ahead of him.

On the outskirts of town, it was very dark out. As excited Lance was to meet his soulmate, he was also scared of whatever might be lurking in what he couldn’t see. Which was pretty much everything, only a street light every twenty yards or so to guide his way. Lance jumped at every little thing, letting out a small shriek. Maybe not the most attractive thing, but it was still scary.

Finally, Lance started to make his way into the town, almost towards Hunk’s house. He was walking through downtown, not as scary as it was before, but still a little unsettling. Lance was looking at the stringed lights between the buildings. He wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going, not something really unusual for him, his ring was still guiding him, so maybe he won’t bump into anyone or anything. That was proved wrong when he actually did bump into someone, he was about to apologize, but the guy beat him to it. “I’m so sorry-” he said. Wait, I know that voice. Keith? Lance realized the pull of his ring was gone, making him look at their intertwined hands. That’s when Lance noticed Keith’s ring. It looked exactly like his. Keith’s eyes met Lance’s, both of them starstruck and couldn’t say anything.

They just stood there for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes, saying nothing. It once again dawned on Lance that they were holding hands, but in a different way. A blush crept up and Lance’s cheeks and one did on Keith’s as well. “Soo~” Lance drawled out. Smooth self, smooth.

“Soo~” Keith reciprocated. An awkward silence settled between them. Years of being best friends couldn’t prepare them for this.

Sure Lance wanted this, but he never actually expected it! His mind was blanking and they were just standing there, being awkward. So Lance did what he always does when he feels awkward, he looked down at his feet. “You’re barefoot.” Lance blurted out. Keith starts to laugh at this statement, and honestly, it is the best thing that Lance has yet seen. “You know, if I’m being honest, I was kinda hoping you were my soulmate, but I didn’t actually think it would happen.”

Keith looked up from his feet and blushed deeper. “Is that right?” He said shyly. “Well, I was too. You’re actually in my cryptid journal.”

“I’m in your cryptid journal? Why?” He said surprised. Lance felt both honored and offended at the same time.

Keith blushed even more, even if that were possible. “Of course I have a theory page on who my soulmate might be.” he said while looking down at his feet again. Keith’s ears were burning and all Lance could do was look at his soulmate with joy.

“So~” Lance aid in a sing song tone, “besides me, who else is on the theory page?”

“You don’t want to know, isn’t that like going to be a problem in the future?” Keith was avoiding Lance’s eyes, confirming Lance’s suspicions that he was hiding something.

Well, two can play at this game. “Oh! But I want to know! I’m not going to be hurt, I’m just curious.” Lance was acting coy.

“My feet are getting cold, let’s go to Hunk’s house.” Keith was avoiding the topic, so Lance didn’t push it any further.

“Alright, let’s go.” Lance gave in. They, together, walked to Hunk’s house. They were about five minutes away from the house when Lance stopped abruptly. Keith looked quizzically at Lance. “That little gremlin! Pidge knew we were soulmates this whole time! They kept it from us this whole time for their own sick amusement, and they probably roped Hunk into their sick game. Those traitors!” Lance exclaimed.

Keith processed this new found information and he matched Lance’s feeling of anger, disappointment, and betrayal. “That little shit!” Keith cursed. He tightened his grip on Lance’s hand and started walking faster towards Hunk’s house. Lance kept from tripping over his before finally keeping up with Keith.

“Don’t you just love it when your boyfriend has your back?” Lance pondered out loud. Keith stopped to look at Lance. Suddenly, Lance was very self aware of what he just said. “Oh, well that’s just what I assumed, unless that’s not what you want.” Lance deflated.

Keith’s eyes widened. “No, no. That is what I want, it’s just you saying it out loud for the first time.” Keith rushed when he said this, not wanting to see Lance sad.

Lance smiled, and it could’ve killed Keith at this point. “So, boyfriends?” he asked. Keith nodded and Lance smiled even brighter. “You like it when I call you ‘my boyfriend’ don’t you? What about babe? Or kitten? Or-”

“Shut up!” Keith cut Lance off. He was blushing and started to walk in a fast pace again. “We’re mad at Pidge.” he added.

“Mad at Pidge, got it.” Lance parroted. They reached the house and just walked in without knocking, because who knocks?

“Pidge you little gremlin! Oh, hi Matt, Shiro.” Keith saw Shiro and Matt coming up the stairs from the basement. “Where are you! You can’t hide forever!” Keith continued with his rampage. They moved down to the basement in search for Pidge, but they were nowhere in sight. Then Keith caught the anime glare of Pidge’s glasses. “They’re in the air vents aren't they?” Keith said, exasperated.

Lance’s and Keith’s anger started to dissipate with the time ticking by, just waiting for Pidge to come out of the air vents. Shiro and Matt have moved back down to the basement as well. Hunk, Lance and Keith, and Matt and Shiro, all were trying to think of ways to get Pidge to come out. “I got it!” Lance exclaimed. Everyone looked at Lance in anticipation. “What if we heat up some of Hunk’s leftover pancakes, get a fan to carry the scent, and place the pancakes right in front of the vent? No one can resist Hunk’s pancakes. They’re delicious. And then we get some pancakes for us, because those sound really good.” Lance said proudly.

“That’s actually a really good plan, and very devious.” Keith said, on board with the plan.

Lance smiled with the praise. “Awww! Thanks babe! I told you, it’s amazing when your boyfriend has your back.” Keith let out a whine and hid his face in his hands. The tips of his ears were red, and Lance chuckled.

“Isn’t it fun to embarrass your boyfriend?” Matt added. “Watch this” he whispered to Lance. Matt turned to Shiro, “Hey babe! You know how cute you are? You are self-conscious and you don’t know it yourself, but you are very adorable.” He said in a very sweet tone. Shiro jointed his brother in groaning with their hands pressed against their faces in order to hide their blushing. Matt and Lance high-fived while laughing.

Later, they heated up some leftover pancakes to lure Pidge out of the air shaft, and it worked. A minute or so after the gang put the pancakes in front of the vent and turned on the fan on, they heard, “You guys are evil!” coming deep from within it. Pidge came out of the vent and started devouring the pancakes while getting an earful from Lance and Keith. After Lance and Keith were done expressing their anger at them, they all went back to watching Friends.