Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Romelle was a very pretty woman, even Pidge would admit to that. Pidge was a proud asexual, but she could easily understand why one would be attracted to her. Her baggy Altean clothing accentuated her petite figure, making her seem smaller and more feminine than she was. She had keen instincts, proven when she was the sole person who doubted Lotor’s motives in saving the Alteans. She had a kind smile, endearing and warm, not unlike her personality. She was an ideal partner for any suitor.

And Lance hadn’t made a move on her.

It had been 2 weeks since the paladins had defeated Lotor. The paladins had unanimously agreed to return to Earth temporarily, long enough to regroup and rebuild the Castle of Lions. Once they were fully recharged and equipped with a proper ship, they would return to the Quantum Abyss and rescue the Alteans that were still in pseudo-captivity.

Lance had been the one to suggest this plan. He wasn’t fond of the idea of leaving the last of the Alteans in the hands of the Galra, but they couldn’t free the many Alteans left with just their lions. More so, they had no idea how many Galra were involved with Lotor’s secret quintessence harvest; there could be several fleets waiting to ambush them when they got close to the planet. They would return with a new ship and use it to ferry the Alteans to another planet, somewhere within the coalition’s field of operations so that they may be protected from Galra hands.

Pidge was surprised by Lance’s insight and strategic planning, but she was more surprised by the fact that Lance had shown no interest in their newest ally. As far back as Pidge recalled, if a creature was even remotely female in appearance (the exception being herself), Lance had pointed his signature finger guns at them and used some cheesy pickup line in a vain attempt at flirting.

Romelle had been a part of Team Voltron for more than 2 weeks now and Lance had yet to make a move on her. No finger guns, no cheesy lines, not so much as a stupid grin.

Ironically, after hearing Lance come up with a plan to save the Alteans, Romelle had shown profound interest in him. She smiled whenever they crossed paths, sat next to him during meals and rest periods, laughed at his lame jokes, and she always seemed to have a slight blush across her cheeks whenever he was around. Pidge had even caught her staring at Lance whenever she though no one would notice.

There was no way Lance hadn’t noticed Romelle’s pining. He shifted uncomfortably whenever she moved closer, and he made a point to keep a respectful distance from her. Still, the two talked regularly, usually adventures as paladins, but sometimes focuses solely on Lance’s accomplishments (whether that was because Lance was egotistical or because of Romelle’s feelings, Pidge didn’t care to know).

Lance knew there was a pretty girl that was interested in him, and yet he backed away. The only question was why. Why would Lance be pushing away Romelle’s advances?

After learning the truth about Shiro, Pidge was half convinced that Lance had been replaced by another of Haggar’s clones, behaving differently from the real Lance because it didn’t know any better, but Pidge dismissed the theory (mostly due to the fact there was never an opportunity to integrate a Clone-Lance into the paladins).

Whatever Lance’s reasons, Pidge was determined to get to the bottom of it. Her curious mind and absolute love for fooling around in her friend’s love lives fueled her drive to find the truth.

The group had made a pit stop on Olkarion earlier that morning. Hunk, Allura and Coran were meeting with Ryner to discuss possible ways that could get them to Earth faster than by planet hopping with the lions. Keith wanted to show Krolia around the Olkarion capital, along with the refugee camp that they had established, and his Space Wolf went with them. Shiro was resting in the Black Lion, trying to regain his strength and prepare himself to have the last part of his Galra tech arm removed, to be replaced with an Altean version that Hunk and Coran had been discussing. That left Lance, Romelle, and Pidge to unload unneeded supplies from the Castle in the storage facilities that Ryner had provided them.

The three were in the midst of unloading boxes from the Green Lion, and watching Lance and Romelle interacting was driving Pidge mad. Romelle made a point to walk side-by-side with Lance. They were discussing the time when Lance, Shiro and Pidge infiltrated Beta Traz, and Lance mistook the warden’s yupper for Slav. They were both laughing, but Pidge had a hunch that Romelle’s laugh had very little to do with Laika.

Pidge couldn’t stand not knowing anymore. Lance had to have some reason for holding back with Romelle, and Pidge wanted to know.

There was a loud thud that echoed as Pidge dropped the box she was carrying to the floor. Lance and Romelle turned behind them, startled by the sudden noise. “Pidge, you ok?” Lance asked, setting down the box in his own arms.

“I need to talk to you,” she replied firmly. She turned to Romelle with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, you mind giving us a moment?”

Romelle shook her head no. “Not at all,” she said, though her voice hinted disappointment. She gestured to the box in her arms. “I’ll take this down to the storage area and meet up with you after. Alright, Lance?”

Lance nodded. “Sure!” he answered. “When I catch up, I’ll tell you about how I made the shot of the century.”

Romelle smiled, likely just from the promise that they would see each other shortly, Pidge theorized. “Sounds wonderful.” And she walked off, Pidge’s puffball-like alien pets (the species of which, no one could figure out as of yet) following closely behind her.

When Romelle was outside the lion and out of ear shot, Pidge gave Lance a very hard smack against the back of his head, earning a yelp of pain from her friend, and followed with her yelling at him, “What is wrong with you?”

Lance brought a hand to the back of his head, rubbing profusely in a vain attempt to dull the stinging that was quickly following Pidge’s blow. “What was that for?!” he yelled back at her, glaring daggers at his friend.

“You and Romelle!” Pidge screamed. “She was clearly interested in you. Who else could listen to you prattle on about yourself for two weeks? Why haven’t you made a move on her yet?”

Lance’s eyebrows shot upward at Pidge’s accusation. “That’s what this is about? You’re mad that I’m not all over her?”

Pidge groaned. When Lance put it that way, it made her sound like she was crazy. Even so, this whole situation was irritating her to no end and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. “You know what I mean! This whole thing is just weird. Romelle is pretty, she’s a girl, she’s smart, she’s funny, and most importantly she’s into you.” Her tone descended in volume as she carried on, a small edge of concern masked in her voice. “Look, I’m just worried. The Lance I know would have made a move weeks ago. He would have been ecstatic at the thought of someone like Romelle throwing herself at him, and your acting like you’re trying desperately to push her into the friend zone and ruin your chances with someone who actually likes you.”

“Well, did it ever occur to you that I’m not the same Lance?”

Lance’s sudden retort brought about a stunned silence between them. The soft hum that was emitted by the Lion’s inner workings was the only sound that could be heard. Pidge wasn’t sure if it was the words that Lance said or the flash of anger in his eyes as he said them, but she found herself unable to say another word I response.

“You seem to have this image of me burned in your head; that I’m this girl-crazy dumbass that’s so shallow and desperate that he’ll take any girl that smiles at him,” Lance pointed out, his arms crossed and glaring daggers at Pidge. Very quickly did Pidge watch as the anger in Lance’s expression turned to sadness. “Maybe I was like that before, maybe I did come across as some flirt that wasn’t too picky with his ladies as long as they were cute, I’ll admit that… But, in that big brain of yours, did the possibility that I’m capable of changing ever come up? Like, will I be that guy forever in your head? Huh?”

Pidge tried desperately to find some words to say, but her mind was blank. Lance was right, that was exactly what she saw Lance as. Whenever Lance came to mind, her first thought was this slick-talking dork that made everyone uncomfortable whenever he opened his mouth. He was still the amateur pilot from the Garrison that only got in because Keith got kicked out.

And now she felt like shit.

“I do think Romelle is pretty, but to answer your question, I’m not interested in her because… you know what? Why should I even tell you? I thought you were my friend, but you… you tease me when I like someone, you tease me when I don’t, and you just generally take a lot of shots at me and I’m tired of it,” Lance turned away and bent down for his box once more. “I gotta go meet up with Romelle,” he said with his back turned, picking up his box. “See you later. And for the record, I was gonna tell her I’m not into her later today. I never got a chance until now.”

“Lance, wait!” Pidge called out, catching up to Lance and grabbing his bicep. “Don’t walk off, I’m sorry. I should have been a better friend to you… Please, let me start doing that now. Talk to me.”

Lance came to a halt at Pidge’s grab, contemplating his options. He wanted to shrug her hand off his arm. He wanted to walk off, leave Pidge alone and let her feel all the guilt that she was undoubtedly feeling right now. He wanted to hit Pidge back for the smack she gave him, which was still stinging. He didn’t want to talk to her.

But he also didn’t want to be a lousy friend to her in return, and he did want to talk to someone…

With a reluctant sigh, Lance dropped the box once more and turned to face Pidge. There was a look of guilt in her eyes, almost threatening to spill tears if he had left on such a sour note. He hated himself for caving so easily, but he knew that he would be kicking himself later for ditching Pidge like he wanted.

“The reason that I don’t like Romelle is because she’s everything you said she was, and more. She’s pretty, she’s smart, and I know she likes me. She’s nice to talk to, and she makes me feel appreciated as a paladin… But I think she only likes me ‘cause I came up with a plan to save her people. She seems to only like Paladin-Lance, the guy in the lion. She hasn’t asked about me or my family or what it must be like for me to be so far away from home or anything about me personally. She’s only ever asked about my adventures as a Paladin of Voltron. And sure, the old me would have been ok with that for a little while, but not anymore. I want something real… someone who likes Lance, whether he’s a paladin or not.”

Pidge stood motionless as she tried to process this information. Having heard Lance speak so profoundly about his motives for ignoring Romelle’s advances had left her speechless and with an intense feeling of guilt. Had Lance really grown up so much in such a short period of time, she wondered? Had she really not seen the person he’d become?

As Lance stood silently before her, Pidge found herself going over her time with Lance over the last few months, seeing what she had overlooked. She analyzed every interaction she could remember, be it as a paladin or if they were just hanging out as friends.

She remembered their battle tactics meetings, and how Lance’s contributions were growing much more relevant in their plans than before. He wasn’t just spitting out the first thing that came to mind anymore. He had offered well-thought-out suggestions and perspectives that were much more logical and well-founded. He offered valid advice and concerns, and wasn’t above arguing to get his point across, even with someone like Shiro whom he had idolized for some time now.

She recalled how Lance’s habit of overcompensating had dwindled over the last several months. His attention wasn’t drawn away by every girl that crossed his path. She vaguely remembered how Lance’s sole romantic interest had been Allura for the last while, and how he had to watch painfully as Lotor swept her off her feet, and Hunk’s and her own teasing in regards to this matter certainly did not help with this problem.

She felt like an idiot, and an incredibly bad friend to Lance. He had changed so much since they met at the Garrison, but she hadn’t seen that. Until now, she had seen Lance only as he was when they met, and not what he had become. He had feelings for Allura, any idiot could have seen that, and while she was falling for someone else in front of Lance, all she had done was make fun of him for it. She hadn’t even realized how much he brought to the team until now, and how they wouldn’t be where they are without him.

And she had never felt more horrible about herself than she did right now.

After realizing that neither of them had spoken for some time, Pidge forced herself to continue talking. “I... never knew you felt that way.”

Lance still wasn’t looking Pidge in the eye, he stared at his feet with his arms crossed. “Well it’s not exactly like I told anyone,” he said back. “But seriously, am I still that goofball to you?”

“I know, and you’re right,” she answered. “I’m sorry I never noticed all the progress you’ve made. Maybe it was just so gradual that I never took heed of it until someone brought it up? Or maybe I’m just truly freaking blind?” That last comment brought about a brief snort from Lance. “I really don’t know how I didn’t see it, but I see it now. You are a different Lance, a better Lance really… But you’re still the Lance I wanna be friends with,” she extended her hand out to Lance, who looked at it curiously, “...if you’ll let me.”

A tender but cautious smile made its way across Pidge’s face. It told Lance everything; Pidge was truly sorry, she was feeling guilty for not seeing how much better a person he’d become, and she was scared of losing a very close friend. Most importantly, it was showing that she was proud of him, and wanted to see him grow even more as a paladin and as a person.

Damn her and her stupid smile.

Lance took hold of Pidge’s stray hand and pulled her into a firm but reassuring embrace. His long arm surrounded her tiny frame and pulled on her until she was buried in the fabric of his jacket. “Come here, Gremlin,” he said, a smile etching its way onto his face as well. “Like you could get rid of me as easily as that. I’m not that different.”

Pidge let out a short laugh, but quickly threw her hands around Lance’s thin waist. She would deny it if asked, but the relief that Lance’s words brought her made her tear up just slightly. She was grateful that Lance’s jacket was dark enough to hide her tears, she didn’t want to hear him teasing her later on for being a crybaby.

However, if she got to keep such a wonderful friend, Lance could tease her all day if he wanted. She honestly didn’t care anymore.

The two paladins continued to hug for just a few more moments before they got back to work. They had picked up the two boxes they were carrying and started to walk back to meet up with Romelle.

“I gotta ask though,” Pidge spoke, continuing to walk as she talked. “What changed? What made you want just the one girl?”

“Honestly?” he said, more of a statement than a question. “I guess it was when Allura started falling for Lotor.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at her friend’s statement. “Come again?”

Lance shrugged, his face growing sullen. “It certainly wasn’t fun watching someone you really like falling head over heels for that long-haired British twat… but it was the way she looked at him. The look of absolute longing and love in her eyes, and how much brighter he got whenever he was around her.” Despite his less than excited tone, Pidge noted that there was a soft smile that was etched onto his face. “He made her happier than I ever could. It sucked to see that, but at the same time it made me realize what I wanted. I wanted what they had… Happiness. Compassion. A bond of trust… sure, Lotor screwed that up, but even so I haven’t seen Allura happier than when she was with Lotor.”

“Seeing that made me want someone who made my heart leap from my chest; who made me flustered and fidgety from just their presence, and who made me feel loved and respected just by looking in their eyes…”

Lance sighed as he looked back at Pidge, and flinched when he saw the state she was in. She stared at him, wide-eyed, sniffling and with tears running down her face. The scrunching of her facial expression told Lance she was doing everything possible not to completely burst out crying.

“That was beautiful,” she squeaked, her voice high in pitch. She removed her glasses and used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks. This only made room for more tears to form at the ends of her eyes. Fixing her glasses, she coughed several times, hoping to clear her throat of an ever-present lump, and continued at her regular tone of voice. “I… I’m impressed, Lance. I never thought I’d say these words to you but I am genuinely and truly impressed. You really have grown into a decent human, Lance.”

Lance scowled at her, unimpressed by her statement. “Gee, thanks so much for the kind words,” he said sarcastically. “Maybe someday you’ll grow into a human being that’s more than five feet tall.”

The two scowled at each other, but very quickly did they smirk at each other and then proceed to laugh at themselves and each other. It wasn’t mean or harsh laughing, but a friendly banter that accentuated warmth and compassion between them.

They both knew it; they were friends again.

When the two got back to work and reached the top of the ramp, which extended from Green’s mouth into the middle of the Olkari storage facilitiy, they were surprised to see Keith walking up to them.

“Hey,” he called out, running briskly to meet up with the other two, stopping only a few feet away from them. His wolf appeared next to him in a brief flash of light, standing at his right side. It appeared relaxed, as if being by its master and his friends put it in good spirits.

Pidge was at first baffled by the wolf’s seeming ability to teleport, and made a mental note to study its abilities in depth when they returned to Earth. Now, however, it had become such a norm to see it just appear at Keith’s side that she didn’t even flinch when it happened anymore.

“Everything alright?” Keith continued. “Romelle told me Pidge had to talk to Lance about something, and according to Romelle, she sounded pretty serious.”

Pidge flinched. Crap. She forgot about Romelle.

She and Lance had been inside Green for some time now, and she didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. She didn’t want to disclose everything that Lance had told her either, she didn’t know how confidential this information was for Lance, and so she turned to Lance. She hoped that he had an explanation for Keith’s questions.

When she did, however, she was not prepared for what she saw.

Lance stood there, smiling. Not just any smile though, this was something different. His face fell soft, a tender look in his eyes as every muscle in his face seemed to relax. A small blush crept up at the edges of his cheeks, and that smile…

That was not a smile one would give to a rival.

The long pause between them brought Lance’s focus back to the world, and Keith’s question seemed to register in his mind, and he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, a short, strained laugh escaping his lips. “Oh yeah, everything’s good!” he said emphatically. “Pidge wanted to ask me… what it felt like when my bayard formed a sword for the first time!”

Both Pidge and Keith raised eyebrows at this. Neither of them knew of this news, but if it helped get the story across, Pidge feigned agreement and nodded. “I did indeed…” she said, trying to keep the sweat from rolling down her forehead.

Keith looked questioningly at Pidge first, and then back at Lance. “I didn’t know you could use a sword,” he said curiously. “When did this happen?”

“A few months ago, when I was training in the castle, I unlocked a new form of my bayard,” Lance explained. He steadied the box in his hands under one arm and reached into the pocket of his jacket, retrieving his red bayard; he’d made it a habit to always have his bayard handy, even without his paladin armor present. A brief flash of light, and the weapon transformed before all three of them.

Pidge had never seen this before. This sword, it was different than any other weapon they’ve seen, certainly different from the weapons the bayards usually formed. This sword was different than the one Keith used when he owned that bayard; the blade was longer and slightly more narrow, but it seemed thicker in width, and the handle was different from that of Keith’s katar, a thick rod that allowed the wielder more control. It was designed for quick, precision slashes, and easy handling. There wasn’t a better design for Lance, at least in Pidge’s opinion.

Keith seemed impressed by it as well. His eyes were fixated on the blade that Lance held onto confidently. “Incredible,” he said in awe. “Why didn’t you tell me you can use a sword now?”

“I never really had a chance,” Lance stated. His bayard returned to its original form and he slid it into his pocket once more. “You were off chasing quintessence routes when I figured this out. Between everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had a chance to even play around with it, let alone tell people about it. The only one… other than Pidge, obviously, that knew about it was Allura, and that was just because she walked in on me training that day. She told me all about how her father used the same weapon, and even helped me with my stance.”

Pidge noted a small twinge of pain come across Keith’s face, a look she could almost swear showed hints of guilt and anger. “Oh, I see…” he muttered. “Well, hope it all goes well for you. Krolia is helping the Olkari and you guys with inventory and we’re hoping to be finished everything by tomorrow. After that, we’ll see about getting home. I gotta go, I wanna go check on Shiro, but we’ll all sit down and discuss things later.”

Keith waved them goodbye, and turned around to walk back down the ramp. Pidge watched as the wolf followed him on foot, but stopped momentarily to look at Pidge. Its expression was firm, but at the same time Pidge could sense a brief sadness emanating from the animal. She didn’t know how to explain it, but it was like the wolf was trying to tell her something, she just didn’t know what.

She did not have time to process it, watching the beast teleport away to catch up with Keith, and the two walked off together for the Black lion.

Pidge turned to Lance once more, hoping that he may have an explanation for Keith’s wolf’s behavior, when she saw the way he was staring at the two as they walked off. The cheerful expression he once wore had fallen, and replaced with a countenance of sorrow. The corners of his eyes tilted downward, his pupils staring longingly at the man walking away. He was biting down on his bottom lip, as if he wanted to say something, but the ability to speak had been lost on him.

Lance had earlier made a big deal about how much he had changed, and for the most part that was true. But there were still things about Lance that would never change, Pidge thought. At present, the fact that Lance always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. His emotions were ridiculously easy to read if one bothered to look for half a tick. When he was happy, you knew it. When he was angry, you knew it. When he was upset, you knew it.

When he liked someone, you damn well knew it, too.

Pidge’s jaw dropped. She’d thought she’d seen enough surprises out of Lance today, but nothing before could even compare to the situation before her. Lance liked Keith. He like-liked Keith. The way he lit up when Keith walked up to them, the way his spirits fell when he left, how it looked like Lance was yearning – freaking yearning! – for Keith to come back, there was no doubt in Pidge’s mind that Lance liked Keith.

Lance. Liked. Keith.

“Holy shit…” Pidge muttered, the words escaping her lips before she even realized that she spoke. Her arms went limp and the box in her hands slipped to the floor of Green’s mouth.

Lance tensed up, only just now realizing that Pidge was still standing beside her. An expression of panic washed over him as he turned to face her, seeing her staring at him, wide-eyed and clearly in shock from how he was behaving.

She knew.

Shit.

“You… you like Keith?” she asked, though it was voiced more like a statement. She pointed to Lance and then in the direction of the Black lion. “Keith? Keith? KEITH?!” Her volume escalated with each mention of his name. “You like Keith! Holy… Lance, what the- Who the-… Oh my god, what is going on!?” Pidge couldn’t function. Her brain had been scrambled by this new revelation, and she couldn’t form so much as coherent thought, let alone a sentence.

Could you blame her though? Lance liked freaking Keith!

Lance dropped the box in his arms and threw a hand over her mouth, effectively shutting her up. He shushed her, and then hoisted her up with his free hand, then carrying her back inside the Green lion, all the while, her screaming behind his hand.

Back inside the safety and privacy of Pidge’s lion, Lance released Pidge from her confines and let her catch her breath.

“Let the whole coalition know, why don’t you!” Lance exclaimed in a hushed tone, his face flushed with embarrassment and panic. “Look, don’t make too big a deal out of this. So, I may have a tiny little crush on Keith, it’s no big deal.”

Pidge gawked at him, hardly believing the words coming from his mouth. “No big deal? YOU LIKE KEITH! Of all people, you fell for your self-proclaimed rival, who you wouldn’t stop bickering with up until the day he left! It’s a pretty freakin’ big deal!”

Pidge knew she was yelling, but given the circumstances she figured she was warranted to be as shocked as she was. In their earlier months as paladins, Lance spent the majority of his time trying to assert his “rivalry” with Keith to everyone, Keith included. They bickered until they drove each other and everyone else mad. Lance would provoke Keith, usually with some dumb comment or remark, and Keith rose to the bait every time, and from there it usually ended in a contest to see who could yell the loudest at the other (a contest with no winners, in Pidge’s opinion).

The two of them were complete opposites. Keith was fire, Lance was ice; this was reflected not only in their lions, but in their personalities and their overall fighting abilities as well.

Keith was a person with a level head under normal circumstances, but that was quickly lost when put under pressure. In times of stress, he tended to follow his instincts while logic and reason took a backseat (for example, chasing after Lotor when the paladins were not used to their new lions). He was the loner of the paladins, erecting walls around himself to keep others from delving too deep into his mind. As much as he liked his friends, he loved his space just as much, and often kept a distance between himself and others.

Lance, on the other hand, was a social butterfly. He could get along with most anyone, and made friends very easily. He’d tell one about himself in great detail if they asked (sometimes even if they don’t ask), and thrived in social gatherings. He may be exuberant in ordinary life, but backed against a wall was when Lance’s rational thinking was at its peak. Pressure made him a good leader and strategist, and whenever Keith or Shiro couldn’t provide proper leadership or strategy, it was Lance that stepped up and gave the best advice.

Pidge was surprised, not by the fact that Lance was pining after a boy (though she would admit it was an eye-opener to say the least), but because that boy was Keith, someone who was so vastly different from him.

Lance’s face flushed brilliantly at Pidge’s accusation, eyes wide open in an embarrassed panic. “I did not fall for Keith!” he exclaimed, using air quotes around Pidge’s words.

“Well whatever it is, when the hell did it happen?” Pidge asked sternly. “How did you go from being… whatever the hell you were, to you having a crush on Keith?”

A loud groan escaped Lance’s throat as he threw his head back with his hands covering his face. Pidge almost wanted to laugh at how stressed Lance looked, visibly frustrated at Pidge’s prodding, but the situation was too tense for her to do anything but wait for Lance to respond.

Lance finished groaning and emitted a loud huff, pointing a finger right at Pidge’s nose. “If you repeat this to ANYONE, I swear I will hunt you down, understood?” Lance asked, a serious and deadly look in his eyes. Pidge nodded in response, suddenly much more afraid her friend than she thought she would ever be.

Lance shifted uncomfortably, crossing both arms across his chest. “When Keith left for the Blade of Marmora so long ago…” he began, the frustration beginning to drain from his face. “After a while it started to sink in, ‘Oh wow, Keith isn’t here anymore.’ He wasn’t a part of our team anymore. He was gone, off doing who-knows-what that was more than likely going to get him killed. And… I started to miss him. Like, I missed fighting with him and training with him, competing with… I missed knowing that he was safely on the castle and not off chasing quintessence.”

“He and I became friends after so long. Nothing compared to my friendship with Hunk, don’t get me wrong. Keith doesn’t give me yummy space treats or really big hugs when I’m bummed, but… I felt like I lost something when he left. Like I lost my best friend, the best friend didn’t know I made…”

“…and when he came back to us?” Pidge asked cautiously, trying not to lose her composure. “H-How did you feel then?”

A small smile graced Lance’s lips, as did a soft blush at each end of his cheeks. “Relieved,” he answered simply. “That’s the only way for me to describe how I feel now that he’s a part of our team again, just… relieved. I know that he’s safe, and not dead in space somewhere. Lord knows Kolivan wouldn’t care too much if he lost Keith on some mission gone bad, he’s just another marmorite to him, but… he’s one of us. He’s our friend. He’s… he’s our Keith.”

Pidge had thought Lance was done surprising her today. He’d opened her eyes to his true capabilities as a paladin and a person. He’d advanced so far as to unlock a new form of his bayard. He’d shown her that he was a human capable of love, and not just flirting and overcompensating. He was smarter, had deeper emotions, and was a better paladin than Pidge could have ever expected.

This though, this took the cake.

“You’re… You’re in love with Keith,” she whispered, just audible enough to break the silence between them.

The words from Pidge’s mouth caused a streak of pink to race across Lance’s face, extending from the tip of one ear to the other. His eyes shot wide-open, and his jaw fell agape. If he was embarrassed before, Pidge figured, he was mortified now. “NO, I AM NOT!” he bellowed, very quickly spinning around and heading back outside. “I’m getting back to work. We are done discussing this!”

Before she could even call out to him, Lance had run off in a dash, leaving Pidge behind, baffled and barely able to form a coherent thought.

Lance loved Keith. Lance… loved Keith. He was in love with Keith. In. love… with Keith. He may deny it, he may not want anyone to know, hell, he may not even know, himself. But now Pidge knew. There was no way someone could go on a huge rant like that and not have very strong feelings.

It was hard to digest this information; two of her closest friend, one pining heavily after the other. But in the silence of her lion, with time to take a look at the situation, it slowly began to make sense.

Their personalities, the hot and cold, the difference in the way they fought; they didn’t clash with each other so much as they complimented one another. Each of their strength’s made up for the other’s weaknesses. When Lance was sniping people from afar, Keith was charging in at the enemies in close-combat. When one was over the top, the other was there to cool them down. When Keith did not speak, Lance was there to fill the silence on his part. What Keith lacked in leadership, Lance helped him to find.

Maybe opposites really do attract, Pidge thought.

Pidge had no idea how Keith felt about Lance. He was just as quiet as always was, albeit more mature and smiling slightly more than before. He wasn’t like Lance, he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve and didn’t show feelings as easily as Lance did. But even so, looking back, she began to realize how Keith would sometimes gravitate more toward Lance in the absence of Shiro. He needed a hand, and Lance was always there to give it.

Keith reacted to Lance more passionately than the other paladins. He showed them emotion only as necessary, sometimes not even then, and his attitude from before was somewhat dull, almost monotone. But whenever Lance spoke, Keith was there to rebut. He rose to Lance’s taunts and jabs, and was much more expressive whenever he was around Lance. They weren’t afraid to call each other out on anything the other opposed. They had a love-hate relationship already, but as the months went on, the jabs they took at one another began to lose their venom, and it became more like light-hearted banter between good friends.

Whether or not he was gay, though, Pidge had no doubts that he was. He showed little to no interest in any of the females that Keith had encountered in their travels. He became uneasy or guarded whenever he was around some female aliens, even around Allura and herself at first.

Plus, at one point, she had caught him checking out Rolo. Pidge was certain she knew which team Keith played for.

She knew not if Keith had feelings for Lance, but it was then that she decided that she would see to it that he did. Reminded of her earlier conversation with Lance, she agreed whole-heartedly that she would strive to be a better friend.

And to do that, she would do everything in her power to see to it that Lance and Keith ended up a couple.

Chapter Text

Krolia.

She was Keith’s mother, the one that left him on Earth to return to the Blade of Marmora. They met on a mission for the Blade, and since then had had spent 2 years being carried through the Quantum Abyss. They worked together to survive, watch each other’s backs and even raised Keith’s wolf together. They didn’t behave like your typical mother and son, mostly a mission-based interaction from what Pidge had seen, but given their history, they had a fairly good relationship.

They bonded over that 2-year gap. Keith had told her things about Shiro in detail, praising him for essentially adopting him and becoming his role model, as well as his inspiration to strive for better things. Keith did not divulge things like this easily, even to his closest friends, that was the way Keith was. So the fact that he had told her these things spoke volumes about how close they had become.

If anyone had any sort of clue as to whether or not Keith liked Lance, then Pidge was willing to bet it would be her.

Krolia was currently helping the Olkari with the supplies being unloaded from the lions. She stood with a tablet in her hands, telling the Olkari what supplies would be going where, so Pidge guessed she was performing inventory duties. Pidge had to admire her work ethic, as no one had asked her to do this.

With Lance off to who-knows-where and Keith checking in on Shiro, right now was the best time to chance to talk to her. She spent most of her time near or around Keith, either because of some maternal instincts to be closer to the son she’d gotten to know, or because she didn’t feel close enough to the others to deviate from the only person she was familiar with amongst their group. In other words, right now may be her only opportunity to speak with Krolia without Keith knowing.

Pidge had considered asking Keith directly if he had feelings for anyone in their group (particularly Lance), but dismissed the idea at the thought of making Keith feel uncomfortable from such a forward approach.

            Like she said, Keith didn’t divulge personal feelings easily. She didn’t want to spook him.

            In other words, she went with the indirect approach. That approach being Krolia.

            As Pidge approached Krolia, she watched her point an Olkari in the direction of one of the storage compartments, and the Olkari proceeded to bring the boxes in their arms in that direction, nodded in understanding and thanking her. She took a deep breath, trying to psyche herself up for the task before her.

            “Here goes nothing,” she told herself, and proceeded to flag Krolia with a wave. “Hey, Krolia.”

            Krolia looked up from her tablet, taking notice of Pidge’s presence for the first time. “Ah, Pidge,” she said. “Good to see you. I took it upon myself to help with the unloading, and we’re making some decent progress with it all. If all goes well, we should be finished by the end of the day.”

            Pidge smiled. This was great news, for her and the other paladins. The faster the lions were unloaded, the faster they could return to Earth.

            Everyone tried to put up a brave front, but they had been putting the needs of the Universe above the needs of themselves for a long time now. They loved the work they did as paladins, but they all wanted to go home now. They wanted to see their families, Pidge especially. She had been in contact with Matt several days ago, and had agreed to meet up with them to return as well when plans were finalized.

            “That’s awesome,” Pidge said excitedly. “Thanks a lot, Krolia.”

            Krolia gave Pidge an appreciative smile, adding a shrug in her shoulders. “I’m just doing what I can,” she responded. “To be completely honest, I’m just as eager to return to Earth as any of you.”

            Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

            Krolia nodded. “Yes. I met Keith’s father there. It’s where I gave birth to Keith. Aside from the nostalgia, I also want to see everything on Earth I never got to see before.” There was a small tone of sadness in her voice as she began to reminisce. “The time I had on Earth was very short, and I couldn’t go far from our home or I would attract unwanted attention from the public. I wanted to see what it was like outside of that desert, but I had to protect not only the Blue lion, but also my family.”

            Pidge couldn’t help but sympathize with Krolia to some degree. She could understand the feeling of being trapped in a place where you wanted to be, all for family. It reminded her of her time at the Garrison, masquerading as a boy in order to find her brother and father.

It was not a fun time, trying to avoid the watchful eye of Iverson as well as keep up her cover, but her family was important to her, and she was ready to break every rule and protocol imaginable in order to get answers she wanted.

Pidge almost wanted to laugh. The Garrison was a pain in the ass for both her and Krolia, making them hide themselves and who they were for the sake of their families. How ironic.

There was a part of Pidge that thought Krolia would be hard to get along with. Her past with Keith was well known by all the paladins, and that left some degree of resentment, but also she seemed similar to Keith in that she had her guard up most of the time. Her stern attitude and intimidating stature did not make her any more approachable.

But seeing Krolia now, Pidge knew she was wrong to have prejudged her. Her eyes were filled with nostalgia and longing at the thought of Earth. She was not as intimidating as she was at first glance; she was just a person who wanted to return home as badly as any of the others.

“Anyway, did you need something?”

Krolia’s question brought Pidge’s train of thought back to the task at hand. She was working on getting Lance and Keith together, and Krolia was about the only person who could help her right now.

Pidge nodded, steeling herself. “I do,” she said. “I wanted to ask you something about Keith.”

It was Krolia’s turn to raise an eyebrow. This was followed by a stern glance in Pidge’s direction. “I’m listening,” she said, her voice hinting suspicion.

“You and Keith… you were together in the Quantum Abyss for 2 years,” she began. “Did he ever mention… having feelings for anyone? Romantic feelings?”

Krolia’s expression showed intrigue, but she still appeared guarded. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes never tearing away from Pidge. “You mean has he been seeking a mate?”

“I guess so, yeah,” Pidge replied. “I mean, I’m asking you because a friend of mine is… interested in Keith and you would probably be able to tell me if they have a shot. You and Keith spent 2 years bonding and getting to know each other, did he ever say that he liked someone?”

Krolia’s continued to stare down at Pidge, her expression unreadable. Pidge couldn’t tell if she was thinking about the question or if she didn’t understand it, but neither set her mind at ease. Her silence was unnerving.

Finally, Krolia spoke.

“Let’s say he did tell me something along the lines of a mate,” she said, her voice not giving away anything. “Why would I tell anyone if he hasn’t told them himself? We spent 2 years trying to make up for missing the previous 18. He wasn’t happy with me at first, and I would venture a guess to say that there may be some residual resentment still in there… not that I can blame him. If he told me something in confidence, why would I break that confidence to you?”

Pidge couldn’t say she wasn’t expecting a response like that. Krolia’s relationship with Keith was not easily earned. Krolia clearly worked hard to get to where she was with him today. Pidge didn’t expect her to purposefully throw a wrench into it all and risk all that she worked for with him. She had every reason not to tell Pidge anything she wanted to know, and it was clear she was keen on keeping true to that.

But, Pidge was also keen on getting said information from Krolia. For Lance.

“Because I want him to be happy,” she rebutted. “I want them both to be happy… I wasn’t the greatest friend to this person and I’m trying to make up for it now. He may not realize it yet, but I know that he loves Keith and wants to be with him. I thought it was crazy at first, they seem like total opposites at first glance, but then I realized how great they would be together, because they are so opposite!”

Krolia’s expression remained unshaken. Her eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at Pidge, and her stance remained as stoic as ever.

 “I’m sorry, but… Keith never mentioned anything to me about potential mates,” she said finally. “Whenever we spoke, it was mostly regarding his time with the paladins or growing up on Earth. Some other occasional topics, but never did I tread on grounds where information would be painful for Keith to talk about. I left him… he was all alone on Earth after his father died… I owe him that much. To spare him as much pain as I can.”

Pidge sighed. She pretty much expected that. “Alright then,” she said sullenly. “Thanks anyway, Krolia,” and she turned on her heel to walk away.

What was Pidge going to do now? Talk directly to Keith? She almost laughed at the thought, because she knew exactly how that would go. She’d ask him if he liked anyone, and whether he did or not, Keith would get all moody, probably yell, and then storm off shouting “no” and looking all flustered. Afterwards, he would probably be a pain in the ass for the rest of the day and then no one would be happy.

God, he really was perfect for Lance, wasn’t he?

“You said ‘he.’”

Pidge halted, frozen in place by Krolia’s voice shouting out to her. She spun her neck around to see Krolia still looking at her with a stern expression. Pidge wasn’t sure how to respond, and so remained still until Krolia continued.

“When you were talking about your friend just now…” Krolia started, walking back up to stand before Pidge, “…you said ‘he.’ This friend of yours is male, correct?”

Crap. Pidge didn’t want to use any gender specific pronouns in this conversation. She wanted to keep the judgement to a minimum in order to keep Krolia from hiding anything or feel like she had to. Clearly though, she let one slip by mistake.

Pidge gulped, that nervous bulge making itself home in her throat once again. “Uh, yeah…”

“And you’re… ok with same-sex relationships?”

Pidge’s eyebrow raised for the umpteenth time that day. “Never had a problem with it before. My brother likes men and women, and my parents were very supportive of him, so it wasn’t a big deal for me.” What was she getting at?

Krolia shifted uncomfortably, her expression falling before Pidge as she continued. “Galra… as a species, mate for life, and there has never been any sort of issues regarding gender. It’s a custom that’s been around since even before the war, and it’s never been frowned upon. I’ve never known anything different… until I went to Earth.”

Now Pidge was caught up.

It wasn’t that Krolia was trying to hide information from Pidge. The look in her eyes gave her away; she wanted to speak. She wanted to help her son find his perfect mate, and see him happy…

But she was afraid that Keith’s friends were homophobic, and she wanted to protect him from that.

Pidge cleared her throat. “I see what you’re getting at. Yes, some humans are horrible, judgmental beings and clearly can’t understand the idea of same-sex couples. I won’t lie about that, or try to deceive you into thinking otherwise…” She watched Krolia paying close attention to her words, her interest piqued by every word she spoke. “But, you won’t find a group of people more accepting than Keith’s friends. All of us… we’ve been through so much together. It wasn’t easy to learn that Keith was Galra, but that didn’t change who he was. He was still Keith to us. Some of us… needed some time to adjust to the idea…” Pidge couldn’t help thinking of Allura and Hunk as she spoke, “but we got past it. We all want what’s best for each other, and right now, the best thing for Keith is Lance.”

Pidge saw it. It was small, it was brief, but it happened. A twitch at the mention of Lance’s name. Krolia did know something. She otherwise didn’t move or make a sound, but it was clear that she knew something about Lance and Keith.

“Krolia, I get why you wanna protect Keith, but if you really want him to be happy, so please tell me what you know… Does Keith love Lance, too?”

Lance would kill her if he found out that Pidge had told his crush’s mother that he loved her son, Pidge had no doubt of that. But right now, the only way she was getting Krolia to budge was to give an inch and just cut the crap and be direct.

After some time, of which Pidge guessed she spent it contemplating her options. Krolia spoke. “Keith never told me anything in regards to mates, that much is true…” Pidge deflated at her words, her shoulders drooping as quickly as her hopeful expression. “But I do know for a fact that he did have feelings for your friend, Lance.”

Pidge’s face lit up at this news. This was exactly what she needed to go on.

“Really?!” Pidge exclaimed excitedly. “Wait. If Keith never told you, then how do you know for sure?”

“During our time in the Quantum Abyss, I saw a vision of Keith’s past,” Krolia started. Pidge was already acquainted with the phenomenon of the Quantum Abyss; how the bright lights caused from solar flares showed people glimpses of a person’s past or future. “The vision I saw, Keith was in his room on the Castle, packing his things…”

~~~~~~~~

            The door to Keith’s room opened, and Shiro walked in. Keith was just finished packing the last of his belongings in a rucksack, and turned to face him.

            “Hey,” Shiro greeted. “I just came down because I wanted to wish you luck with the Blade of Marmora. I know you’ll do your best and the Blade will be lucky to have you.”

Keith smiled softly. “Thanks. I hope I’m not too far behind all the others. Kolivan said he had a lot to show me when I get there. I’m hoping that I can find out what’s up with those uncharted routes.”

Shiro’s normally chipper expression fell slightly. “Keith… are you sure this is what you want to do?”

Keith pulled the drawstring to his bag tightly. “It is… The Blade needs my help. They are spread thin as it is, and with you able to fly the Black Lion there’s no reason for me to stay,” he explained, throwing the bag over his shoulder and proceeding for the door.

“Keith, you and I know that there’s a reason for you to stay. If not for your friends, or for me… then what about Lance?”

Shiro’s words brought Keith’s steps to a screeching halt with this boots squeaking against the floor. Shiro saw the pained look that washed over him, but it was soon replaced by a frustrated glare. “Don’t got there, Shiro…”

“I’m just asking if you can live with yourself if you leave without telling Lance,” Shiro’s voice expressed concern, and he turned to place a supportive hand on Keith’s shoulder. “The Blade is a very dangerous job, and you said yourself you could be away for months. Are you gonna be able to handle it if you leave now and never tell Lance you love him?”

The frustration in Keith’s face melted quickly into sadness. His furrowed brow descended, and the flash of pain in his eyes returned.

“You told me how, while I was gone, Lance was the one who held you together, how everything around you seemed to be caving in, and Lance was he one to build it all back up again. He gave you the confidence needed for you to step up at Voltron’s leader, and that he made you feel appreciated… You sure that you can leave that behind?”

Keith remained silent. This wasn’t his usual broody silence that Shiro was used to, no. This silence seemed to have Shiro worried that he struck a nerve to hard.

And damn, was he right on that one.

“Did it hurt when Adam broke things off?”

Shiro almost gasped, this time the look of pain in his eyes. Adam was not a memory that he was particularly fond of anymore, not since their breakup.

“Adam was the love of your life, Shiro. He was your fiancé. And he ripped your heart out, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it. You know that feeling? That’s the feeling I get everytime I have to watch Lance make googly-eyes at Allura!” His voice was angry, and very much hurt. “Every time I even think about the idea that, maybe he could love me back, I look up and he’s pointing those stupid finger guns at Allura, and then I feel like I’m the one who got shot!” His grip on his bag tightened, and the helmet formed around Keith’s face, hiding the pain in his eyes that had Shiro feeling several different kinds of guilt. “That’s why I’m leaving, because eventually Allura will see that Lance is as wonderful as I see him… and I can’t be around to see that happen.”

~~~~~~~~

“After that, he stormed out of the room and left for the Blade,” Krolia finished. “I saw several other things since then, but nothing really relevant to that incident. I didn’t bring it up to Keith, because I wanted to avoid opening closed wounds…”

Pidge was speechless. Truly speechless.

Months. It was months between the time that Keith stepped up as leader of Voltron and the time he left for the Blade. Months of watching Lance stare longingly at Allura. Months of enduring that kind of pain. Months of false hope of his love being reciprocated, but never was.

And for the majority of that time, he had to endure it without Shiro.

Shiro was Keith’s rock. He kept Keith grounded, and provided him an outlet. Shiro was the one Keith went to in times of crisis or if he needed to talk, everyone knew this. As much as anyone of his friends would have been willing to lend an ear, it didn’t matter because Keith would only talk to Shiro.

Without Shiro, Keith had to get by loving Lance alone, and enduring the pain that came with it. No outlet, no one he trusted to confide in. All those feelings bottled up until he just couldn’t take it anymore. He left the paladins because he couldn’t watch Lance pining after Allura anymore, not just because of the new quintessence. Almost throwing his life away on dangerous Blade missions seemed preferable to that, it seemed.

Pidge could honestly say she felt sorry for Keith. Deeply and truly sorry for him, having to deal with that, and mostly alone.

Maybe now, Keith needed Lance as much as Lance needed Keith.

After letting the information sink in, Krolia spoke again. “Pidge, what you do with this information is up to you,” she said. “But, as a favor, I’ll ask you not reveal where it came from.”

“O-Oh, yeah, sure…” Pidge stuttered, just now finding her voice. “If I come up with a plan or something, I’ll let you know.”

Krolia smiled. “Much appreciated,” she said warmly. “Please… make my son happy.”

Pidge nodded firmly. “I’ll do my best.”

Pidge chose that moment to walk off and leave Krolia to continue her work. She needed to think, and some time alone would help her do that.

Ok, so she knew that Lance loved Keith. There wasn’t any denying that fact. And she knew that Keith did love Lance when he left for the Blade. But after so long apart, there was no telling how he felt now. On one hand, he could have moved on from Lance, gotten over him. On the other hand, that time apart could have made him want Lance more. She didn’t have any way to confirm either theory without more information.

And right now, she didn’t know where to get that information.

Pidge was not so distracted by her thoughts that she didn’t notice the bright flash of light that occurred in front of her, nor did she miss Keith’s wolf appearing before her. The sudden appearance of the beast made her scream and jump back defensively.

“What the hell?” Pidge shrieked, her voice jumping 3 octaves from the fright. When she recognized what had caused her heart rate to spike, she took a deep breath and stared at the wolf. “What was that for?”

The wolf stared back at her. It made no sounds, it just stared. Its stare was analytical, observant even. It didn’t appear angry or upset (which Pidge was grateful for). It wasn’t standing, ready to attack or baring its teeth to her. It showed no distaste for her, but it seemed to be giving her the once over, trying to gather information on her for whatever reason. Perhaps it was intrigued by her? Why, she did not know.

Their eyes connected, Pidge’s amber pupils staring deep into the yellow sclera of the wolf. The wolf’s eyes seemed to glow, and Pidge found the glow almost hypnotic. She was unable to look away, only stare as the wolf continued to leer at her.

A bright flash of light occurred, making Pidge cringe and shut her eyes. She went to rub her eyes instinctually, removing her glasses to do so, and when she opened them again, she was surprised by what she saw.

A scene played out before her. It showed Keith and Shiro, with Keith’s wolf standing off to the side. The three were in the cockpit of the Black lion. Shiro was sitting upright, leaning against the walls with a blanket over his lap and wearing a white wife-beater, which seemed to highlight the mechanical stump left from his arm being chopped off. Keith was kneeling down parallel to him, and they appeared to be talking about something.

Pidge began to hearing voices, those of the two in the scene before her.

“What am I supposed to do, Shiro?” Keith asked, his voice riddled with confusion. “I thought I was over Lance. I had two years to clear my head, and I thought it worked. Everything’s been fine up until today. But when we were talking earlier… and he said Allura’s name, how his sword is the same as her father’s, how she helped him with his stance and all that… It made me jealous. I wanted to be the one who saw him with that sword first. I wanted to be the one to help him train…” Keith began to grip at the fabric of his pants, his hands shaky and his face cringing, as if in pain. “…I missed so much. He and Allura got so much closer, and I feel like we’ve drifted apart, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

“Keith, you can’t just bury your feelings and expect it all to go away,” Shiro said cautiously. “It may have been two years for you, but did anything really change in that time period? Did you believe that you were really over Lance, or were you just hoping you were?”

“I-!” Keith went to rebut, his expression flashed anger, but quickly his anger melted into sadness and he looked downward, almost shamefully. “I… wanted to believe I was over him. I had every reason to. That’s why I left for the Blade of Marmora. I needed some space. I got it. That should have been it right?”

“’Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and all that,” Shiro said with a chuckle. “Keith, I’m not telling you what to do anymore, because you already know. You’re not going to move past this until you tell him, that much I know.”

Keith sighed exasperatedly. “I know…” he stood up, spinning on his heel for the exit. “But, I’ll try like hell anyway.”

The scene seemed to shut off at that point. Pidge was once again blinded by another flash of blue light, and when she was able to see, she was no longer in the Olkari storage facility like she thought.

She stood in the cockpit of the Black lion.

She looked around, and Shiro was again sitting on the floor. He was in the same spot he was in the vision. Same wife-beater. Same blanket across his lap. The only difference was the look of shock across his face, staring up at Pidge like she was a ghost and he could see her.

“Um… Pidge?” Shiro asked tentatively. “How… did you get in here?”

Pidge wished she could answer truthfully, but she couldn’t. This whole thing was baffling to say the least. Keith’s wolf shows up, seemingly shows her some vision, and next thing she knows, she’s standing before her former leader in his ex-lion, with nary a clue as to how it happened.

That wolf must have done something. Pidge was sure of that, but what exactly did it do?

She thought briefly of the wolf’s origins. Keith and Krolia found it in the Quantum Abyss. The Quantum Abyss is known for showing people visions of one’s past or future. The vision that Pidge was shown looked like it was a recent conversation between Shiro and Keith, perhaps just a few minutes prior. It could have happened while Pidge was speaking to Krolia, even.

Could the wolf have the same abilities to show visions as its homeland?

It would explain the vision, and if the wolf could teleport itself it may be possible to teleport a person with it, hence why Pidge had been deposited in the Black lion’s cockpit so suddenly. But even so, what reason did it have to do so? To her knowledge, Keith’s wolf was well behaved, and from Pidge’s observations, it didn’t seem to like to do things without reason. It was always with Keith, if not wandering around base, seemingly getting the lay of the land. It didn’t interact with the others besides Keith, and even that was just him stroking its fur and it accepting the comforting action. It liked Keith the most, and it was comfortable around him, clearly devoted to its master…

No…There was no way. No way it was doing what Pidge thought it was doing. An animal wouldn’t have that kind of thinking process. Not for this.

Then again, a wolf from space that could teleport, show visions and god knows what else could very well be thinking of anything, but…

It couldn’t be helping Pidge… to set up Keith and Lance, could it?

“Pidge, are you listening?”

Pidge was brought back to reality by Shiro’s voice, more stern than it was prior. She looked to see the perplexed look on his face had since been replaced by one of slight annoyance over being ignored. He had since thrown off the blanket and stood up, revealing himself to be wearing a pair of black pajama pants from the Castle.

Pidge almost wanted to giggle; she’d never seen Shiro dressed so comfortably. Anytime she’d seen him, he was wearing his paladin armor or his heavy-duty day clothes. She could also see around him, his tablet that was thrown on the pillow, and an Olkari flying cube floating next to him. A plate of half-eaten food was on the ground.

Shiro must have been really trying to relax and gather his strength if this was what he was reduced to. Good on him, Pidge agreed. He’d been through a lot, and it was time he took it easy for a while. Hunk and Coran had said that attaching a new arm would involve connecting the nerve fibers in Shiro’s stump to the new arm, and that it would be extremely painful.

But more importantly, if Pidge was right, Shiro knew about Keith’s feelings for Lance (which, Pidge could now confirm was not theoretical anymore). This wasn’t clone Shiro, “Kuron” as Shiro had chosen to dub him, but he clearly had retained the clone’s memories when Allura placed his soul back in that body. He knew about it long before any of the others. More importantly, he understood Keith and could discern his verbal and non-verbal cues. He raised Keith, and could understand Keith’s perspective.

Maybe this was why the wolf delivered Pidge to Shiro, because he knew the most about the whole situation and could provide the most information for Pidge to work with.

“Shiro,” Pidge spoke finally, breaking the awkward silence between them. Her voice was strong, fueled by her desire to see her friends’ suffering end. Before her stood the means to that end. “I need you to tell me what you know… about Keith and Lance.”

There was a visible flinch when Pidge spoke their names, giving Pidge all the proof that she needed that Shiro was aware of everything happening with the two of them. His surprised expression fell into one that was much more serious as he spoke again. “That depends on what you know, Pidge,” he said defensively.

“I know that Keith loves Lance, his wolf figured it out and then showed me,” she explained. “I know that he talked to you just recently, about how his feelings for Lance haven’t changed, and I know he’s trying like hell to get past them. I also know that Lance loves Keith as well, that he realized everything when Keith left and then came back, but what I don’t know is what’s holding them back. The two of them are stubborn, Keith even more so. You know Keith. You speak Keith. I know you yourself didn’t live through the last while with us, but you seem to have Kuron’s memories, and you saw Keith’s perspective on all of this.” Pidge found her voice going dimmer as she continued on, the annoying lump in her throat returning. “Please, Shiro… I want them to be happy… help me…”

Chapter Text

   There was a change in Keith’s behavior, Shiro noticed, since the latter’s return to the ship.

Keith was still the same for the most part. He still enjoyed his space from others now and then, but for whatever reason, Keith seemed happier than Shiro remembered. He smiled more, he wasn’t as irritated or repulsed by the others as before, and he seemed to have come a little further out of his shell. More so, he was taking charge, like the leader he expected Keith would be.

   One thing was for sure, this was not the same child that was expelled from the Garrison.

   It wasn’t that this news upset Shiro in anyway, quite the opposite. Shiro had been trying for years to get Keith to open up, but to little avail. Would he have liked to be there when Keith suddenly started being a more interactive person? Yes, however if what it took for him to get there was him suddenly going missing and having to escape from a Galra base and survive multiple near-death experiences then so be it. Shiro was just happy that Keith was happy.

   The paladins had just finished their battle with Lotor and his generals over the Teleduv. They agreed that the best course of action after such a heated fight was to relax, and so everyone was in the Castle lounge, watching an old Altean movie that Coran had found in the Castle’s internal storage system.

   Hunk and Pidge were ignoring the movie entirely and discussing how much Earth paled in comparison to Altea in terms of technology. Shiro couldn’t say he disagreed with what they were saying, only some of what was available to Altea 10,000 years ago is available to Earth in recent years, and with two people so invested in technology he couldn’t blame them for dissing Earth a smidge for being so behind the times.

   Coran and Allura had a watchful eye to the screen. Allura claimed that the movie in question was one of her favorite forms of enjoyment growing up. She said that she watched it with her father and Coran, and it appeared to bring back happy memories for Allura. Her eyes were tearful as she watched the heroin of the story slay the double-crossing ex-hero and find love with the kind and attractive secondary male lead.

   Shiro wasn’t against the plot of the story himself, but he was happier that Allura got to experience a piece of her lost childhood, even if it was only small. She had so much taken away from her by Zarkon, and if it took a half-decent, 10,000-year-old movie to lift her spirits, then Shiro was all for it.

  And then… there were Keith and Lance.

  Lance had fallen asleep 10 minutes into the story, and was slouching against the couch with his head bobbing up and down in unison with his breathing. To his left, Keith was playing with his tablet, some new game that Pidge had created, almost like a smartphone app. He had a bored expression on his face, as if he was just waiting for the movie to end so he could leave, but was staying only for the purpose of being polite… sort of.

   Shiro sighed. Some things never change, he supposed.

   And yet, some things changed very dramatically, he thought as he studied the two boys.

   Shiro couldn’t remember a time when Keith and Lance were seated together for more than 5 minutes without starting some kind of argument or competition (usually instigated by Lance). They always seemed to clash and be at each other’s throats. And yet, here they were, side by side for over an hour, and both were still alive. Granted, one of them was asleep, but Keith would normally be irritated by Lance and walk away after so long. Asleep or not, Keith and Lance were getting along, and that was more than surprising to Shiro.

   Now that Shiro thought of it, they had seemed to be getting along a lot better as of late. They still bickered on occasion, but their words seemed to lose their venom. It was less like two people who couldn’t stand each other, but rather more like two close friends who were just trying to get a short rise out of each other.

   Almost like best friends…

   Shiro smiled at the thought. Keith was a very difficult person to become friends with, especially because he didn’t particularly like other people. It took years for Shiro to build the kind of rapport he had with Keith, a brother-like bond that was filled to the brim with trust.

   The universe seemed to like kicking him around; his mother leaving him, his father dying, getting booted from the Garrison, and the only other family he had (being himself) disappearing, twice even!

   Shiro had no idea what had happened while he was gone, but whatever it was, if Keith found himself a best friend in Lance, then Shiro most certainly wasn’t going to complain. Not just for Keith’s benefit either, but for Lance’s as well.

   Even before his disappearance, there was a pattern with his friends, almost clique-like behavior. Hunk and Pidge would gravitate towards each other because of their similar skill sets and mutual interests in technology. Allura and Coran were usually together, either for Voltron-related duties, such as convening with the Blade of Marmora, or because of their history as the last known Alteans alive and they found comfort in each other. Keith and himself had been together as long as Shiro could remember, and Keith relied on Shiro to be his outlet and confidant. Keith was like a brother to Shiro, and vice versa, and their bond was strong and they got along well.

   Lance on the other hand… he didn’t really have anyone.

   He was close friends with Pidge and Hunk, the three were crew members back at the Garrison, but if the two were discussing things that Lance didn’t understand, anything technological or dealing with substances he was unfamiliar with, Lance sometimes found himself pushed to the side, lost in translation as Pidge and Hunk conversed fluently.

   Allura dismissed his attempts at flirting, Coran was usually too busy maintaining the Castle, and Lance and Shiro were never very close, as much as Lance idolized him. Really, he had no one to stick with, and sometimes found himself floating between the different cliques of the ship.

   Lately, however, Keith seemed to be breaking that habit and forming his own little clique with Lance.

   A lot of Keith’s time was spent with Shiro, but his time seemed more divided between Shiro and Lance. They would train together, swim together in the upside-down pool (when they finally figured out how to get into it), or just relaxing in the lounge, they always appeared to be together.

   Whatever instigated it, whatever brought them together, whatever made them such good friends, Shiro was happy regardless.

  As Shiro finished his thoughts, he noticed that Lance began to stir in his sleep. His face cringed briefly, and he let out a small yawn. It wasn’t enough to wake him from his slumber, and as such he settled into the couch and he went back to his undisturbed sleep.

   There was a shift in his weight, however, that threw him off balance, and he fell to his left.

   Right into Keith’s shoulder.

   The sudden weight thrown against him caused Keith to jump in his seat, and turned his head instinctually to the source. He stared with a startled expression at the man that was using his shoulder for a pillow.

   Shiro expected Keith to simply throw Lance off, or shrug his shoulder and let Lance fall wherever, but that never happened. Instead, Keith began to smile, the alarm in his demeanor fading and a soft blush forming on the edges of his cheeks.

   Keith showed contentment with the situation. No signs of discomfort or feelings of awkwardness. He was almost happy to be a pillow for Lance.

   Immediately, there was alarm bells going off in Shiro’s head. Keith was not a person who enjoyed physical contact. He enjoyed his space. Even with Shiro, he only ever got an occasional hug, and only when it was deemed necessary by Keith. Otherwise, Keith kept his hands to himself and everyone else respectfully did the same.

   And yet, he and Lance were almost… cuddling on the couch and Keith seemed to have no issue with it at all. He appeared content, blissful even. The paleness of his skin tone accentuated the blush steadily growing on his cheeks. The look of happiness in his eyes…

   Oh… oh wow…

   Shiro could not hide the full-blown smirk that was growing across his face. He took a quick glance around the room, and thankfully everyone else seemed preoccupied with the movie or other topics to have noticed Keith and Lance. Shiro was the only one who had seen.

  Shiro was the only one who knew and Keith’s crush on Lance.

  It was almost cute, in a way. Keith didn’t get flustered easily, his emotions were difficult to read to the untrained eye. However, the way he looked so longingly at Lance, and how comfortably he looked with Lance leaning over him, Shiro could read him like a book.

  Keith’s emotions were a mess, a mixture of embarrassment, nervousness, joy and giddiness all at the same time. He looked like he could spend all day with Lance beside him; Lance had his undivided attention, and Shiro almost laughed at the idea that Lance had inadvertently scrambled Keith’s emotions to the point he couldn’t pick just one.

   It was at that moment that Keith seemed to remember that he and Lance were not the only ones in the room and looked up. His eyes locked onto Shiro’s. Shiro flashed his grin back at Keith, and a look of panic washed over him.

   It did not help when Shiro, unable to contain himself, mouthed at him, “Busted.”

  Never did Shiro see Keith move so fast in his life. In one swift motion, Keith shoved Lance unceremoniously off of his shoulder, letting him fall to the couch, and stood up abruptly. Lance remained asleep despite the roughhousing, but the others became aware of Keith’s actions and turned to face him, the movie and conversations long forgotten.

   Keith could only flush, feeling the eyes of all of his friends staring up at him while he was trying to recover from his slip up. “I… uh…” he spoke unsurely, as if grasping for an answer. “I’m gonna go for a walk… I’ll catch up with you later,” and so he made for the door.

   Shiro was quick to stand up as well. “Hang on,” he called out. “I’m feeling kind of stiff as well. I’ll join you. A nice walk sounds good.” Shiro made sure to add as much emphasis as he could to the lie Keith came up with, if nothing else to watch his ears grow as red as his cheeks.

   It worked. Even from behind and with Keith’s hair getting in the way, Shiro could make out the tips of his pale ears growing redder by the second.

   Keith said nothing and Shiro followed him as he led the way from the room. They shuffled past their confused friends and exited the lounge, walking down the hall in uncomfortable silence until they reached Shiro’s bedroom. Shiro waited for the door behind him to close before he spoke.

   “So… when’s the wedding?” Shiro asked teasingly. “And am I your best man?”

   Keith crossed his arms furiously across his chest and let out a frustrated huff. “Shut up,” he said with a pout.

   Shiro clapped his hands together in a prayer position, his grin never once faltering. “Please, I promise I’ll throw you a good bachelor party.”

   “Shiro!”

   “We can go back to Earth and get some beer. I’ll give you a good toast. You’re old enough now. But how am I going to write a best man speech on such short notice?”

   Keith groaned angrily, glaring daggers at Shiro. “Are you doing this to torture me?!” he shrieked, his voice and face expressing true humiliation from Shiro’s tormenting

   Shiro gave a hardy laugh as a response. “It is fun. I will admit to that,” he replied with a toothy grin. Keith only responded with a pout and turned away. Shiro quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled slightly so he was once again facing Shiro. “Hey now, no need to pout. In all seriousness, I’m proud of you. This is your first crush. You don’t let people in very often, so it’s a big accomplishment for you that you developed strong feelings for someone.”

   The pout in Keith’s expression lasted only a second before his face muscles relaxed. A small smile came into place as Keith looked up to Shiro with a grateful look in his eye. “Thanks,” he said softly.

   Shiro took his hand back and leaned against the wall. “So tell me, how did this happen?” he asked. “How did you go from being ready to strangle each other to being best friends, and then to you wanting to cuddle him on the couch?”

   Keith gave Shiro another glare, but continued to speak anyway. “When you were gone, and I had to step up as leader… I had a pretty rough time with it,” he said, his expression falling. “Not only did I have to replace you, but I had to measure up to you as well. You were the perfect leader, and with you gone, everyone looked to me. I was scared and insecure and was sure that I was gonna screw up and get everyone killed…”

  Shiro’s gaze grew worrisome. He didn’t know that, in his wake, Keith had struggled so vastly to step up. He thought Keith had the potential to be a great leader, and he was proven right, but he didn’t take into account the fact that Keith would need a guiding hand to mold that potential.

   A hand that wasn’t there at the time he needed it most.

   “I’m… sorry,” Shiro said tentatively. He wasn’t sure what else he could say to Keith, given the circumstances. He wished he could have given Keith some leadership advice before he disappeared, so he wouldn’t have been thrown into the deep end and forced to sink or swim.

   Keith’s frown ascended into a warm smile, surprising Shiro. “I’m not the leader you are Shiro,” he began, “and I don’t think I ever will be… but Lance made me believe it was possible to measure up to you. He made me see that the Black Lion chose me, not just out of availability, but because I could be the leader you always thought I had in me.”

   Shiro raised an eyebrow to Keith. “Lance did?” he asked, almost sarcastically.

   Keith chuckled. “He’s not the brightest, but he isn’t the wet match everyone thinks he is either. He can be a really good person to pick you up when your down, and he did that with me,” he explained, his cheeks dusting red once more. “In my first big test as a leader, I failed miserably and nearly jeopardized everyone. And, yes, in hindsight, maybe chasing after the Galra leader’s son without a plan wasn’t the best idea. But when we were trapped on that gas planet, Lance helped me work past my mistakes and start thinking like a true leader… He had the confidence in me I lacked, something I really appreciated…”

   Shiro stared at Keith, eyes wide and speechless. He was almost trying to figure out who was in front of him, because he almost didn’t recognize his young protégé.

   The way he smiled, the blush across his cheeks, the passion and profoundness of his words, defending and praising the man he once found annoying to no end. Shiro had never seen it before, not in Keith…

   But he had seen it in Adam.

   Keith realized at that point that he had spoken more than he intended. His face grew an embarrassed red and looked away from Shiro. “A-Anyway…” he stuttered, starting to walk for the door. “I’m gonna go for a walk. I -”

   Keith found himself drawn to a halt back when Shiro’s arm had reached out to wrap around his torso, the latter’s muscular biceps stopping him in his tracks. Keith looked up at the man blocking his path with a confused and worried expression.

   “Shiro?”

   “…Was that when you realized you loved him?” Shiro asked.

    Keith gawked at Shiro, seemingly ready to deny the accusation and storm out. The look of heavy concern and a crestfallen expression in Shiro’s demeanor, however, made that impossible for him. He was, therefore, forced to sigh in defeat and slump against the arm currently pressing against his chest.

   “Lance came to my room one day…” Keith began. “He was concerned that, with you back, you would resume being our leader and one of the other paladins would have to step down…” Keith’s eyes grew sullen as he turned his head to face his mentor. “…and he volunteered.”

   Shock once again flashed in Shiro’s eyes, and it seemed to run throughout his body. The arm pressing against Keith fell back to its owner’s side, dangling.

   Lance… he wanted to give up being a paladin? The flashy, sharpshooter who loved to show off?

   “He volunteered to step down so that… Allura wouldn’t have to,” Keith explained, his voice expressing pain at the mention of their Altean paladin. “He said that she’s progressed a lot faster than any of us did, and she didn’t deserve to have it taken away from her. When he said that… I realized how jealous I was, that he would give up something he loved for Allura. But more importantly… I saw what he was willing to sacrifice for those he held dear. That was when I knew I loved him… when I realized how selfless he was, and how much he put the others above himself.”

   “Keith…”

   Keith took a step forward, watching the door open before him. Shiro could see tears beginning to form in his eyes as he passed. “But it doesn’t matter how I feel,” he said, his tone suddenly switching to very aggressive. “He’s obviously in love with Allura, so if the best I get from him is time in the training room or fighting together as paladins, or even just the little things like accidental touches on the couch, so be it. I can be ok with that…”

   “Wait, Keith!”

   Keith, however, did not wait, and took off from the room at a blistering speed. Shiro watched as his friend and brother turned the corner leaving his bedroom and the door shutting behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Shiro sighed. “After that day, I kept a close eye on Keith,” he stated. “Whenever Lance was around, his spirits seemed to rise, and when Allura showed up or Lance started talking about her, Keith just… shut down. He was so fixated on the fact that Lance liked Allura that he would never entertain the idea that Lance could like him back…”

   Pidge sat beside Shiro in his makeshift bed, silently trying to process everything that she had learned today.

   Keith fell for lance, but never told him how he felt for fear his feelings would remain unrequited. He couldn’t deal with the fact that Allura had Lance’s eye, and so he left.

   Ironically, Keith’s absence was exactly what Lance needed to realize how he felt about Keith. He, too, hasn’t told Keith for essentially the same reason.

   They both loved each other, both pined after one another, and were both so oblivious that they couldn’t see what they had in front of them. Their pride was getting in the way of their happiness, keeping them from admitting their love for each other…

   Just. Fucking. Perfect.

   Shiro shifted once more, leaning against the wall behind them. “In hindsight, Keith started leaving for Marmora training more often after that,” he pointed out, a disappointed frown etched across his face. “I should have seen that that would eventually lead to him leaving the paladins. I just wish I could have done something to stop him…”

   “And if you could have, I’m sure you would have done just that,” Pidge spoke for the first time in what seemed like forever. Her voice expressed empathy, but there was also a fire of drive in her tone that had Shiro paying close attention. “But we can’t focus on the what ifs. We need to find a way to get those two idiots together. The suffering in silence has to end. I don’t know what I’m gonna do but I can’t listen to my friends hurting themselves anymore. The answer is right in front of them, and they won’t take it because they’re both… idiots!”

   “Pidge…”

   The drive in Pidge’s demeanor was unwavering. She was pissed with both of her friends now, and she’d be damned if they let them hurt themselves anymore. “I want my friends to be happy, and I’ll do everything in my power to see that happen. I wasn’t the greatest friend to either of them, but I’m gonna make up for it.”

   It was now Shiro’s turn to be stunned. Pidge was so much more different than he remembered. Compassionate, emotional… and thriving to be a better person.

   Shiro was well aware of Pidge’s past with her family. Her family disappearing left her emotionally and mentally damaged. Her father and Matt were the only ones that she had ever bonded with, the only ones who really understood her because they were as academically inclined as she was, and understood the loneliness that came with it. Losing them damn well nearly destroyed her, and it made it even harder for her to form close relationships with others. The Kerberos mission took an already shy girl and seemed to intensify that for her.

   This was not that Pidge. She didn’t just have relatives, she had friends. Close friends. Friends she was running herself ragged to see happy.

   Shiro knew that Pidge was asexual, and he supported that, but right now this was the closest thing to romantic he’d ever seen in Pidge, and couldn’t be more proud.

   Shiro smiled fondly at the young paladin. He would be giving her a Hunk-level hug right now if he could, but with one less appendage, he settled for a supportive hand on Pidge’s shoulder. “If anyone can figure it out, it’s you Pidge,” Shiro said confidently. “No one’s better at problem solving than you.”

   A cheeky grin was cast Shiro’s way in response. “You’re damn right about that,” she said smugly.

   Shiro snorted, bursting into laughter thereafter. “P-Pidge!” he said, trying to remain as stern as he usually was. This task was proven difficult by the giggles still escaping his mouth at Pidge’s arrogant outburst. “Language!”

   Pidge’s grin only seemed to grow wider at Shiro’s supposed threat. A gimmer of mischief flashed in her eyes. “Sorry, Space Dad.” Pidge made sure to put as much emphasis on Shiro’s nickname as possible, knowing how much it irritated him.

   Shiro tried to look mad at Pidge, trying to narrow his gaze at her, but he could only cry out in laughter once more, this time with Pidge joining him in harmony. Their combined laughter echoed throughout the cockpit of the Black Lion, and they were sure it could be heard from outside.

   Shiro wasn’t usually this happy-go-lucky, Pidge thought. He tried to remain stern at times, occasionally letting himself go light-heartedly, but this was the most she’d seen him laugh in a long time. She wasn’t sure if his personality had changed from being stuck in the Black Lion’s consciousness for so long or if it was just Shiro having a new lease on life from being revived from pseudo-death, but she was still glad that he could let go and laugh at himself now.

   As their laughter faded into heavy breathing, trying to catch their breath, Pidge wondered if Shiro was ever like this back on Earth, before the Galra kidnapped him on Kerberos.

   Which reminded her…

   “Hey Shiro?”

    Shiro looked curiously at Pidge. “Yeah?”

   “When Krolia was telling me about her vision from the Quantum Abyss, the name… Adam came up…”

    The light-hearted smile on Shiro’s face quickly fell, bringing forth a scared frown in its wake. It was like a wrecking ball had hit him in the gut, changing his demeanor so drastically and so quickly, the flash of pain that seemed to erupt from his eyes at the mention of his ex.

   “I don’t know the specifics about who Adam is, but from what Keith apparently said… it sounded like…” Pidge took a moment to find the right words to say. She dove into this conversation and didn’t think about what she would say, which she was mentally cursing herself for. “I just… why didn’t you ever tell us you were gay?”

   Shiro sighed, leaning against the wall. His expression showed a sadness that made Pidge immediately regret bringing it up. Even so, Shiro spoke. “I didn’t feel I had to, really. Keith knew about me, and about Adam, because he was there for it all, but… My past with Adam is complicated, and pretty painful. I don’t like to talk much about it because our breakup was kind of harsh.”

   “Sorry, I feel like I struck a nerve,” Pidge said, worry deep in her eyes. “We don’t know much about you from your time on Earth. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…”

   Shiro shook his head and waved her off. “No, it’s ok. Don’t feel too bad about it,” he said dismissively. “I just… need some time before I can go in too deep to talk about my past with Adam. Don’t feel like you can’t ask me anything, Pidge, this is just a lot for one day. I need some time to think about how much I wanna say.”

   Pidge nodded almost immediately. “Yeah, no problem!” she said. “Is there… anything you wanna talk about right now? Maybe how you guys met?”

   Shiro was silent for a moment, but he snorted very quickly. “Well, um… I guess I could tell you how we got together…” he said, a small grin forming across his face. “We were both cadets at the Garrison, part of the same flight team actually. One day, we both happened to be walking to the simulation room. We were taking the elevator up, but… the power cut out, and we were stuck there for hours.”

   “Sounds kinda cliché…” Pidge said, unimpressed.

   Shiro chuckled. “It was, in all honesty,” he replied. “But you’d be amazed at how close you get to a person when you’re trapped in a confined space with them for hours on end…” An embarrassed blush formed across Shiro’s cheeks, which had Pidge curious of the cause. “Long story short… Iverson got the door open and caught us… making out on the floor.”

   Shiro could not bring himself to look at Pidge, the embarrassment too great to face her. He caught a glimpse of her shocked expression before he turned his head away, and he was right to do so.

   Because he couldn’t look as she descended into ear-splitting, shame-intensifying laughter.

“H-Holy crap, haha!” she tried to say, trying to gather the air to breath as she did so. The air gather was again lost as her laughter carried on thereafter. “SHIRO! OH MY GOD!” She had actually begun shedding tears, and had thrown her head back as she cackled. There were points where she was gasping for air, that desperate to retrieve the oxygen she was burning up by her incessant laughter.

   Pidge knew she was being mean, laughing so ferociously at the man who just now decided to let her in to his past.

   In Pidge’s defense though… IVERSON caught the two of them in a heated make-out session in an elevator. Stick-up-the-ass, stickler for discipline Iverson caught Golden Boy Shiro making out in an elevator with some random guy he’d only known for hours prior. She couldn’t even imagine what happened after that, being caught with your pants down (metaphorically, Pidge hoped) by the one man who would have your head if you pissed him off.

   Pidge thought she was going to die laughing. Because everything about it was hilarious.

   At some point, Shiro began to laugh, as well. His laughter once more combined with Pidge’s, despite the fact it was at his own expense. The two enjoyed themselves in the memory of one of Shiro’s less than proud moments.

   Even while she was laughing, Pidge was slowly making sense of how things could have escalated so quickly. Trapped in a small space, no one else around, almost a way to force communication between two people. Shiro and Adam probably shared stories of their past with one another, talked about their families, their goals, their hopes and dreams. What they wanted… out of… life…

   Pidge’s laughter slowly died down as she began to process everything for what it was.

   Two people… alone in a room… forced to communicate… no distractions…

   There was a silence between her and Shiro when he noticed that Pidge was no longer making a sound. She was staring forward, deep in thought. Her eyes were as wide as he’d ever seen them, a look of revelation across her face. “…Pidge?”

   Then it clicked.

   “HOLY SHIT!!!” she screamed excitedly, enough vigor in her voice to wake the dead, and throwing herself into a standing position almost immediately after. She didn’t even notice that Shiro was clutching his heart, trying for dear life to regain his breath after Pidge had scared the crap out of him. “I KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

   Pidge did not wait for a reply from Shiro before she was rocketing out the door, leaving him behind in a confused wake.

   She ran, ran as fast as she could. Out of the Black lion, past the Olkari with boxes of supplies in their arms, past everything in her path that would otherwise be run over if it wasn’t getting out of her way. She didn’t know she could run as fast as she was, but she wasn’t even paying attention to that.

   She had a plan to get Keith and Lance together.

   It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t finalized, hell it wasn’t even a plan. Just an idea. Get the two of them into a room, lock them in it, and hope for the best. However, it was the best chance she had at getting any headway with those two, and like hell she wasn’t going to take it.

   She had a strong idea, but she had no idea what to do about it, or how to bring it to fruition. It was hard enough getting Keith or Lance to do something individually, let alone get them into a confined space long enough to lock them in it and keep them there. They were stubborn, which made things much harder for Pidge, because she had neither the plan to get them to cooperate nor the manpower to do so.

   But there was one being who did know. One being who knew how things would go before they even happened. The one who had been helping her from the start.

   As far as Pidge’s legs could carry her, she ended up in the middle of a small clearing in the forest outside the Olkarion capital. It wasn’t large, only enough space for a handful of people. The clearing was a patch of grass that was completely surrounded by thick trees, all leading upward to the sky. The area was well lit with the midday sun and needed no additional lighting. Pidge knew not how it came to be, but it was likely the most private and peaceful place on Olkarion, if one needed time to think.

   Or if one wanted to have a secret meeting with a cosmic wolf.

   That wolf seemed to know exactly where to be in order to execute whatever plan it had hatched, with Pidge at the center. None of the others knew of this area, so it was an ideal place to meet up with the beast. Pidge knew what needed to be done now, and if they were to work together, she was confident it would show up.

   As if on cue, the beast appeared before Pidge in a flash of light. It had done this so many times today that Pidge didn’t even wince at the sudden appearance. She stared it straight in the eye, her amber irises gazing into its yellow sclera. The wolf looked at her knowingly, as if it knew what she was about to say to her. There was an understanding between them, Pidge thought, about their mutual goals, but Pidge felt compelled to speak anyway.

   “I know what you’re doing, and I’m ready to help,” Pidge said, slowly approaching the wolf. “You want your master to be happy, don’t you? Just like I want Lance to be happy. That’s why you showed me that vision and why you brought me to Shiro. Am I right?”

   The beast replied only with a nod and a small whining sound that Pidge took to mean ‘yes.’

   Pidge’s feet stopped just before the animal, and she bent down to eye level with it. She maintained her eye contact all throughout, not once looking away from the wolf. “I know what the plan is now, and I can help. I can’t see the future, and I don’t know how we’re gonna fix something as broken as those two. You seem to know what to do… so I need you to show me. Show me how we’re gonna do this. Show me what I need to do, who I need to recruit, when we’ll do this, what ass I gotta kick to get those two idiots together…” She reached her hand out slowly, placing her palm atop the wolf’s forehead. She noted how smooth the fur was to the touch, how her hand easily cut through it until she was pressing at bone. Either Keith’s handiwork or just it’s nature to always be so, Pidge knew not, but her main focus was on getting help in her goal to see Lance and Keith staring longingly into each other’s eyes. “Show me, please…”

   And show her it did.

   The wolf closed its eyes. Its lighter-toned fur began to glow radiantly, and Pidge took that to mean to close her eyes as well.

   The world around her became irrelevant. Her mind was focused solely on the images that the wolf was showing her. She saw thousands of different moments in time, all of which involved Keith and the other paladins in some way.

   It was like a myriad of time bubbles that filled her mind, almost so fast that she couldn’t keep up. She saw frames as they passed by her at high speed. Battles with Lotor, Zarkon, Sendak and many other enemies floated past her. Their adventures, their wins, their losses, it was like the wolf wanted to show her glimpses of everything, sifting through the moments in time until the right one could be found.

   Whatever plane of existence the wolf had brought her two, it suddenly went empty. Pidge was surrounded by darkness, floating in emptiness, and she began to feel anxious, waiting for something to happen.

   Before her, a ball of blue light floated out of the darkness, landing before her palms. And as her fingers came in contact with it, her mind became clear.

   Pidge knew what she needed to do now. Every piece. Every person. Every frame of the plan down to the minute. It was all right there in her head. The blank spaces that had been left before were now filled with knowledge and a full-scale plan. She knew exactly what to do now, and she knew it would work. But she had things that she needed to get done first, and the sooner she started, the sooner Lance and Keith got the happy ending they deserved.

   First on that list: find Allura and Hunk, and beat both of their asses into next week.

Chapter Text

   Pidge was pissed. Truly pissed. Unbelievably pissed. Beyond pissed even. She knew she wasn’t generally the most positive person of their group, but even so she was still reasonably pissed.

   No, pissed wasn’t the word for what she was feeling. Wasn’t strong enough. Angry? Enraged? No, those didn’t seem right either.

   Infuriated. Pidge was infuriated.

   Her feet stomped heavily on the ground, despite her tiny frame, as they carried her across the Olkari storage facility grounds. Her small hands were balled up into fists, ready to punch. Her breath was ragged, and the only color she could see at the moment was red.

   All because of Allura and Hunk.

   Pidge wasn’t sure what she would do when she found them, but after what she saw because of Keith’s wolf, she was on a war path. They may both be bigger than her, but with the rage flowing through her body at the moment she didn’t particularly care. Zarkon himself couldn’t intimdate Pidge when she was this mad.

   How could they, she thought? How could they be so cruel to Keith and Lance? They were all friends. Really good friends. Friendships forged through countless battles and missions. They were supposed to be a team.

   Pidge groaned furiously as the thought of their actions made her all the more enraged, and she planned to unleash all that unbridled anger on Allura and Hunk the second she saw them. She might regret it later, but in her present state she really couldn’t bring herself to give a damn.

   Quickly, her eyes locked onto her targets. Allura and Hunk were waving goodbye to Coran, who was walking off with Ryner in another direction. The two seemed in good spirits.

   Pidge refused to waste any more time and marched in their direction.

   The two noticed her approaching and greeted her with smiles and waves.

   Allura was the first to speak. “Pidge, wonderful news!” she said excitedly. She did not pick up on Pidge’s radiating anger. “Ryner and Coran are working on building a new teleduv. Which means we’ll be able to travel to Earth as soon as it’s finished!”

    Hunk nodded. “We’re still figuring out how it’ll work. Allura can’t pilot her lion and work the teleduv at the same time, but we’re working on-”

   “SHUT UP!” Pidge screamed, couldn’t hold in anymore. Her anger reaching its peak. “Just shut up, the both of you!” She was so angered that she could barely process what was being said to her. She didn’t care about going home. Didn’t care about seeing her family, the Galaxy Garrison…

   All she really cared about, in this moment of time, was yelling at Hunk and Allura.

   Pidged watched the shocked expressions form on her friend’s faces. The two stared at her, both speechless. Without them questioning her outburst, she continued on. “How could you two?” she asked, her voice dripping in vexation. “How could you two be so cruel? I thought I was a bad friend to Keith and Lance, but you two… you treated them both like crap! What the hell!?”

   Allura lifted an eyebrow curiously at Pidge’s accusations. Genuinely confused and somewhat insulted, she leered back at her. “What are you talking about?” she asked, raising her tone back at Pidge.

   “YOU KNEW!” Pidge all but shrieked, pointing a finger at Allura. She watched her take a step back before she continued on. “Lance told the mice exactly how he felt about you, and the mice told you. You knew how much he cared for you, how much he liked you and what he thought of you… and you picked Lotor. You left Lance to grovel, to feel miserable about himself that he lost you to Lotor, and you said absolutely nothing!”

   Pidge watched with satisfaction as Allura’s leer fell. Her eyes grew wide as she recognized what Pidge was getting at. Allura said nothing, only continued to look back at Pidge with a guilty expression.

   “I don’t care if you were busy dealing with the Lotor crap, we all were,” Pidge continued. “Even if that were true, it’s been two weeks since then. Two weeks. And Lance still doesn’t know that you know, and that you never said anything, despite the fact. Do you not understand how cruel that is to him?!”

   Hunk, shocked by the anger and disgust that Pidge was hammering into Allura, felt compelled to intervene. He gently laid a hand on Pidge’s shoulder and raised his free arm to signify peace. “Hey, why don’t we all just calm-”

   Cutting him off for the second time that day, Pidge turned her attention to Hunk and glared daggers at him. “And YOU!” she yelled, bringing about a small, terrified squeak from Hunk’s voice. “‘Galra Keith,’” she said with finger quotes. Hunk’s eyes widened in recognition of using those same words. “Seriously? Keith is going through one of the hardest times of his life, finding out that half of his DNA comes from our enemy, and you think the most appropriate thing to do in that situation is to spend an entire mission cracking jokes at him!?”

   Hunk gulped loudly, trying to swallow the growing lump of guilt in his throat. “Oh… you found out about that, huh?” he asked rhetorically. “I thought it would be funny! You know, break the tension and all that?” His guilt, and his fear of Pidge’s fury, was becoming more evident as his voice continued to rise in pitch.

   Pidge didn’t even seem to notice that her eye had begun to twitch. “That is not ‘breaking the tension,’ Hunk!” she yelled. “That is taking someone who is beaten down and beating them down even more! Making Keith think that he’s anything other than what he always was to us, OUR FRIEND!” Pidge couldn’t help but groan, her frustration with the two of them reaching its peak. “Unbelievable. You two are un-freaking-believable!”

   Pidge began breathing rapidly as she continued to leer at both Hunk and Allura. There was a small headache forming at her temples, likely due to the yelling depleting her oxygen levels. She had said it, everything she had to say, everything that she knew about from Keith’s wolf and everything she had to get off her chest. She didn’t regret what she said, Hunk and Allura needed to know how much they had hurt Keith and Lance respectively…

   But it didn’t stop her from feeling like shit because of it.

   “Now hang on,” Hunk said, breaking the silent tension that had overtaken the three of them. “Allura spent weeks shutting Keith out after she found out, doing everything possible to avoid him and kick him down even more. Why aren’t you shouting at her for that?” he asked. He quickly turned to Allura, hands up apologetically. “No offense, Allura.”

   Allura, although shell-shocked by Pidge’s accusation, nodded in understanding.

   “Hunk, Allura’s family, friends and entire civilization were massacred by Zarkon and the Galra,” Pidge stated, still standing firm in her resolve to be mad at them. “She may have been a bitch to Lance, but I’m not gonna make her feel bad for that. She gets to have a bit of an adjustment period with Keith being Galra!”

   “And I don’t?”

   “The hell did the Galra do to you? They never-”

   “THEY ENSLAVED SHAY!”

   Hunk’s volume was enough to freeze Pidge mid-sentence. Pidge had never heard Hunk raise his voice at a friend before, and very few times had his tone reached that level towards anyone at all. Hunk’s normally calm, mediating expression had been replaced and left with one of disgust. For the first time, he seemed to be truly angry at her.

   Pidge almost didn’t recognize Hunk because of that.

   “They kept her underground her whole life. She worked like a dog, being forced to slowly kill the very creature she called home. She never saw the freaking sky until we got there! And she thought that every part of that was normal until we told her otherwise!” he continued to shout, though his tone slowly began to decrease from anger into depression.

   “She thought that her purpose in life was to serve the Galra until the day she died. She never got to grow up playing with toys, or balls, or… rocks, whatever Balmeran children play with! Look, the point is, finding out Keith was half-Galra was a big pill to swallow, not just for Allura but for me as well. I wasn’t okay with it at first, but Keith was my friend so I tried moving past it the only way I knew how and cracking a few jokes… that I really regret now. But don’t think Allura is the only one that gets a bit of an adjustment period, because I needed one, too.”

   If Pidge didn’t feel like shit before, she sure as hell did now.

   Piddge took a step back as she tried to digest the scene that had played out before her. Hunk was upset with her. Hunk was angry and yelling with her. And Pidge wasn’t sure if Hunk had noticed or not, but he was also crying, tears dripping down the sides of his face and falling to the ground… because of her.

   Pidge had no clue how heavy an impact Shay’s upbringing had on Hunk. Truth be told, she hadn’t thought much about it, but Hunk obviously did, and the idea of someone so close to him having it more rough than anyone could ever have imagined was clearly very hard for him.

   Because, Hunk was normally a very accepting and compassionate person, and for a brief moment in his life, he couldn’t handle the fact that Keith was part of the race that hurt the being he loved.

   Hunk’s feelings for Shay, and her feelings for him, were almost sickeningly pathetic, at least in Pidge’s opinion. Their mutual pining, and their stubbornness to admit to it, was almost as pitiful, albeit precious, as Lance and Keith’s pining. Their feelings were tender, but still sweet all the same. Hunk fought his feelings for Shay like the flu, but he fought for her and her people just as valiantly.

   And in spite of his rough patch after learning the truth, Hunk made a genuine effort to stay friends with Keith.

  Hunk wiped the tears from his eyes with his large forearms, and then looked back at Pidge before more formed. “Please try to understand,” he said, “that I am sorry for what I said to Keith, and if I could undo it I would. How can I make this up to him?”

   “How can we make this up to him?” Allura spoke for the first time in a long while. Her self-loathing expression had long since faded, and there was a fire in her eyes as she continued. “I owe Keith as much of an apology as I do Lance. I hurt them both dearly and there was no need of it. I need to make it up to the both of them.”

   Pidge could feel it, the guilt in their voices. The remorse emanating from them. A strong desire to right all of the wrongs that they had caused, the wrongs that Pidge had so thoughtlessly thrown in their faces.

   And Pidge found herself joining in their pity party.

   Pidge reached out and took hold Allura’s and Hunk’s hands in each of her own, and looked back and forth at the two of them as she spoke. “I suppose I’m no better than either of you,” she admitted. “Hunk, you and I both made Lance feel like crap over his feelings for Allura, when we should have been helping him. And none of us have noticed the changes in Lance’s skills lately. That’s on us all as a team. We all need to start supporting our team and all its members. And we’ll start with Lance and Keith. I have a plan to help the both of them, but I need the two of you to help me. Can you help?

   There was no hesitation in Hunk and Allura’s response.

   “Always.”

   “Whatever you need.”

    Pidge could feel it in her bones now. She knew that this plan would come together now.

   Keith and Lance would get chance.

Chapter Text

   “Keith, can I see you for a sec?”

   Keith turned around, finding Hunk standing behind him. He appeared nervous, his voice shaking slightly and seeming to avoid direct eye contact. Hunk also wore a guilty expression, as if he’d done something wrong or was about to.

   Keith found it strange. Outside of combat, Hunk was rarely a nervous person. They were safe on Olkarion, they had no reason to be nervous. Yet, Hunk looked like he was about to wet his pants, and Keith found it suspicious.

   “Why, what’s up?” Keith asked, placing the box he had been holding to the floor. “We’re just about to finish unloading the lions. Is it important?”

   Hunk nodded. “Yeah, it is,” he answered. He then pointed to one of the storage units within the facility that they had been using to unload supplies from the lions into. “Let’s go in there. I wanna talk to you in private.”

   Keith was more suspicious now. The entire facility was practically empty now. He’d sent off the Olkari because there were so little supplies left to be loaded. Krolia was supposed to come help him finish the rest, but she’d yet to show up. There was only a few Olkari working on unrelated duties. So, what did Hunk want to talk about that required absolute privacy?

   “Alright, lead the way,” Keith said with a wave of his hand. Krolia could wait 5 minutes for him, he supposed.

   Hunk immediately nodded and turned heel, walking in the direction of the storage unit. Keith followed just behind him.

   A short distance away, behind a conveniently placed shrub, Pidge, Allura, and Keith’s wolf watched them walk away as planned. Pidge then reached for the laptop beside her and opened it. Allura watched as several video feeds popped up on the screen. Each showed a different angle from the inside of the storage unit that Keith and Hunk were about to enter, but the common denominator in all of them was that there was a rather large wall constructed from the supply boxes brought into the unit that faced the door.

   “Allura, the wolf will drop Lance off at the entrance to the storage unit,” Pidge explained. “Hunk will have done his part by then, and when that happens, you’ll do yours. You shouldn’t have any problems with them hearing you, but be loud enough just to be sure.”

   Allura nodded in understanding, and proceeded to get into her position as well.

   Pidge began tapping away at her laptop, setting up the video feeds so that it could be seen from Shiro’s tablet as well. He was such a big part of Keith’s life, and he’d given her this idea in the first place. He deserved to pay witness to such a life-changing event in Keith’s life.

   When Shiro acknowledged that he could see the feeds perfectly, via a text message and a thumbs-up emoticon (a feature Pidge had added to the tablets in her free time), she took a deep breath. The nervousness that she had been stockpiling all day had finally begun to overflow.

   This was finally happening. Keith and Lance, with any shred of luck, would finally understand that their two-way pining was not as one-sided as they had originally thought. They would get everything out in the open…

   And that thought had Pidge terrified.

   Pidge was essentially throwing their current relationship out the proverbial window and laying the foundation for a brand new one. It sounded great in theory, but she couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of it backfiring. She could be screwing up their friendship so monumentally that they never speak comfortably to each other again. Not only with Keith and Lance, but also their respective relationships with Allura and Hunk. Their interactions would be awkward for god knows how long, they could all wind up hating each other, and it could even ruin their ability to work as part of Team Voltron.

   Pidge was almost petrified by the thought that she could potentially destroy her friend’s chemistry and their ability to defend the universe. If this plan failed, the entire team could suffer because of her meddling. It would be all her fault and everyone would blame her for it.

   …But, the only thing that scared her more than any of these thoughts, was the thought of all of her friends continuing to suffer. Their words, dying to be said, never getting the opportunity for release and continuing to wreak havoc on their minds. The shame and guilt each of them carried. The strains that they all placed on themselves so needlessly.

   She would not stand for that. Pidge loved her friends, they were as much of her family as her parents and brother were, and she’d be damned if they continued to act like idiots, chaining themselves down and holding in their thoughts and feelings.

   More to the point, Keith and Lance… they needed each other. Their alternating personalities, their insecurities, their burning desire to love and be loved unconditionally by each other… these things and many more had Pidge convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these two were meant to be. They were soulmates. They… They needed each other. And as the crappiest friend she felt like she had been to the two of them in recent months, she owed it to them to at least give it her best shot at giving them happiness.

   And to that end, Pidge thought, taking in another deep breath to brace herself for what was about to happen, she would see to it that she gave them that shot.

   Hunk continued to lead Keith into the storage unit, just as Pidge had instructed earlier. There was a large wall of boxes that had faced the entrance, brought here from the lions. Hunk lead Keith in and around the pseudo-wall until they could no longer see the entrance.

   It was at that point that Keith gave him an inquisitive look, trying to analyze him. “Alright, Hunk,” Keith began, his tone curious more than anything. “Is there any reason you dragged me in here… alone?” There was a playful smirk stretching across Keith’s lips.

   Hunk chuckled to himself. Keith crackling a joke used to be such a rare occurrence, but now it was slowly becoming a norm for him to let loose now and then. He initially blamed it on his newfound Galran heritage, even if he meant it only in a joking manor. Even so, he regretted those comments, and it was time that Keith knew that.

   Hunk shook his head. “No, nothing like that,” he answered. He shifted uncomfortably as he tried to find the right words to say. “I was just doing some thinking, back to when we were fighting Zarkon. The battle with Lotor brought up some old memories.”

   Keith nodded, his teasing expression long forgotten. “That’s understandable,” he said. “That was a harsh battle. I’d be shocked if it didn’t open old wounds on the others as well… Is that what’s bothering you? Lotor’s betrayal?”

   Hunk glanced off to the side briefly. “To a degree, sort of, but… it also reminded me of our big battle with Zarkon so long ago, and all the little missions we had to get what we needed to do that. It reminded me of our mission to gather scaultrite… and how, just before that, we found out you were half-Galra.”

   There was a visible drop in Keith’s demeanor at the mention of such a difficult time. His curious expression had been lost and replaced with a confused stare. “O-Oh… I see…”

   “I was thinking about how… I made a lot of jokes at your expense. Saying you “turned Galra,” and all that.” A flash of shame ran across Keith’s face, just long enough to give Hunk a gut-wrenching feeling of guilt, a feeling that seemed to want to grow. “That was a hard time for you, and I didn’t make it easier with all my insensitive jokes. And I wanted to apologize for that, and say that I’m sorry I had such a hard time adjusting to the news, and that I took it out on you…”

   Keith stood silent for a moment, a moment that seemed to drag on forever in Hunk’s opinion. Keith stood emotionless, staring ahead at the man whose eyes threatened tears and appeared full of remorse. Hunk was convinced he would cry, whether Keith spoke or not, but the silence did little to quell the anxiety bubbling up inside of him.

   Had Keith forgotten all of these events had transpired, and Hunk just ripped open the old scar? Had he been holding his feelings of anguish inside of him and was just waiting for an outlet to release it? Was Keith going to yell? Scream? Hit? Storm off? Call him names?

   Whatever the case, Hunk knew he deserved it for giving Keith such a hard time, especially in such an already difficult situation. As such, he braced himself for the worst.

   He waited…

   And waited…

   And then, there was chuckling. Low in tone, soft, but ever present.

   Hunk didn’t realize he had closed his eyes at some point, not until he opened them and saw Keith’s shoulders shaking up and down slightly as his soft chuckles began to elevate into laughter. His sounds of joy seemed to echo throughout the storage unit.

   Keith… laughing… seemingly happily…

   …What the quiznack?

   Hunk blinked. “Keith… buddy… Did I break you?” he asked with a quiver in his voice. “Oh, God, I broke you, didn’t I?!” Hunk threw his hands to his head, his whole body throwing itself backwards as he was overtaken by even more anxiety. “I broke Keith! I broke him. I freakin’ brokeKeith!” He didn’t even want to imagine what Pidge would do to him if he sent the whole plan up in flames within the first few minutes…

   Keith’s laughter seemed to subside as quickly as it occurred, and he picked up on the panic that Hunk was putting himself through. He saw the beads of sweat forming across his forehead and his eyes threatening to bulge out of his head, and Keith began to worry about Hunk’s sanity. He placed a hand on Hunk’s shoulder, feeling Hunk turn to see him at his touch. “No, no, no. I’m good, I’m good, just… That’s what’s bothering you?” he asked. “For a second there, I thought someone died.”

   Hunk gulped, letting his once tense arms drop to his sides as he stared curiously at Keith. “Well… my heart may have stopped for a second there, but… as far as I know, everyone’s alright,” he said cautiously. “So… you’re not mad? You don’t wanna… yell or storm off or… anything?”

   Keith smiled warmly and shook his head. “Not gonna lie, you were kind of an ass back then… But then I realized, the kind of stuff you said to me, taking something serious and making a joke of it… you do the same thing with Pidge and Lance, and they do it with you. You guys are all so close, best friends from the Garrison, and if you’re willing to do that with me as well… I guess you consider me a good friend like them too. I mean, that’s what I hoped anyway. I wasn’t all that sure.”

   Hunk’s eyes, which earlier were at risk of popping out of his skull, were now quivering as his emotions began to escalate. “Of course I do. We all do, Keith!” Hunk exclaimed. “Don’t ever feel like you’re not part of our group. Pidge, Lance and I all have more history, but we’ve been through so much together. Shiro isn’t you’re only shoulder to lean on, man. You have us, too!”

   Keith’s expression softened. “Then I guess a bit of an adjustment period is warranted. I knew all of you would come around, just with a bit of time. Allura was my biggest concern, and we made our peace long ago… But, I appreciate that this bothered you so much that you felt you needed to apologize. So… thanks for caring, I guess.”

   Hunk didn’t entirely understand what Lance saw in Keith, not at first, but he did now.

   Keith didn’t let the little things bother him, he let it all just roll off his back. His friends had more of a value to him than starting a fight. He had the insight to pick his battles, something he previously lacked.

   Hunk remembered how Keith spent a year living in a shack in the desert, after getting expelled from the Garrison. Before that, his role model was believed to be dead in space. Before that, his father died. And even before that, his mother was thought to have abandoned him as a baby. His childhood consisted majorly of being alone and struggling to connect.

   Now, Keith wasn’t alone. He had his friends. He had Shiro. He had his mother. He had close connections once again, and he fought for them. He endured for them. He forgave for them…

   All so he wouldn’t be alone anymore.

   Hunk could withstand it no longer. With lips quivering and droplets at his eyes, he threw his arms around Keith’s torso and pulled him into a rib-crushing, emotion-filled hug that seemed to knock the wind out of Keith just briefly. Tears rolled down his face like rivers as he let his emotions overtake him, and he let out sobs, which quickly escalated into a full-blown wail.

   Keith was as much of a softy as Hunk was, and he couldn’t fight the urge to hug him; to remind him he wasn’t alone. He wanted to show Keith that he was as much of a friend to him as Lance or Pidge were.

   He wanted to show him how much he considered Keith family.

   Pidge watched the scene unfold from her laptop. Hunk was attempting to squeeze the life out of Keith in a messy, dramatic hug, and Keith was turning an unhealthy shade of blue in the process. Even so, he still looked appreciative of the sentiment and didn’t fight it.

   Everything was going according to plan.

   Pidge looked to Allura, who was now standing beside the storage unit, hidden behind its wall as she waited for Lance to show up. She had a smile on her face that Pidge took to mean that she had heard the conversation and it touched her heart. Pidge was glad that the boys’ reconciliation had moved her so, if for no other reason than it made it easier to forgive her for ignoring Lance’s feelings.

   They both knew it. This was everyone’s chance for repentance. Keith and Hunk had theirs, and now it was time for Allura and Lance to let go of their past.

   As if on cue, the wolf appeared in a flash, bringing Lance along with it. Lance fell to the ground immediately after the teleport, crying out with a loud “Ow!” when he landed on his ass on the hard ground outside of the storage unit.

   As soon as the wolf disappeared once more, Allura made her move. She ran around the corner and kneeled before Lance. “Lance!” she shouted, taking his hand and helping him to stand upright. “Are you alright?”

   Lance looked at Allura incredulously, as if insulted by her question. “Am I alright? Keith’s stupid mutt just attacked me!” he exclaimed. “I was talking to Romelle, the thing just pops in, looks at me – I swear, for a second I thought I was gonna be its dinner – and then pounces!” he raised his arms above his head, as if to replicate the attack for emphasis, but this caused a grunt of pain to escape his lips and his hands to shoot to his abdomen. “The damn thing gave me a freakin’ rugby tackle, and it hurt like hell!”

   “I’m sure it was only looking to play,” Allura lied, hoping that it didn’t show in her expression. She threw Lance’s arm over her shoulder and supported him as they walked. “Come, let’s go sit down and rest.” She began leading him into the storage unit, and Lance went along without resistance.

   As they walked, Lance began to think. Between all of the chaos with Lotor, and the mess of trying to get home, this was the first time in weeks he and Allura had been alone together. Sure, they had been together in team meetings, but never really had a chance to sit down and chat, not like they used to.

   Lance also noticed something else. He used to get a fuzzy feeling in his chest whenever Allura was nearby. Her supporting him as they walked, their bodies so close together they could feel each other breathing, would ordinarily send his heart beat skyrocketing.

   But there was no fuzzy feeling anymore. A bit of gratitude, having her help him after nearly getting mauled by Keith’s mutt of a cosmic wolf, which he still didn’t know the name of yet, but Lance could honestly say that he felt no feelings of passion or of endearment towards Allura. Not anymore. And he hasn’t felt that way since Keith returned to them.

   Well, not with Allura anyway.

   Hunk and Keith heard footsteps from behind the wall of boxes. Hunk knew it was Allura and Lance, not only because of the plan, but also because he heard their voices just then, and he was sure that Keith could hear it too. He only prayed that Keith wouldn’t budge from his position, or this whole thing could unravel very quickly. Not only would it not give Keith the chance to hear Lance’s thoughts, but he could potentially interrupt Lance and Allura’s discussion and make it awkward.

   Keith was torn. He didn’t want to be in the same room as Lance and Allura. He’d had all he could take for one day on the subject of those two, he didn’t want to listen to them laughing and getting along so swimmingly that his blood would boil. But at the same time, there was no easy way to describe why he and Hunk were hiding in the back of the storage unit alone. He hated the idea of creating an awkward tension. More importantly, he didn’t want to give off the wrong impression. Him and Hunk, alone…

   Keith shook his head violently. He would wait for now. It was too late to leave anyway, so he would sit tight and wait the two of them out or wait for an opportunity to bolt without them noticing.

   Whichever the case was, he knew it was not going to be fun for him.

   Allura eased Lance down onto one of the stray boxes that had been placed on the ground, hearing him groan, but then sigh in relief as he relaxed. She took a seat next to him.

   “Thanks, Allura,” Lance said, looking gratefully at her as he rubbed his stomach to soothe the forming bruise.

   “Not a problem,” Allura replied.

   There was a brief moment of awkward silence between them, as Allura tried to figure out what to say. She didn’t have it in her to jump right into the problem, not this one. This was an issue she needed to ease into, if not for Lance, for herself. “…So, what were you talking to Romelle about?”

   Lance looked curiously at Allura, and then he remembered the conversation he had with her just before being whisked away by Keith’s wolf. “Oh, yeah...” he said, an awkward lingering in his tone. “I… kinda had to tell Romelle I wasn’t interested in her. Romantically anyway.”

   Allura raised an eyebrow at his reply. “Romelle?” she asked. “Shelikes you?” This was new information to her. Romelle never mentioned having feelings for Lance, or anyone really. Perhaps she didn’t feel close enough to anyone in the group, even the other Alteans, to share personal information about herself.

   Lance huffed, turning away in pseudo disbelief. “Try not to sound so surprised,” he said sarcastically. “I mean I ampretty awesome! Anyone would be lucky to have me.”

   Allura chuckled. “Maybe she fell for your horrid sense of humor,” she replied with a smirk.

   The two of them laughed at themselves, and at each other. It was brief, but it reminded them of the good friendship that they had developed, after so many years of fighting Galra.

   When Allura had learned the truth of Lance’s feelings, she forgot about how much fun they used to have as friends. She felt only an awkward tension whenever she was around him. Only able to tolerate it when she and him had Voltron duties.

   But that tension was slowly beginning to erase, with each second of laughter they shared together.

   Allura was the first to stop. “Seriously though, what did you say to her?” she asked. “I hope you weren’t mean to her.”

   Lance waved his hands defensively at Allura’s accusation. “No, no! I wasn’t, I swear!” he declared. “I just said that… there was someone else I liked. And that even if there wasn’t, I didn’t want her falling for me for all the wrong reasons.” An expression of guilt slowly creeped onto his face. “We’re preparing to save her entire civilization, all of her friends, everyone she’s ever known her whole life… I don’t want her to mistake what we’re doing as anything more than what it is. So, I told her to find someone who she likes as a person, not as a hero or anything.”

   Allura was surprised by the level of maturity in that story on Lance’s part. Lance was usually the one getting turned down (namely by herself), but never in her wildest dreams would she ever picture Lance turning someone else down, let alone someone as pretty as Romelle. It seemed bizarre at first, but at the same time, it made perfect sense for Lance. He deserved a relationship where they treated each other as equals, not where one was placed on a pedestal.

   More importantly, it reminded Allura of why she was even talking to him in the first place.

   “By the way,” she said after some time. “There’s something I need to talk to you about… something personal.”

   Lance was taken aback. Allura didn’t talk personally with him, not enough that she would announce it, so he was surprised.

   Then again, he needed to get something off his chest too.

   Lance needed closure. He didn’t like Allura anymore, not as anything more than a friend, but part of him felt like he was still hanging on to her. Allura never knew that he liked her, and maybe that was why he was having difficulty letting go of his feelings for her, because they were once very strong and unrequited.

   Allura was nice, she was smart, she was good with people, and she downright took his breath away whenever she kicked Galra ass. But in the end, she chose Lotor. Even if she did somehow have feelings for him at one point, Lance had too much respect for himself to be with someone who didn’t pick him. They both deserved better than that.

   Neither of them were aware that Keith was listening to every word that they were saying.

   The second she said “something personal,” Keith knew. Allura and Lance were about to have some grand heart-to-heart. They had no clue that he and Hunk were on the other side of that wall, eavesdropping on their conversation. Now they really couldn’t leave, or risk creating an awkward tension that Keith wanted no part in.

   More importantly, trying to explain to them that he was trying to help Hunk get closure on his Galra racism would likely not go over well.

   Of all people, Keith did notwant to be anywhere near a deep conversation between Lance and Allura. What if Allura was telling Lance she finally developed feelings for him? He would be over the freaking moon. He would sweep her off her feet, they would kiss, and live out the rest of their lives happily with each other. Probably raise Human-Altean hybrid children. He didn’t know. And he was terrified to find out.

   However, if that were to happen, if Lance and Allura got together, then perhaps it would be the final kick in the pants Keith needed to finally put his feelings for Lance to rest. Seeing the one you love with someone else, Keith figured, couldn’t possibly be as horribly painful as loving someone who didn’t love him back. He didn’t want to love Lance anymore if all it brought him was a suffocating tightness in his chest.

   To that end, so Keith could put his unrequited feelings for Lance aside and move on with his life, he did not move. He didn’t speak. He would breathe only as necessary. The only thing he would do would be to listen to them as closely as he could, so to finally hear the words that could set his heart free. And to wait.

   He waited for Lance and Allura to say the words that would shatter his heart, so he could have the peace of mind to put it back together.

   Allura looked nervously at Lance. Her level of discomfort caused her to shift slightly from side to side without ever moving from the box she sat on.

   She found it fitting, however. This was one heck of an uncomfortable situation.

   Allura had to sit down, look Lance in the eye, and say everything. She had to tell him he knew of his feelings for her, that she did not have feelings for him, never did have feelings for him, and probably never would. His one-sided pining would now turn into a firm, brutally clear rejection. She had to clarify that she had never seen him as anything but a friend.

   And the look of sheer pain and embarrassment spread across Lance’s face, the mental image of him falling apart because of her words, because she failed to see what a wonderful partner he would be, had Allura terrified.

   Lance was one of the first people she met upon waking up from the Cryopod. Heck he was the first one she saw. She thought his tactless flirting was tacky and peculiar. Compared to the Paladins of Old and the rest of his friends, Lance’s skills were sub-par at best. His looks were nothing out of the ordinary, and his outgoing personality often drove her mad. In short, she was not impressed with him in the slightest.

   Only now, readying herself to hurt him, did she realize how horribly wrong he was to judge him so harshly.

   Compared to his starting point, Lance has surpassed himself further than anyone else. His skills with his bayard were flawless, bringing out a new form before anyone else could do the same with their own. He had mastered long-range sniping at an incredible rate. His flirtatious tendencies and cheesy pickup lines had died down long ago. His demeanor had become more professional. He was more profound in his words and actions. The amount of changes he had gone through was enough for her to almost not recognize Lance.

   Lance changed so much, for the better in Allura’s opinion. He had become a true paladin of Voltron; strong, kind, caring, brave, and willing to take whatever risks necessary for the people he wanted to protect.

    Allura’s heart fluttered as she remembered the time at the Galra shield station, when he pushed her out of the way to save her life from that stray lightning bolt. He saved her life, and damn well nearly lost his own in the process. If not for what she learned in Oriande, and she thanked the ancients every day for having learned it all, he might have died in her arms.

   Allura could handle Lotor’s betrayal, she could handle the destruction of her home and family, she could handle the thought of thousands of remaining Alteans alive in the Quantum Abyss that could very well die for their quintessence. But, she knew she could never handle losing what might be the best friend she’d ever had. She’d never be able to handle herself if she’d lost Lance.

   So, as her friend, she made it her solemn vow to end his suffering. She couldn’t return his feelings, but Keith could. He did. He was the thing that was missing in Lance’s life. He could give him the comfort she couldn’t. And he would be the shoulder he could cry on when this war could come to an end.

   “I know you have feelings for me, Lance,” Allura spoke, having finished her internal thought. “I’ve known for a while. The mice… they told me what you said about me.”

   Allura could almost hear Lance’s jaw unhinge itself when his mouth dropped like a rock. His eyes were bulging out, his face grew flushed, and he couldn’t stop the sputtering that was spilling from his mouth. His shock seemed to last a few seconds, only to be replaced with anger. He groaned and raised a fist, his eyes seemingly looking up to the heavens. “I TOLD THEM THAT IN CONFIDENCE!!!” he screamed ferociously. “It was Platt, wasn’t it! That chubby little rat! Oh, when I get my hands on him…!” He used his hands to imitate the act of strangling someone, though it appeared to be more like he was assaulting a human than a rodent, which made the action moot.

    Allura let loose an amused laugh all the same, her laughter echoing throughout the storage unit. She wasn’t expecting that response, but at the same time she definitely should have expected it. Somethings never change with Lance. “N-Nothing between me and them is confidential, sorry,” she said, trying to hide her giggles behind her hands. This only seemed to make Lance’s blush grow more furious. After a few seconds, they both seemed to cool down from the abrupt outburst. “In any case… I wanted you to know, that I don’t have feelings for you. I don’t think I ever did, or… ever will.”

   Lance groaned to himself, leaning backwards on his hands. He looked back to Allura with a deflated expression. “Yeah, I kinda figured that,” he replied, nonchalantly. “To be honest, I’m more surprised you didn’t find out sooner. It wasn’t exactly like I hid it.”

   “I had my suspicions, but nothing definitive,” she answered. “I wasn’t sure if it was specifically a human trait or if it’s just in your personality to flirt with pretty girls.”

   Lance chuckled softly, looking downward at his lap. “Nah, that’s all me.”

   “I see. Well, in any case… I want to apologize. I should have told you sooner.” Allura quickly grew a guilty look. Her eyes fell sorrowfully and her gaze rested on the floor. “I… I fell in love with Lotor, and in spite of everything… I think he loved me, as well. He used to remind me so much of my home. He taught me things I thought had died along with Altea. He made me feel like I had finally begun making progress in ending this war.”

   After her unexpected confession about Lotor, Lance paid close attention to Allura, as her sadness quickly mixed with rage. Her fists clenched and her teeth bared ever so slightly, and she looked as though she may cry. “And when I found out about the colony… it was like my whole world had shattered before me. The man I loved was using the remaining Alteans as a fuel source. He tricked me into building him a weapon that nearly killed us all. He showed me just how horrific the son of Zarkon could be.” The tears finally began to fall, landing in her lap as she continued. “And for the sake of my friends, and Voltron, I did everything in my power to pull myself together. As much as I was hurting, if we did not stop Lotor, who knows what would have happened.”

   Allura’s sobs began to pierce Lance’s eardrums, and he was suddenly lost on how to proceed. He knew that Lotor’s betrayal hurt Allura the most, he just didn’t realize how much. She was heartbroken, guilty, blaming herself for letting such a horrible person into her life.

   Lance truly didn’t know how to proceed. How do you console someone in so much pain? How do you fix what was so broken? How do you make someone feel better when they’ve lost everything?

   In the end, Lance opted to let Allura keep talking. She turned to face him, eyes filled with tears and her entire demeanor expressing agony. But at the same time, there was a fire in her that Lance knew would grow bigger; more brilliant, more powerful. And he knew it would become her guiding beacon.

   “I realize now how foolish it was for me to fall for such a despicable man,” she said, her voice still cracking from her earlier sobbing. “Maybe if I went back in time… I might have considered you…” Allura quickly shook her head side to side. “No, I still wouldn’t pick you Lance… because you deserve someone who won’t make you a second choice. I know you liked me for a long time, Lance, I knew, and I still picked Lotor, and you should be with someone who will pick you first, every time. You need someone who will recognize your amazing qualities at first glance and sees in you more than you see in yourself… I’m not that person. And… I know there’s a person out there for you who deserves you.” Allura said these words a bit more loudly than necessary, remembering Pidge’s advice to make sure Keith could hear the conversation.

   Lance couldn’t help but be moved by Allura’s words, his very breath taken away. Her emotions – guilt, regret, sadness, self-loathing, pain, among many others – was communicated clear as day through her speech, but the strength behind them was what moved him the most.

   Lotor did a number on everyone, and Allura was clearly the most affected by it, but she didn’t let that stop her from being there for her friends. She was hurting, but she was giving every ounce of her willpower to moving forward and bringing Lance along with her. If possible, reminding him how much of a wonderful person she was, had helped him to see why he couldn’t possibly be her lover. He needed a friend like her in his life.

   He needed this more than a girlfriend. He wanted Allura as his friend more than he wanted Allura as his girlfriend.

   Lance smiled in Allura’s direction, probably one of the few genuine smiles he’d made that day. Between dealing with Pidge and Romelle andAllura all in one day, it was nice to know he could still do that. “Thank you, Allura,” he said, soft by honest in tone. “And you don’t need to apologize.”

   Allura shook her head. “Yes, I do,” she rebutted quickly. “I knew you had feelings for me, but I shoved them under the rug because of how uncomfortable I was talking about. I strung you along, never gave you the closure-”

   “But you’re talking about them now,” Lance interjected, causing a small gasp to escape Allura’s mouth. “And as for closure… I never know how the others truly feel about me. I never know how I look in their eyes. But you? The fact that turning me down like this took so much out of you? It lets me know I was right to have you as my friend.” Lance scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come’re.” He pulled her in to rest on his chest, letting her sob with at least moderate comfort.

   Allura took the hint and relaxed the muscles she only now discovered were tense. She eased into the warmth of his embrace. She remembered how much she cared for it, how much it put her at ease. She remembered how grateful she was that she could still take advantage of it, and use it to put her tired mind to rest.

   Allura still shed tears, but she smiled as if she’d won the lottery.

   Keith wasn’t even aware that he was crying. The tears on his face didn’t register to his normally acute senses in the slightest. He didn’t feel the dampness dripping into the fabric of his pants.

   What he felt, however, was joy. Relief. Bliss even.

   Lance and Allura… there was no way they had romantic feelings for each other after an exchange like that. Of that much, Keith was certain. This put his mind at least relatively at ease.

   He didn’t expect Lance to jump into his arms, no, he wasn’t getting his hopes up anymore. But at least now he and Lance could have a decent conversation between them without worrying about Allura’s name coming up. And even if it did, Keith was doubtful it would cause him the same jealous rage and pain in his gut.

   The very mention of her name used to just piss him the hell off. It would make his eye twitch, his heartbeat to accelerate, and his blood pressure to spike, and this was only if someone else brought it up, or if she walked past him. If it happened to be Lance who instigated the discussion and involved Allura somehow? …his veins almost wanted to pop at the memory.

   “Allura is so awesome!” “Allura took down this many galra soldiers today!” “Wonder how Allura would feel if I told her that her celestial body just makes my particle barrier shoot rightup.” Keith wanted nothing more than to punch Lance’s teeth in the day he said that last line. He almost did, but Keith had better willpower than he was aware.

   Still, he missed Lance. Since his return, Keith had been keeping himself busy in order to avoid Lance, afraid of his emotions resurfacing. He threw himself into his leadership duties, spent more time with Shiro and his mother than he should have, and did everything possible to keep from speaking with Lance.

   He was right to do so, he figured, because his feelings were doing everything possible to shoot back up from within him.

   Lance’s words may have been meant for Allura, but they moved Keith more than he cared to admit. His breath caught in his throat when Lance started talking about how he wasn’t sure how the others saw him on the team. It baffled him really. How could he not see that he is the heart of Voltron? That he was the shining light of inspiration that kept the team going? He was the voice of reason, the ever-flowing energy that pushed everyone to be their best, and to fight with all their hearts.

   Lance was more oriented to be the leader of Voltron than any of them, himself included, but he was an even better right-hand-man. He was the one you could always rely on, the one who had your back, and the one that Keith always wanted next to him when he… did anything really.

   Keith had stayed to listen to this conversation in the hopes that he could find a reason – anyreason – not to love Lance. Some big thing that completely repulsed him, or even just some minute thing that ate at him. And instead, he now found himself longing even more for the blue paladin. That stupidly big heart of his, capable of caring for those who very well don’t deserve it (Allura certainlydidn’t deserve it, not in Keith’s opinion). He had so much love inside of him that he had no choice but to share it with everyone.

   ‘Dammit all,’he thought, letting his muscles relax as his sunk to the ground. He lay there on his knees, feeling that all familiar pain in his stomach. Not a stinging pain, nor any sort of burning. It didn’t ache, either. Keith often failed to describe the pain, but if he attempted he would usually describe it as an intense feeling of nausea. As if his stomach was trying to squeeze in on itself and give him the urge to vomit.

   Keith’s head began to feel light as images of Lance began floating through his mind. Every day, every stupid grin, every finger gun, ever smile, every single thing about Lance that he tried to forget about only made him love Lance more. His love for Lance burned so strong that he just wanted to scream. Every little thing he did made his heart leap, made his breath catch in his mouth, made his heart ache with desire.

   It hurt so much, just thinking about him, made him pray for death at times, and yet nothing brought Keith greater joy than the mental image of Lance’s beautiful smile, nor the potential for it to be directed toward himself.

   The nausea seemed to fade as reality set in for Keith, like a dark cloud quickly forming over him. That would never happen. Lance’s feelings for Allura may not be an issue anymore, but it didn’t erase the fact that Lance still did not have feelings for him. In fact, it seemed to draw more attention to it. To Lance, Keith was little more than his rival, the person he swore to beat in every aspect of their lives. Swimming, leadership, combat, training, eating, and God only knew what the fuck else, Lance wanted to beat Keith at everything because he. They had a few tender moments, such as their bonding moment after capturing Sendak, or when Lance declared his decision to step back as a paladin, but he never thought Lance could ever see him as anything else but perhaps a close friend.

   Close, but not fucking close enough.

   Was Keith doomed to this fate forever? To be hopelessly in love with someone who couldn’t possibly feel the same about him? To have to endure this pain every single day of his life?

   Keith wanted to throw up at the thought. ‘Damn you, you son of a bitch!’ he screamed internally, curing his own bad luck that he had to fall for Lance, of all people in the galaxy.

   Ever though he knew, no one else in the universe could compare to someone with such a beautiful soul as Lance, someone who could put you at ease in the most desperate of situations, he still blamed himself for letting it happen.

   Hunk’s heart broke as he watched Keith suffering.

   Keith had fallen to the ground some time ago. He was on his knees, softly sobbing, eyes growing flushed as tears continue to spout out of them. His lap had grown damp from his own tears. A few stray hiccups escaped his throat, muffled by his clenched teeth and quivering lips.

   And Keith didn’t seem to be aware any of it was happening. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he hadn’t realized the stupor he had put himself into.

   Instinctually, Hunk wanted to pick Keith up and carry him far away, away from the situation going on opposite to them that was causing him pain. Hunk wanted to give him a big hug, perhaps make him the best food he could as a comfort. But he knew, if Keith didn’t endure this pain, the pain of having his heart filled with so much love and such a strong desire of yearning to the point he became such a wretched state of a person, then he would have to endure the pain for the rest of his life.

   The idea of making someone suffer made Hunk feel sick to his stomach, but he knew that Keith and Lance could find comfort in each other after this whole ordeal. At least, he prayed that it went as easy as that.

   After several minutes, Allura lifted her head from Lance’s chest. She turned to smile at him, seeing smiling right back at her. There was relief in his demeanor, slouched shoulders, relaxed muscles all over, and he looked happy for the first time in a while.

   Allura could say she felt the same.

   “I don’t know about you,” she began, catching Lance’s attention. “But I feel a lot better after all of that.”

   Lance nodded. “Same here,” he agreed. “I think talking with you lifted about 10 pounds off my shoulders.” The two giggled softly at Lance’s joke.

   Quickly though, Lance was reminded of another thought weighing heavily on his mind.

   That weight being Keith.

   His conversation earlier that day with Pidge, where Lance admitted his feelings for Keith, it opened the floodgate for him to start thinking more about just how far those feelings stretched. He had claimed Keith was nothing more than a small crush, but he found himself believing that to be inaccurate. Plaxum was a crush. Nyma was a crush. Allura was a big crush, but a crush all the same.

   Seeing Keith, wanting to hold Keith, wanting to keep him safe; the intense feelings of yearning, the desire to look at Keith for hours on end, to run his hands through that stupid, messy, absolutely sexy mullet of his, Lance knew.

   Keith was no crush. Not by a freaking long-shot.

   Lance didn’t want to admit his true feelings to Pidge, or to anyone really. He didn’t know what “it” was in the first place. He’d had strong feelings towards Keith since their days at the Garrison. Keith rubbed him every single wrong way possible. The fact that he excelled in everything and didn’t seem to care, talking back to the instructors, having Shiro’s trust and favoritism, brushing off Lance when he himself tried to be Keith’s friend, it all aggravated Lance to no end. It was at that point Lance declared Keith his rival and sought out to prove himself a better man. Jealousy and anger seemed to be the forefront of his emotions towards Keith.

   Slowly, however, as their paladin adventures continued to unfold, they grew closer. The negativity seemed to slowly dissolve, the bitterness between them growing sweeter. Lance couldn’t recall any single event that changed things for them. He simply saw the transition that they took from being bitter rivals that couldn’t stand each other to being the good friends and teammates they were. They pushed each other. They made each other better paladins and people. They each had what the other lacked.

   They still took jabs at each other, that never changed and probably never will, but Lance would often look back at some of the things they used to say to each other and be baffled by how mean it used to be. They used to be out to hurt each other. Now the teasing and cheap shots were used to solidify their friendship.

   He couldn’t define his feelings for Keith, but he knew that they were there, they were positive, they were strong, and if he kept them inside of himself for one more second he was going to scream bloody murder and go ballistic.

  Lance’s mind drifted back to Allura, who sat beside him with a grateful expression on her face.

  He needed an outlet. He needed to talk through his feelings, to work them out and figure out what the hell it was he felt for Keith. Maybe Allura could help with that.

  Lance took a deep breath, steeling himself for the task of talking to his ex-crush about his current crush. “Um, Allura?” he spoke.

   Allura looked curiously to him, an eyebrow perched higher than the other. “Yes, Lance?” she asked. “What is it?”

   “While we’re getting things off our chests… there’s something I wanna run by you.”

   Allura feigned ignorance and gave him an approving nod to go ahead. Pidge had told her what the wolf showed her, and knew what Lance wanted to talk about already – that being, his feelings for Keith – so she did her best to act as if she didn’t know and turned her head to the side slightly.

   Lance’s heart started beating faster as he struggled to find the right words. He was certain his cheeks were growing red, and the irritating lump in his throat was coming back again. “Ok… so…”

   Pidge had her eyeballs practically glued to her laptop screen. Her stare was so intense her eyes were beginning to hurt, and the anxiety bubbling up inside of her felt like she would soon explode. She hadn’t even noticed that she was biting her thumbnail because of all of the stress.

   Everything that had happened up until now – Keith and Hunk’s reconciliation, and Allura and Lance’s emotional exchange and acceptance – had gone according to plan. Everything that had happened had gone exactly as the wolf had shown Pidge it would. That put her mind at ease, at least to some extent.

   However, Pidge had no freaking clue what was about to happen.

   The visions she saw only showed her events that had happened up to this point, where Lance was getting ready to tell her about his feelings for Keith. Allura would give Lance her undivided attention while he poured his heart out about how much Keith meant to him. Keith would continue to hide in the background, listen, and cry his eyes out while Hunk stood there and look like he wanted to pick Keith up and give him his best and biggest hug.

   However, that was where everything went to black. The vision cut out after that, and Pidge had no idea how the rest of the events would play out. Would they get together? Would they not? Would they beat the crap out of each other? Would they hate each other?

   Pidge’s mind continued to run wild with her anxiety threatening to force her to vomit, and all the while she did the only thing she could do in this situation; pray. She prayed, to whatever was up in the cosmos, holy and divine, that she had set the stage enough for Keith and Lance to figure the rest out themselves.

   That, and try to settle her own nerves.

   “This will work…” she said, almost like a mantra. “This will work… this has to work.”

   “And it will.”

   Pidge’s startled response brought about a brief, ear-splitting shriek from her lips. The scare she had gotten from that voice made her heartrate accelerate to even more dangerous levels than before, and the brief thought of a heart attack ending her life before she could see her plan play out crossed her mind.

   Pidge turned around to find out who the mystery person was, and probably give them a piece of her mind for scaring the crap out of her. She was greeted with none other than Krolia, standing behind her with a watchful eye at her computer.

   Krolia took to Pidge’s side, and knelt down to her level to get a better view of the screen. “I came because I wished to see this play out,” she explained, not even waiting for Pidge to ask. She turned to face Pidge, a soft smile gracing her lips. “It’s clear how deeply you care for Keith and Lance. They’re both lucky to have a friend like you, someone who will run themselves ragged trying to make them happy. I have faith that your plan will work, Pidge, so now you need to.”

   Pidge was awestruck. Krolia… she had a warm, reassuring aura to her. It was comforting, having someone who believed in her, more so than she did in herself at this moment in time. It was… maternal, almost.

   Pidge had thought, being deprived of her son for 18 years, that Krolia would struggle to be a mother figure, even just for Keith alone. But right now, she was doing as good a job at giving her piece of mind as her own parents would have. That small, glimmer of hope that her efforts were not in vain.

   And Pidge was grateful for it.

   With a deep breath, Pidge and Krolia turned their attention back to the screen.

   Lance twiddled his thumbs as he willed himself to speak. His anxiety was escalating rapidly, fear of being judged by the friend he needed most right now. His palms grew sweaty, his breathing erratic, and he felt like he would soon throw up. It wasn’t enough to keep his lips shut, though.

   “I… I stopped liking you, not just because of Lotor,” he started. “I mean, that’s a big part of it, too, but not the entire thing.” He looked over his shoulder at Allura, still listening curiously as he babbled on. “I found someone else that I have feelings for. Someone I’ve known for a long time, longer than you in fact. These feelings are strong, really strong, but I don’t know how to describe them…”

   Allura hummed. “I see,” she said, trying to suppress the urge to giggle at how cute Lance was acting right now. So overwhelmed by his own emotions that he couldn’t define them, and so nervous that he looked like he might wet himself. “Well then, tell me. How do these feelings differ from how you felt about me? I’m assuming that there must be some difference between the two.”

   Lance took a moment to contemplate. He crossed his arms across his chest, eyes shut, humming softly as he compared Keith to Allura in his mind. “Let’s see… The way we got along all the time made things comfortable. But with Ke-…” he quickly caught himself, keeping from letting Keith’s name slip. “…this other person, they challenge me. We push each other. We get on each other’s nerves. We never got along. But… we started to grow closer. The jagged edges we each had started to sand off and fit better into place. We balanced each other out.”

   “Each of your strengths was the other’s weak points?” Allura interjected.

   Lance nodded. “With you… I kept giving, but you never gave back,” he said solemnly. “Every time I pictured our future together, all I could see was… me fighting constantly to keep your attention. I see myself giving my all, and still coming up short. I just… I don’t wanna fight for your attention anymore. But with them… They’ve always had my attention. We’ve gone through so much, over so long. Every day, I’ve thought about them. Some days good, others bad, but they were always there, in the back of my mind.”

   “And when I think about our future, I see us, together, making each other stronger. Growing deeper connections. Forging our own path. Pushing each other to be the best we can be and even more. We’d be far from perfect, but that’s ok with me, because my feelings for them are so strong that I feel like… we could survive anything.”

   “May I state an observation?”

   “Uh, yeah? What?”

   “It sounds like you’re in love with this person, Lance.”

   Lance’s breath caught in his throat as Alluras words began to process through his mind. His cheeks dusted pink as a brief look of panic washed over him.

   Lance… he loved Keith. He loved him. He loved Keith so much that it hurt, that it made him want to cry. He wanted to hold Keith, protect him from everything that may cause him harm. He wanted to feel the beating of Keith’s heart pressed against his chest. He wanted to gaze lovingly into Keith’s eyes, plant chaste kisses on his lips. Lance wanted to laugh with Keith, cry with him, hold him tightly in his arms, and lose himself completely as he ran his hand across Keith’s cheek, into his hair and down his back.

   Lance loved Keith… Lance was baffled by that, even in his own mind.

   “May I ask who it is?” Allura asked. They were close, she could feel it. She had no idea what Keith was like on the other side of this wall, but Allura was sure if he heard his name, Keith would race out her and all but throw himself at Lance. She wanted them to see that they were meant to be, and that their love wasn’t nearly as unrequited as they both thought.

   ‘Keith… It’s Keith… It’s always been Keith…’

   “I’m… in love with-”

   “Keith! Wait!”

   Both Lance and Allura were taken aback by Hunk’s random outburst from behind the wall. They soon heard the pitter patter of footsteps against the ground of the storage unit. They were heavy, angry, upset, and they were moving faster and faster away from them.

   Lance turned to see Keith running away from them. He saw Keith’s head of hair bouncing up and down as his shoulders bounced, his arms propelling his dash. He saw Keith’s fists and teeth clenched tightly. What shook him most, however, was the redness in his eyes, and the tears streaming down his face, dripping from his chin as he ran.

   Lance wasn’t concerned with why Keith and Hunk were on the other side of the wall, nor how they happened to be in the same storage unit as him and Allura. He wasn’t caught off guard by the suspiciousness of it all.

   No. What had his attention was the fact that Keith had heard him. He heard every word, heard Lance pouring his heart out about Keith, and now he was running off into the distance, further and further away from Lance.

   Keith heard him. And now he was running away. He was leaving. He was gonna get on a ship, fly away, and go off on another mission for god knows how long. He was gonna go back to the Blades and get himself killed, and he’d die never knowing that it was him that Lance loved so profusely…

   …Like HELL he was!

   “KEITH!!!”

Chapter Text

   Keith ran. As fast as his legs would carry him. He ignored the pain, the aches, the tiredness in his legs. He didn’t care.

   He didn’t care where he went. He didn’t care for how long. He didn’t care that his jagged, erratic breathing was beginning to feel like sandpaper along his throat. He didn’t care that his legs were getting so weak that they felt like they would fall off. He didn’t care that his lungs felt like they were about to pop. He didn’t even care if lightning were to strike him down where he stood.

   Keith just could not be back there. He could not hear Lance finish that sentence. Ever.

   Keith couldn’t fathom the relief he felt when Lance declared he no longer had feelings for Allura. It was as if an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, like he had just dodged a bullet at close-range. His heart felt free, for the first time in over 3 years, to have feelings for Lance and not have to worry about him fawning over someone else.

   Listening to Lance prattle on about Allura was the most painful thing imaginable to Keith. He would sooner go through the Marmora trials ten times over than have to watch Lance making googly-eyes at his crush. Keith’s stomach would twist into knots, his blood pressure would spike, and he could feel a twitch in his eye whenever Lance made one of his cheesy pickup-lines at her… and not him.

   Listening to their exchange, a mutual agreement between them that they could be so much better as friends than as a couple, made Keith feel like he could walk on air. Lance’s attention was not on Allura, or anyone really. Learning about Romelle was certainly a surprise, but his lack of interest in her made him happy all the same. It all gave him one tiny sliver of hope, that maybe, just maybe, he could be freed from his painful unrequited love. He thought, without a partner or potential-partner, not seeing how passionate Lance could be would give Keith the strength to let his feelings go.

   But then, Lance had to go and open his big fat fucking mouth again.

   “They always had my attention… they were always there, in the back of my mind.”

   Of course Lance loved someone. He couldn’t give Keith a break for five ticks. He couldn’t let his heart wither away and die. He had to have that big heart of his, the thing about him that Keith loved most. The part of Lance that made it so difficult to hate him, no matter how much Keith wished he could.

   “And when I think about our future, I see us, together, making each other strong. Growing deeper connections. Forging our own path.”

   Keith clutched his stomach, feeling the all-familiar pain return. The feeling like he had been punched in the abdomen. His gastric juices bubbling around in his belly. The jealousy. The wave of depression that made him want to just run. Run away from every single thing that hurt him. Everything that scared him, that made him feel like he could never be with the one person that could make it all go away.

   “We’d be far from perfect, but that’s ok with me, because my feelings for them are so strong I feel like… we could survive anything.”

   Lance’s heart was so big, but it didn’t have room for Keith. Lance and this mystery someone would go on, live their happy lives, and Keith would lose his best friend, lose the man he loved, and he’d be stuck in a pit of depression for the rest of his life.

   “I’m… in love with-”

   Keith couldn’t listen to the end of that sentence. His sanity was at stake. Handling himself around Lance whenever Allura entered the room was heavily taxing enough, and put a severe strain on his mental health. If he had to look at Lance, staring so longingly into someone else’s eyes, whispering sweet nothings into their ears, planting kisses on their cheeks or their forehead in times of peace or in times of suffering, Keith just knew he would die inside. He wouldn’t be able to handle himself if Lance gave all of his love to anyone else but him.

   Finally, the exhaustion of running for so long had caught up with Keith. His feet slowed to a halt, and he fell to his knees, arms supporting his torso upward as he faced the ground. He began coughing up a storm, waiting for his stomach acids to ascend his esophagus and spill out onto the ground beneath him, because that was what he felt was going to happen.

   Hacking and sniffling, Keith watched as tears fell from his face and dripped to the ground, only just now realizing he had been crying. His eyes felt tender and flushed, and he sniffled as the stubborn mucus refused to stay in his nose.

   In short, Keith felt like shit.

   Keith didn’t know where he was to now, either. Somewhere deep in the Olkarion forest. He couldn’t tell how far or how long he’d been running, or in what direction. He looked around as he continued to reclaim the oxygen he had expelled in his mad dash, but couldn’t find any familiar landmarks. All that was before him was various forms of vegetation and rocks.

   He was lost. He was miserable. He’d worked himself up to the brink of a heart attack. And he was heartbroken.

   Fucking perfect.

   Keith tried to find anything else to blame, but he could only find blame in himself. Had he never developed feelings for Lance, he wouldn’t be so miserable right now. He hated himself for falling for someone with such a big heart, that seemed to have room for everyone else but Keith. He hated that loving Lance brought on with it so much suffering, and how even now, he wished Lance would wrap his long, lanky arms around Keith and tell him everything would be okay.

   He hated himself for falling in love with the closest thing he’d ever had to a best friend. He couldn’t even be happy for Lance that he had someone in his life that he loved beyond comparison. He couldn’t wish him well, because all he wanted to do was tell him to go to hell and take these feelings with him.

   Keith almost wanted to laugh. He found it funny, kneeling on the ground, crying, sniveling over Lance, and he couldn’t remember why he loved Lance in the first place. He wanted to say ‘because Lance is so caring,’ but here Keith was, in a fucking state because Lance cared about all other things but him.

   Keith didn’t even get a chance to process why he felt so strongly about Lance either, as he felt a large mass tackle him from the side, sending them both tumbling across the clearing. Keith briefly felt the wind knocked out of him, gasping for air as he and the mass rolled over each other several times. Only when he found himself pinned to the ground, on his back, wrists trapped above his head in a tight, vicious grip did Keith finally catch his breath again.

   A deep, wheezing sound escaped Keith’s lips as he inhaled sharply, trying to regain the ability to breathe for the umpteenth time today. He coughed, feeling like he would throw up, and then looked upward.

   Keith’s breath was almost taken away once again, as he locked eyes with Lance. Lance’s breath was ragged, unsteady. He had sweat dripping down his face, soaking the blue rim of his shirt. His eyes looked angry, savage even, which was reflected in the death grip Lance had on his wrists.

   “I just… spent 20 minutes… chasing after you and yelling… your name…” Lance said, gasping for air every few seconds. He coughed, then took one big breath before his voice suddenly got much more viscous. “WHAT the hell!?”

   Keith could feel Lance’s anger directed squarely at him. Keith tried to get up, but Lance was surprisingly heavy and was using all of his weight to keep Keith pinned down.

   Keith was so upset by what happened in the storage unit that he honestly never ever noticed Lance calling out to him. The feelings of anguish and depression were more concerning to him, as was the desire to flee. Even if Keith had noticed Lance, he wouldn’t have turned around anyway. If anything, it would have made him run faster.

   The impact of Lance throwing himself at Keith had briefly drawn his attention away from those feelings, but now they were rushing back. The anxiety climbed his throat once more, and the feeling of nausea returned to his stomach. Looking at Lance’s expression, his furrowed brow and eyes leering daggers at him, brought about a wave of rage.

   “Just back off, Lance!”

   “No! Not till you tell me what the hell your problem is!”

   Lance made him feel this way. Lance made him sick to his stomach. Lance loved someone else. Lance held his heart out to everyone and held it far out of Keith’s reach. Lance was angry at him.

   And it pissed him off. Like, really pissed him off.

   With strength he didn’t even know he possessed, Keith managed to throw Lance to the side and flip the tables. One swift motion was all it took for Keith to have Lance pinned down beneath him, hands at his sides and pressed against the cold grass.

   Keith was furious. He returned the glare that Lance had been giving him since tackling him, letting his feelings fester in the pit of his stomach. His emotions ran wild, wanting nothing more than to beat the crap out of Lance right now. Doing such a sharp turn, going from being sad over Lance to being mad at him, made Keith want to throw up, but he willed himself to stay angry.

   “You wanna know what my problem is?” he asked, venom dripping in his voice. “It’s you, you son of a bitch! You… you ruined me! I was fine before you came along. Shiro was the only one who ever gave a crap about me, and that was just fine with me. But then he disappeared, and you…”

   Keith’s blind rage seemed to cloud his ability to speak. He wanted to keep telling Lance off, tell him how much it tortured him to love someone who put his brain through so much strife. And yet, all he could produce was a loud groan that seemed to be more like a yell.

   “You and your stupid pep talks! Your stupid advice! Stupid pick-me-ups and that stupidly gigantic heart that has apparently has room for everyone else in the universe except for me! You made me believe you cared about me, but all you’ve ever done is hurt me, and it’s all because I let myself fall for the one person that gives his all to everyone, except for me! So forgive me if the last thing I wanna do is sit back and listen as you rip me up from the inside!”

   Keith had shut his eyes at some point during his rant. Otherwise he would have seen his own tears forming and falling onto Lance’s cheek. He would have spotted the cluster of emotions spread across Lance’s face; the anger, the guilt, the sadness, anguish. It was all there, looking up at him, but he never saw it coming.

   Nor did he see Lance’s fist coming, either.

   Keith was thrown sideways as Lance’s punch delivered a force strong enough to knock him off balance and into his back once more. Lance had once again pinned his wrists against the ground, staring him down with an intense and focused gaze. Keith’s expression begged Lance to get the hell away from him, but Lance either didn’t see it or didn’t listen to it.

   “Is that what you think?” Lance asked, his voice lacking the same power it once had, but the emotion was still rich. “You think you have no place in my heart? You think everyone else has priority over you? Is that the reality that you live in right now?! If so, you need one hell of a wake-up call! ‘Cause every single thing you do has my heart leaping out of my chest! I spent months with my heart climbing my chest thinking about you. I was sick to my stomach that you might be dead in space somewhere. I couldn’t eat, sleep, or do fuck all because I was so worried about you! You think I like being at the threshold of an anxiety attack 24 hours a day? Do you think I like being so terrified I’ll never see you again, that I might actually puke! Well that’s all your fault, so guess what? You ruined me, too! You ruined me by leaving. You ruined me by making me worry about your sorry ass. You ruined me by driving my anxiety levels up the freaking wall! You ruined me BY MAKING ME LOVE YOU!!”

   Lance’s tone had grown louder as his rant pressed on, but he never tore his gaze away from Keith. Keith’s body had gone limp, his expression of anger and frustration had long since faded, leaving behind one of confusion and guilt.

   Silence didn’t just fall between the two of them; it was like a freaking ocean had just washed over them. It was deafening, made breathing near impossible, and the ability to speak seemed to have been lost to each of them.

   Lance and Keith lay there, one on top of the other, trying to regain oxygen in their lungs. Guilt and panic seemed to flood them, overwhelming each of their senses to new heights.

   Keith could feel the wet grass beneath him soaking his clothes. The pressure of Lance’s hands against his wrists, making it possible to feel his own brachial pulse, and remind him that his heart was beating so rapidly he was half-worried it would explode. He could hear whispers of wind blowing through the forest, reminding Keith that the world was still turning and time hadn’t stopped. The burning sensation across his face and at the tips of his ears told Keith he was blushing like a madman. The stinging pain on his cheek made it very clear Lance had one hell of a punch and that a bruise would likely form. His eyes could only just make out Lance’s figure, as his vision had been blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes and the inability for them to drain properly due to his position.

   And based on the wet droplets he could feel dripping onto his cheek, cascading down the side of his face, Keith could tell – he just knew – that Lance was going through the exact same situation that he was in right now.

   Lance’s grip faded slowly, releasing Keith from his grip and sitting back on his knees. Keith took this opportunity to sit upright, wipe the tears from his eyes, and try to process what had just happened.

   Lance had tackled him to the ground. He told him Keith was an idiot to think that Lance didn’t care about him. He explained that he shared in Keith’s suffering, and he blamed Keith for making him love him.

   Lance… loved him?

   Looking not two feet away from him, Keith could see the anger that had once overtaken Lance’s normally cheery and somewhat cocky expression had long since passed. There was an aura of guilt in Lance’s demeanor. Keith couldn’t blame him, he never recalled Lance being that furious with anyone before, let alone a friend.

   It felt like hours before anyone said anything. But Lance, ready to throw up at any point now and practically trembling with fear, forced himself to speak. “I… I spend every day worrying about you, Keith,” Lance started, willing himself to look Keith in the eye. They locked gazes, and Lance looked to Keith with a stare that held only concern and deep sentiment.

   “I spend every minute of every day wondering if you’re okay. I wake up and wonder ‘Is Keith dead? Is he hurt? Is he lonely? Does he need someone there for him?’… And I really don’t want to do that anymore.” Lance’s elongated fingers wove around Keith’s hands, cupping them and holding them up. Lance took one of Keith’s palms and placed it against the center of his chest. Keith could feel the bounding of Lance’s heart, feel the rapid and erratic pulsating even through Lance’s jacket. “I was petrified at the thought you might leave me again. Not Voltron, not Shiro, me. I’m scared you’ll go away and I’ll never get another chance to see you again. I worry about you, and I can’t keep doing that for someone who keeps leaving.”

   Lance dropped Keith’s hands, the limp limbs falling gracefully to Keith’s sides. He threw himself against Keith’s torso, wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck and burying his face in crook. “So please… stay with me, Keith. Stay with me, and I’ll do my best to keep you from hurting ever again… Show me that I haven’t fallen for someone who’s only good at leaving me. Let me in… let me love you.”

   Keith waited.

   He waited with baited breath as this dream came to an end. He waited for the cold bucket of water to splash over him and for him this to all fade to black.

   Keith waited because he knew that eventually this was going to end. He would wake up. He would be outside of the world where Lance loved him and wanted to be with him, so much so that he was on his knees begging Keith to take him.

   He waited for all of this to stop sounding like one of his crazy fantasies, because there was no freaking way this was real.

   The pain in his cheek told him otherwise. The wet grass told him otherwise. The tears soaking his jacket were telling him otherwise. The heat from Lance’s overworked body radiating onto him told him otherwise.

   Lance told him otherwise.

   Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s torso, pulling him into a reassuring embrace. “Then stop giving me reasons to leave,” he spoke softly, a small hiccup in his voice. “I want you to look at me like you looked at Allura. I want you to think I’m amazing. I want you to think about what I’m doing when I’m not around. And when I am around… I need to know I have your attention, Lance.” He pushed Lance away, just far enough for the two to look each other in the eye. Lance noticed the pleading stare Keith was giving him, begging him to give him the satisfaction he needed. “Do I have your attention?”

   Lance chuckled softly to himself. “Keith… you’ve always had my attention,” he said with a tender smile. “Whether it was me wanting to prove myself better than you, or me wanting to know you’re okay… I can honestly say you’ve always been at the back of my mind in some way or another… I’m all yours, Keith. If you run off, I’ll chase you down. If you need a shoulder, you can have mine. I’m all yours. Please, believe me when I say that.”

   And Keith believed it.

   A sob escaped from Keith’s quivering lips. It came out abruptly and awkwardly and he was embarrassed such a sound came from him, but he was too happy to truly care.

   He and Lance loved each other.

  “But pleasedon’t make me chase you again. You’re very fast and I think I dropped a lung somewhere trying to keep up.”

   They fought, they bickered, they were at their wits’ end with each other. The punch Lance just gave him, Keith was sure it wouldn’t be the last, and he was sure he would return it at some point.

   But they were equally as dependent on each other. They needed each other. They needed someone to cry to. Someone to bare their souls to. Someone to hold. Someone to make even the darkest moment’s brighter.

   And Keith wanted his someone to be Lance.

   “Oh, fuck you,” Keith spat out, trying to sound bitter but he was barely containing his true emotions of joy. “Who gave you the right to be so freakin’ cheesy and romantic? Don’t you ever say any of that crap around the others! Got it?”

   Lance grinned. He emitted a chuckle as he stared back at Keith with a teasing glint in his eyes. “No promises, oh love of my life.”

   “God, kill me.”

   “Apple of my eye.”

   “Lance!”

   “Light of my life.”

   “I’m serious! Shut up!”

   “Buggaboo! Love bunny! Sweat heart! Baby boy! Most awesomest guy in the whole wide wor-oh, wait, no... uh, universe? Yeah, we’ll go with universe.”

   Despite his protests, Keith found his tears of joy coupled with his own laughter.

   Keith prayed every day with Lance would be as enjoyable as this. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so hard. He was as much amused and enchanted as he was irritated by Lance. And that was okay.

   Keith loved Lance. And for the first time, he could enjoy it, being in love. Lance’s feelings for Allura and Keith’s own self-doubt were both obstacles that Keith had tackle in addition to his feelings, making the burden of loving his best friend even more challenging than it already was.

   Being able to love Lance, and knowing that Lance loved him, it was freeing to Keith. He had the freedom to finally enjoy the warmth of Lance’s touch.

   “Babe.”

   “Huh?” Lance looked at Keith with a confused stare, just noticing the laughter having only just died down now. “Say what now?”

   “If you insist on a nickname for me, then call me something that doesn’t make me wanna strangle you,” Keith explained, the subtle flush returning to his cheeks, placing his own hand over Lance’s. “I’ve always liked it… and it’s very easy to picture you saying it… to me.”

   Lance took a moment to pause, trying to process Keith’s request, and the incredibly cute way Keith was blushing and looking at him with an intermittent gaze. It took a second for it to click, and when it did it made Lance grin like a child, his own cheeks growing red. “Babe it is,” he declared, and added a laugh. He wanted to make a snide remark about Keith imagining him calling him nicknames, but decided he would wait for another time to tease him.

   After all, they had plenty of time together to annoy the shit out of each other.

   Keith laughed once more too, and then took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Lance’s neck. They stared into each other’s eyes. They sat still; they could almost see their own reflections in each other’s pupils. “I love you, Lance.”

   “I love you, too, Keith.”

   Keith’s hand slid down from Lance’s neck, gliding along his occipital bone and down his jawline. He gazed into Lance’s eyes, those narrow but still beautiful pools of blue in his irises. His heart jumped when Lance’s hands hovered over his hips, landing gently enough that it almost tickled Keith.

   How could Keith have ever forgotten? The reason he loved Lance… It was because Lance could make him smile.

   No matter how much crap Keith had gone through in his life, no matter how dreary he was, and no matter how much he wanted to curl up in a ball and die, it was the light Lance shined down upon him that made it possible for him to smile again.

   The space between them quickly closed as their lips brushed against each other. The taste of each other was dangerously addictive. One kiss became two, which became three, and didn’t stop there. Their cheeks grew flushed as their emotions went into hyper-drive. Their tongues danced between their mouths, as if trying to become one. Hands began to roam, running all across the other’s body. The boys seemed to want to memorize the shapes of each other’s bodies using muscle memory only.

   Only when Lance’s hand wove up his shirt did Keith realize how much he longed for that touch. How much he needed Lance’s hands to be all over him. Every day, he wanted that electrifying feeling of skin-to-skin contact. He wanted to explore every inch of Lance, and vice versa. To kiss him. To cherish him. To have him standing at his side through every thick and thin battle they were sure to face.

    Most importantly, he wanted to love Lance and be happy about it. And finally, as clothes were being shed haphazardly and impatiently, as tempo increased, as mouths began to stray from each other and explore the rest of each other, and as Keith shivered as his bare back came into contact with the damp grass, he realized he could finally do that.