Chapter Text
Voltron had won.
After years of fighting and death and misery and exhaustion, Voltron had finally won the battle and defeated the galra. Zarkon and Haggar lay in their graves and Lotor had proven to be reformed enough to take control and make sure the galra empire wouldn't rise again. And, now, worn-out and battered, the team was finally Earth-bound.
Sure, it might take a few months to get there, but the team was excited like never before. Everyone had something to look forward to back on their home planet, and the days leading to their arrival seemed to drag on for an eternaty. Long days and little to think about lead to a bittersweet, homesick bordem. With no battles to be fought, there was no need to train anymore. No more hunting for prisoners, the Galra were already defeated. The Lions were barely even active anymore - it was unnecessary to do anything with them at that point.
Well, okay. Maybe there were still a few things to do.
Allura and Coran seemed to have an almost endless list of tasks that needed to be completed around the castle on the way back. Everything to re-painting the lions, fixing some chairs and table legs, cleaning out the food goo machine, all the little things that had been pushed aside while the war was still raging on. However, with nothing left to do in the quiet months of travel, the trivial tasks suddenly became the top priority.
Even so, Pidge had managed to weasel their way out of chores over and over again.
The youngest paladin instead chose to tinker with their robotic creations to fill their time. Their father and Matt had hitched a ride on the castle-ship to get back to Earth with the rest of the team, and seeing as there was very little to do, the two ended up spending much of their time helping Pidge with their little creatures. It reminded them of the young paladin of a time before any of them had gotten into this mess in outer space. It made Pidge's life... surprisingly normal, for a change. It made them realize just how much they'd really gone through the past few years. From faking their gender identity to finding out that they didn't even have a gender identity to being scooped into outer space and all of a sudden fighting in an intergalactic war, and all while they were still young enough to order off a children's menu without being questioned.
None of that mattered now, though. Not now that they were going back to Earth. Back home.
Pidge was so excited to see everything again that they didn't even mind listening to Hunk's constant rambles about everything anymore.
They also didn't seem to mind the god-awful green goo that everyone had gotten sick of eating for any and every meal.
They didn't mind when Shiro would attempt to censor their language, or when he'd turn dad-mode on and baby them.
They didn't mind when Keith would bicker with Lance, especially since most of their arguments had become lighthearted and more teasing than anything.
They didn't mind when Coran would refer to how small they were, or when Allura would force them to do the stupid cleanup busy work, or when the mice would get into their stuff.
They didn't even mind when Lance came screaming into their room the day they were to touch down on the surface. In fact, they were ecstatic when he came barrelling in, even if he had so rudely awakened them. They'd sprung out of bed, uncharacteristically bubbly for just being woken up, and embraced the taller boy in a hug, much to his surprise. Nonetheless, Lance didn't hesitate to wrap his own arms around his smaller teammate and lift them off their feet. Normally, even the mention of picking Pidge up was enough to set them off, but they couldn't begin to care now. They were finally going home, they could finally see their mom again and do everything they'd been wanting to do for years now, and eat all the food they'd been craving, and learn all about everything that they'd missed, and teach everyone about what they'd discovered, and finally be home again.
Home.
They really were going home.
Something they'd fantasized about for god knows how long, they were finally going home.
To their embarrassment, Pidge let out a small squeal of excitement in Lance's arms, squeezing his chest. Lance laughed, squeezing the smaller teen right back. After their short hug, Lance set them back down onto their feet, still gripping their hands in his as he pulled them out of the room. "Breakfast is ready, we gotta go!" A laugh bubbled out of Pidge as they let themselves be dragged through the hallways. They knew they should probably feel foolish with the way they were acting, but nothing could overpower the overwhelming sense of joy that was coursing through every molecule of their brain. They were going home, goddamn it, it didn't matter if they were maybe a little more energetic than usual.
Sitting at the table, Pidge could see the excitement painted over everyone else's expressions. The thought that this may be the last time they sat at this table together crossed their mind briefly, but Allura spoke before they could ponder it any longer.
"Well, paladins, I know that you all are ready to return to your home planet," she smiled. "And Coran and I too are excited to learn about everything!"
"Indeed we are!" Coran chirped beside the princess. "I've heard about so many of your unusual human traditions! Your species truly is stranger than a weringlier nesting in a glyrite."
"We will be touching down on your planet in only a few vargas, and we would recommend you all collect anything you might want from the castle. We will be able to come back and get everything else, in time, but we are unsure how easy it will be to access your rooms once the Garrison takes ahold of the ship."
As soon as Allura finished, the littlest paladin jumped from their seat and sped back to their room, pulling a bag they had brought from Earth out from under a chair. They shoved their laptop and headphones inside, along with other little robotic parts, including the plans of another Rover that they were planning on making. With all of their essential technology in-hand, Pidge scanned the room for anything else that they might want to have. Their eyes landed on a few makeshift picture frames that they had made, holding photos they were given previously. They smiled, wandering over to the pictures and picking them up. One was of her family, sitting at home together. They remembered spending hours staring at the photo when Matt and their Dad were still missing, bittersweet memories of the hours they spent putting in blood, sweat, and tears (oh, so many tears) trying to find them flooding back. The other picture was of the team, their other family. They'd visited a planet which had incredible beach-like coves, much to Lance's delight. They'd all gotten to take a break day and play on the beaches, where the picture had been taken. Alteans didn't call it a picture, of course, but it didn't make them love it any less. There hadn't been any actual star near to the planet to act as a sun, but the passing bioluminescent asteroids provided enough light for them to see. They also provided a gorgeous background for the picture, and it was by far one of their favorites of the team.
They stowed the two pictures in the bag, a few extra pairs of clothing for the days to come and one or two other nick-nacks and pushed back out into the hall, into the common room. They saw Lance already there, bouncing on his toes as he stared out one of the castle's windows, his bag forgotten on the couch. Pidge dropped their bag beside his and moved to join him by the glass. Their eyes took in the sight of the milky way galaxy, the few planets that orbited the sun along with Earth beside them. They'd briefly heard Allura say something about needing to go slower to cause less impact damage, which meant they could actually enjoy the outside view while they were cruising. All of the photos they'd seen in the science books were never able to really capture the true beauty of the planets, they decided. At least not like they were right now. Passing by so close, Pidge was able to see every last detail of how gorgeous the massive clusters of rock or gas were.
And then, they could see it- Earth. Their home. Everyone's home, where they had lived with their families and friends and been their entire lives.
And there it was.
"We're almost home."
Pidge's attention snapped to Lance, the whisper seeming to be more for himself than anyone else. It still made them smile like an idiot, though.
-----
It took a few weeks for things to settle down enough to live normally again.
The castle-ship landed right by the Garrison, par their request. Apparently, when they had originally entered into the Milky Way galaxy, they'd been close enough to Earth to make connections to the school, and they'd managed to set up accommodations for them when they were to return. They seemed very interested in exploring the new alien technology that the castle would bring, and had promised them all a place to live and enough money to deal with day-to-day life in return for letting them document their ships and what they'd experienced in space. The team had graciously taken their offer, at that point realizing how little they'd actually prepared for the return home. Hell, if the Garrison hadn't connected with them, they would have nowhere to live for who knows how long. Luckily, though, all of that was being taken care of.
The first experience they had on Earth was being greeted by all of their families for the first time in years. All of them had been alerted of Voltron's return and were flown to the school to see them as soon as they landed, setting up a place for them to stay while they waited. The paladins weren't exactly told that it had happened and were prepared to wait at least a few weeks to see everyone, but were instead greeted as the door opened. Needless to say, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.
When the original meeting was over, they spoke to a few Garrison officers and were able to go back to a few housing units on campus with their respective kin for the rest of the night. It was decided that they would meet the next day for lunch and talk about what would happen then, but for now, they could relax for a few moments and be with their loved ones.
It was a nice night.
-----
"Living together?"
It was the first full day back on Earth.
The previous night had been full of tears and hugs and too much love to ever describe, and from the looks of it, Allura and Coran were the only ones to get any sleep. It was probably for the best, though. They needed the energy for exploring all of the new Earth traditions and discoveries. Lunch had been going about as well as one could hope with them, but they did have to explain what nearly everything was and how to use it. They were just eating at the Garrison cafeteria for now, nowhere special, but Pidge would be lying if they said they didn't almost cry again when they got to eat anything besides food goo. Not to say that all of the others kept themselves together, of course.
After spending much of the time discussing the previous night and talking about all the fun and love that they shared with their families, the team got to the topic what exactly they were supposed to do next. Shiro had said that he'd been contacting an officer when they'd still been on the ship and had gotten arrangments for an off-campus home, somewhere they could stay while they were conducting interviews and communicating with the facility nearly daily, but still maintain a level of privacy. And boy, did they deliver.
"I didn't intend for them to take it so literally," Shiro had said.
Apparently, the Garrison had not only gotten them a place to sleep, but had bought and renovated an entire house for them. There just so happened to be a house for sale near the campus when Voltron had first gotten in contact with the school, so they just went ahead and bought it. They'd spent the few weeks up until their landing to renovate and polish the home, but most of the rooms were left barren for them to decorate themselves.
"We'll have to pair up two to a room for us all to fit," Shiro ran a hand through his hair, "so who's going to be where?"
"Dibs! Dibs on Hunk!" Lance yelled, raising the boy's hand triumphantly. "I want Hunk!"
"Keith?" Pidge asked, holding out a fist to their older companion. Keith turned, bumping knuckles with them. "Of course," he smiled.
"And that means that you and I get our own room," Matt said, taking Shiro's hand in his. Both Keith and Pidge cringed, making sounds of disgust.
"Gross," Pidge sneered.
"Please keep your sexual interactions to yourself, we don't want to hear about it," Keith sighed, holding his face in his hands. Shiro's cheeks flooded red and Matt simply barked a laugh, planting a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead, earning more groans of protest.
"What about Coran and Allura?" Hunk asked, looking over at the two in question.
Shiro had managed to recover from the previous comments at that point, trying his best to ignore the light pink that still lingered over his face. "They'll get their own rooms," He swallowed.
"What?" Lance cried, thumping his hands on the table. "Why do they get their own rooms and we don't?! I want my own space too!" He turned to Hunk with a small smile. "No offense."
"None taken."
"The princess and Coran need their privacy, Lance," Shiro sighed. Matt continued for him, "And besides, royalty deserves private quarters more than you do."
Lance sputtered out protests, demanding that he was nearly royalty how and should be given the same respect and privileges as them, how he deserved privacy too, and probably some other stuff that Pidge didn't care about enough to listen to. The conversation continued as normal, speaking about how their families were offered apartments in a complex near their new house to keep in touch with them, and about everything they'd been missing from Earth.
It was decided that they would spend another night with their respective kin and meet up again tomorrow, something about the mall, or the house, or, or... something. Pidge may have not been listening too closely.
-----
They were right, it was the mall! The team had wanted to go to the mall and a few other shops to buy some furniture and clothing to start to live properly again. They were split into groups based on roommates, and since Allura and Coran knew next to nothing, they were shuffled into the groups as well. Coran stuck with Shiro and Matt, and because Lance and Hunk were less than trustworthly to keep things under control, Pidge and Keith were given Allura.
The shopping trip was going well, getting the essential, including blankets and hygienic products and lightbulbs. Allura seemed to be curious of just about everything, often asking about a use or material for any given products. Up to that point, things had gone well with her. The two let Allura do simple things, like picking her own bedsheets and toothbrush color, and she had yet to cause any commotion over anything. However, when going to find some decent clothing, the Altean managed to wander to a stray isle.
"What are these cylinders?" She asked, picking up a jar of some sort up off the shelf. Pidge stepped next to her, taking the jar's lid off and pushing the contents to her nose.
"They're called candles! They're mostly made of wax and you burn the little wick in the middle and they sometimes smell really nice," they explained. Before taking their eyes off of the shelf, Pidge bent down, scanning the lables before selecting one and placing it into the cart they were using. Their attention was pulled back to Allura, dumbfound amazement painted over her face as she stared at the jar in her hands. Suddenly, she turned to Pidge, eyes twinkling.
"These are incredible," she breathed, eyes snapping back to the candle.
"Yeah, I like them too," Pidge smiled, taking the candle from her hand and putting it into the cart with their own. "Maybe we can go to a candle store later, if you'd like. I think there's one nearby that I used to go to."
"You have entire shops for these wax cylinders?" Allura gasped. They nodded, beckoning for Allura and Keith to continue on their way through the stores. They knew Shiro had said that this was an "essentials only" trip, but they did really like candles, and Allura was just so excited, and really, who could say no to her?
Allura seemed to have the same response to crystals as she did candles, only somehow even more enthusiastic. When they'd all passed a shelf that held a few decorative crystals, the princess slammed to a halt, grabbing Keith along with her. Seeing as Keith was the one pushing the cart and Pidge had found their way into the cart, it gave them both a jolt of surprise, especially when she'd dragged the boy over to the shelf.
"What are these?" She demanded, inspecting the jewels.
"Oh, uh," Keith hesitated, still recovering from being so quickly stopped and hauled over to some rocks. "They're crystals."
"Crystals?" She cried, looking up at the raven-haired boy. "Why would anyone sell such grand crystals! Are they not much too valuable to be sold?"
"Some types are, I guess," Keith ran a hand through his hair, looking back at Pidge in the cart. "But I think these are mostly for decoration."
"Do they not contain energy?" She asked delicately, staring bewildered at the gem in her palm. "Do they contain any abilities?"
"No," he said, reaching back on the shelf and pulling a small gem necklace from a jewelry stand. He held it out for Allura to see, who promptly snatched it from the teen's hands to ogle over it. "But they are kinda pretty."
"They are gorgeous," Allura corrected, twisting the small jewel between her fingers.
"You can pick one to bring home today!" Pidge called from the cart. "We can come back some time to get you more."
Allura's eyes glittered as she looked at all of the gems with an intensity usually reserved for more serious situations, eventually taking a blue geode from the shelf and handing it to Pidge, reminding them profusely to be careful with it. They promised her that nothing would happen to her lovely jewel, tucking it close to their body. It seemed to satisfy the princess enough to make her back off, walking beside Keith for the rest of the shopping trip without any other outbursts.
-----
It was the first night together in the team's new house. They'd finished their shopping trip and brought their haul back to the building, unpacking what they'd found. There had only been mild scolding from Shiro for letting Allura buy the candle and crystal, but all criticisms died when Allura had shown him her findings with such enthusiasm that Shiro couldn't find it in him to be upset.
They'd chosen rooms next, everyone taking the time to explore the home for a little bit before claiming which room they were to stay in. Pidge and Keith decided to take the end room, which gave them two windows close enough to the roof to climb up to it, something Pidge had realized that they missed. Memories of sitting with Matt on the room of their old house were held close to their heart, and the roof had earned itself a spot as one of their favorite places to spend time with friends. Which is exactly what they were planning on doing.
After the room had been set up, Pidge invited Keith to sit up on the roof with them for a while, to which he agreed. They pushed the window open, removing the bug net, and climbed through the frame to the top of the house, helping their older friend do the same. The two found a flat enough spot to rest and sat in silence for a while, simply looking into the night sky. They found comfort next to their older friend, a sense of ease washing over them in the comfortable quiet of the night. Only once a few moments had passed did they speak.
"Hey, Keith?"
"Mmm?" He hummed in acknowledgment, eyes still fixed on the sky above.
"Thanks for coming up here with me."
He broke his line of sight and turned to his younger companion, a light smile playing over his lips. "Of course, Pidge."
"I know it's not really that important to you," they continued, drawing their knees to their chest. "But it means a lot to me."
Keith's smile warmed and they tapped Pidge with his elbow gently. "I'm glad I can provide some comfort."
"I used to sit on the roof with Matt a lot, y'know," they smiled weakly. "I kind of missed it."
Keith hummed contently, gaze flicking back to the stars. The following silence was short-lived.
"It's kinda crazy that we were up there, isn't it?" Pidge said abruptly. "I used to look up and dream about what was beyond our solar system. A little ironic now, huh?"
Keith chuckled, leaning a shoulder against the smaller of the two. "Do you mean to tell me that you don't still think about that?"
"I mean, we've more or less seen everything there is to see, right?"
"Aliens," Keith smiled, flashing his Marmora knife just enough for them to see, "I'm telling you, they're out there."
Pidge barked a laugh, punching the other boy playfully. "We may never know!"
The thick stillness of the evening crept back into their conversation, holding strong for a few minutes before being shattered.
"Pidge," Keith stumbled, trying to find the right words to string together for the situation. "I, uh, I know... I know that I'm not exactly Matt, or whatever, but you- everyone! Um, everyone, I mean, you guys mean the world to me." He paused for a moment, "I know I'm not really your family, and I'm not asking to be, but... I still consider you to be mine." He held out a hand, which Pidge took in their own. "It's the best thing that ever happened to me, getting sucked up into space. Now I have my mom, and Cosmo, but I also have the team. My family."
Pidge giggled, squeezing the older boy's hand. "Who would've guessed that the Keith Kogane was so... sappy," they teased.
Keith laughed, running his finger "God, don't tell anyone, please," he smiled.
A beat of silence passed between them before Keith spoke again, only this time, more seriously.
"I would do anything to protect my family," he said, turning to look Pidge in the eyes, "And that includes you."
Pidge snorted, dropping the teen's hand. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, you know."
"I know," Keith said without hesitation. "But you're still family, and I still need you to be safe."
"You have my word, then," Pidge promised, holding up three fingers in a boy scout-like salute. "I'll stay as safe as I can." They paused. "Or, as much as I want to."
"We both know that means nothing," he said bluntly, but the light-hearted smile on his lips told them that he didn't mean any harm.
The two friends slipped back into a comfortable hush for the rest of the time on the roof.
The only disturbance that evening was Lance's piercing screech when they climbed through the wrong window to get inside.
-----
"Katie?"
Pidge's eyes snapped up from their desk to greet their mother's in the doorway, and they could see their father in tow behind her. They took the pencil from their mouth, sticking it behind their ear and turning their chair slightly to their parent's direction.
"What's up?" They wondered briefly if they were in trouble, not expecting the approachment of their parents, but Pidge couldn't think of anything they had done wrong recently.
Their mother pushed the door the rest of the way open, letting her and her spouse inside the room and closing it behind them. They moved to sit on the bed across from their child, to which Pidge spun around fully to face them. Keith had gone out to pick up lunch with Shiro recently, so they were alone in the still mostly-barren room. The sudden appearance of their mom and dad concerned them, though, and they swallowed thickly, fiddling with the metal chunk in their hands. Their years spent battling in space was apparently enough to make them forget the unbearable dread that washed over them when suddenly confronted by their parents.
"We wanted to talk to you."
Fuck.
Fuck.
Pidge wasn't stupid, okay? They knew that parents "wanting to talk" only meant bad news. The question now, though, was what that bad news it was.
"Oh, yeah?" They said weakly, more of a mumble than proper address.
Samuel and Colleen Holt looked at each other hesitantly, neither knowing exactly how to break the news. Eventually, Colleen sighed, turning to her child.
"Katie- Pidge! Pidge, sorry," she corrected. She was perfectly fine with her daughter deciding that she was, in fact, no longer her daughter, and she tried her hardest to be nothing but respectful about it. She was just... struggling, a little bit, with the sudden name change. "We've been talking recently, you know, about your future back here on Earth."
"Mhmm?" Pidge could feel the tension rising in the room.
"Well..." She looked to her husband, eyes clearly asking for help with the conversation.
"Pidge, you're still young. Very young. You're sixteen, sweetheart. Sixteen."
"I am aware, yes," Pidge pushed.
"And, as you probably already know, you're a little different than most sixteen-year-olds," He continued
"Most sixteen-year-olds also haven't fought in an intergalactic war, Dad," Pidge sighed.
"Yes! We know that, we do," Colleen said, taking control over the situation again. "But we still want you to have a childhood, honey. You've always been growing up so fast, and we still want to let you have a little fun before it really matters. So, you know, we were thinking..." she stopped, looking at Samuel.
He sighed, clasping his hands together. "We've decided that maybe you should go back to school, Pidge."
"What?"