Chapter Text
"...and that is why I'm not allowed at any Disney park or resort. Rumor has it that the Goofy head is still up there." Adam said as he took a bite of his food, ignoring the open mouth staring he was receiving from Hunk as he finished his story. Lance hummed in agreement.
"Maybe they'll lift your lifetime ban since your husband saved the universe." He said and Adam sighed.
"No... I called and asked. They are still really mad about it." He muttered. Keith rolled his eyes, snagging some sauce from Pidge and dumping it on his food.
"You tried to murder Minnie Mouse," He began as he dodged Pidge's hit "Obviously-"
"I'm confused," Allura interrupted, waving her fork "Who are these people? What actions has this Mickey and Minnie done to warrant such hatred? My mice are docile creatures. Are mice on Earth not the same?" She asked. Her mice must have heard her because they scrambled up to the table, squeaking a bit at the talk to of murder. Adam snorted.
"So first off, Mickey is a dick-" He began, but before he could explain more, Shiro burst through the door with his hand floating a bit behind him.
"I did it!" He beamed, looking around the room. "I followed all the instructions - I think it turned out awesome!" He told them and the group nodded eagerly. Kosmo tilted his head up at the smell coming from the kitchen before whining and burying his face into Keith's lap. Keith hushed the wolf as the others gushed with excitement.
"I'm sure it will amazing, Shiro!"
"Yeah, you've gotten really good at baking!"
"Your last cake was pretty awesome, so this should be perfect!"
Shiro beamed at them all before disappearing back into the kitchen. A bit of smoke entered the room when the door opened and closed again. There was a beat of silence as everyone stared in the direction Shiro had disappeared.
"This cake is going to be fucking nasty, isn't it?" Pidge sighed. Keith rolled his eyes.
"All of you are overreacting. He fed me for years. It isn't that bad-"
"You eat out of necessity, Keith." Hunk pointed out "You don't get an opinion on food."
"All of you better eat every last bite." Adam warned and Lance raised his hand.
"But... How are we sure it isn't poisonous? We could die. Do we have to finish it in that case?" He asked and hums of affirmation circled around the room. Before Adam could respond, Shiro was back with what appeared to be... cake. Probably. Kosmo sneezed before getting up to leave the room, a low growl rumbling through his chest as he flicked his tail at the cake. Shiro didn't seem to notice the criticism as he placed the plate on the table, tongue poking out a bit on concentration as he turned it so the table could see. Hunk clapped.
"Wow!"
"That looks...Amazing!" Lance smiled "Betcha it's better than sex."
"Ouch, Keith." Pidge said, twirling her fork on her plate as she eyed the cake warily "Are you going to take that?"
"At least, I'm having sex." Keith muttered, ignoring Adam's gasp of outrage.
"Not under this roof you're not! Takashi and I just got this house!" He said pointing his fork at Keith "And don't think I haven't noticed the handshakes!" He added and Hunk blinked. When Adam went back to moodily cutting the cake he turned to Shiro, mouthing 'handshakes' with his head tilted to the side. Shiro shrugged. Keith rose an eyebrow, ignoring both Hunk and Shiro when they turned to him before addressing Pidge again.
"Maybe you've just never had good cake." He pointed out and Pidge snorted, before offering up her plate to where Adam had volunteered to cut the dessert. Silence fell over the room as everyone nervously watched the food being handed out. Allura froze.
"Did you... Did you hear that?" She frowned and looked around. For the most part, the room was fairly empty. Shiro and Adam had only moved in last week so there was only the table and a bunch of boxes. Everyone was eating off of plastic plates, which Adam insisted wasn't classy, but had been outvoted on since nobody wanted to unpack the dishes. Hunk hummed.
"Sorry, probably my stomach." He told her and there was a loud crash that shook the room.
"That better not have been my eating ass mug," Adam deadpanned, looking at one of the fallen boxes "Did we have an earthquake or some- damnit!" He hissed when the room shook again, violently throwing everyone to the floor. More boxes fell and shattered. Hunk groaned from where he was lying on the ground, rubbing the back of his head.
"That...Was not my stomach." He amended and a rumbling sound wailed around them. Pidge gasped, clasping her hands over her ears as she yelped in pain. Another crash followed.
"Get to your lions!" Keith shouted, but was cut off by a scream and the ground trembling beneath them. A screeching sound followed before another moment of silence.
Honerva! She's destroying all realities!
No! We have to stop her!
"What?" Lance blinked up from where he had fallen from the floor and rubbed his head "That sounded like-"
"Look out!" Allura screamed and suddenly, purple light burst through the wall.
"I think I can smell heartbeats."
"Pidge... Shut the fuck up," Lance muttered as he held his head in his hands. Pidge looked over at him and made a face before collapsing on top of where Hunk was, curling into a ball on top of him. "I feel so weird." He moaned "I think my brain melted or something."
"It was...A really, really weird dream." Hunk said from over Pidge's head as he looked around the Garrison's infirmary "Coran, do you have any idea what happened?" He asked and the Altean hummed as he typed something on his computer before rolling on his chair over to where Allura was sitting next to Romelle. He looked them both over before shaking his head, finger twirling in his mustache.
"I...Am a bit at loss," He admitted "But I will say there are multiple realities. On rare occasions a few have been known to converge. The entire universe heard and felt what you did...It is possible that another reality met with ours," He shrugged and clicked his tongue "However, you are well aware of the unique materials it would take to pierce time and space." He said. Lance sighed.
"Once again, I don't know what's going on." He muttered and Allura smiled at him, placing an arm on his shoulder. Coran glanced over, brows furrowing at the action, but said nothing as Lance smiled softly back at her. "Where did Keith go?" Lance frowned as he looked around the room "I need someone to start a bubble bath for me." He yawned and Romelle rose an eyebrow.
"Why can't you make your own bubble bath?"
"Because I have a boyfriend who agrees to start bubble baths for me if I buy him fingerless gloves." Lance told her and Romelle shrugged before flopping onto Allura's lap and burying her face into her stomach. Coran continued typing, ignoring most of the conversation filtering in and out around him.
"The voices said something about destroying realities," Shiro said from where he was curled up next to Adam "We should probably investigate that."
"Perhaps," Coran frowned "But not right now. I'll ask Sam Holt to help me see if he can figure out what is going on. For now...Rest. You may need your full strength." He said and Pidge scoffed. She was pretty sure she hadn't been 'full strength' in years. Lance got up, bones popping as he stretched.
"Sleep sounds nice," He beamed "Maybe I can get Keith to stay over so we can talk about apartment stuff too!" He added and Adam's head whipped up from where he had been talking to Shiro. Lance winced when he realized what he had said.
"Apartment stuff? You're moving in together?" He asked and Hunk gasped in excitement, clasping his hands together "You two are not ready for that."
"We are-" Lance started, but was interrupted by Adam holding up a finger and pushing up his glasses in frustration.
"You asked me if you needed to get insurance for your lion yesterday!" He pointed out and the room went silent.
"Well," Hunk asked "Do you?"
"It's a fucking war robot from a different planet," Adam groaned "This is why - oh my God. I'm think I'm having an aneurysm."
"Wait..." Pidge blinked "Do we actually? Fuck I-"
"Takashi, make them stop."
"Please...Matt... Don't do this."
Matt looked up from where he was pushing his hair out of his face and sighed.
"It's too long, babe! I just feel like I need to." He groaned "I got to cut it!" He said and the alien across from him scowled. Not that he could see their face very well. But he knew. He knew. His long hair was probably Joie's main reason for dating him (despite their constant protests). They crossed their arms and he stared back at the blank white and blue expression. "Come on, let's talk about this later. I'm trying to do some serious math right now." He said and Joie sighed.
"What kind of math?" They asked, moving to sit next to him as he worked. Slowly, a smile tugged on his lips as he looked up at them. Joie must have realized their mistake because they began shaking their head before Matt even began talking.
"I'm using polynomials to figure out the curve at that ass-"
"Sometimes I wish I had died in the war."
"Whoa. Maybe try some herbal tea or something, babe."
“I think I need glasses.”
Adam looked up from where he was reading and narrowed his gaze at his husband. Takashi was staring at his hands, lips formed in a small pout before turning to look at Adam.
“Glasses are my thing, back off. Not all of us have biceps made of solid iron, Takashi. Some of us need to put our glasses at the end of our nose to look intimidating,” Adam sniffed before narrowing his eyes. “Besides, you got an eye exam last week,” He pointed out “Maybe take a nap?” He suggested and tossed the book aside and stretched “I wouldn’t mind one. You’ve been working hard lately. It could be eye strain.” Takashi nodded.
“Maybe,” He murmured and stood up. “It’s cold anyways. I could use being buried under some blankets!” He added brightly and took a few steps towards their bedroom before immediately running into a wall. “…ow.”
“If you didn’t see the entire wall there then I don’t think glasses can help you anyways,” Adam said and reached for the book again. Shiro groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.
”I think I have a concussion.” He grumbled and Adam slowly looked back up before hopping off the couch to look over his husband more critically. After a few seconds of silence he nodded.
“I can have a helicopter here in ten minutes.”
“Let’s just drive to the ER.”
“I’m texting Atlas. They’ll be here in five minutes.”
”Adam, it is just a bump. Just drive me to the doctor.”
”Voltron will be here in two minutes.”
”Adam!”
“We don’t have any spare clone bodies to suck you into Takashi! We have to be careful with the one you have left!”
“This is homophobic and quite frankly disgusting behavior-”
“Lance, please.” Keith whined as his boyfriend tugged at his hand impatiently “I’m supposed to meet with Kolivan today. Can’t this wait tomorrow?” He asked and Lance turned to look at him, nose wrinkled. Keith figured that was his answer.
“I mean,” Lance started with a shrug “If you want you can go ahead. I guess I’ll just look for our apartment by myself.”
“Apartment. Apartment.” Keith stressed “You know you said apartment, right? Because I got a call yesterday from the President of the United States asking me if we were moving into the White House.” He told his boyfriend and Lance paused to give a sheepish grin over his shoulder. Keith sighed. “We are not moving into the White House.”
“I guess it would be haunted with a bunch of old white men," Lance mused. Keith rose an eyebrow "I wouldn't want to be taking a bath and some ghost to tell me to go back to Mexico or something."
"You're Cuban."
"That was the joke - Keith, I know I'm Cuban." He groaned and ran a hand over his face "You know, we could just get a yacht and live there.” He suggested brightly “You would like that, right? Whenever anyone bothers us then we can just sail away!” He said. Keith opened his mouth to object, but paused. Lance could see his mind shifting from refusal to consideration at the offer. There was a pause before he narrowed his gaze at him.
“…maybe.”
“Or a farm…” Lance hummed and Keith tilted his head.
“A…Farm?” He frowned “You would want to live on a farm?” He asked, a little surprised. He supposed it shouldn’t be terribly shocking. Lance did love Kaltenecker and always was a fan of nature. “I mean…I guess we could-”
“We could grow flowers...Like juniberries are really pretty... And potatoes. And corn. And-”
“We could… Do that," Keith agreed with a slight tilted to his head and furrowed his brows "But what about your family? That seems a bit far from them.”
“They can live with us!”
“I…Sure, sure.” Keith nodded, a little bewildered. Still, he didn’t question it as his boyfriend considered where they could buy a random farm. “And Adam? I don’t think he would be excited about us living outside the city.” He said and Lance turned to look at him.
“Adam…?” He frowned, staring blankly “Who is...? Huh… Oh! Adam!” He snapped his fingers “Weird. He completely slipped my mind for a second.” Lance said and Keith stared. "Anyways, we can go to Altea and get those flowers Allura likes and-"
"Go to Altea? Lance, what are you talking about?" Keith interrupted and pressed a hand to the side of his face "Maybe... Maybe we should rest a little longer. Actually, let's visit everyone else, okay?" He said and tugged his hand "Shiro texted me that they were going to meet everyone in the Garrison's cafeteria. Let's eat and visit with everyone." He coaxed and Lance frowned.
"You can't tell me what to do, mullet!"
"If you come with me then I'll hold your hand in public." Keith offered. The words made Lance pause as he narrowed his eyes, looking his boyfriend up and down slowly. After a few moments of consideration he jutted out his chin.
"Like...Around the team kind of public or the kind of public where the paparazzi can see us?" He asked and Keith took a long breath before staring up at the sky for a few minutes.
"...The second one."
"Jesus. You're such a whore - I'm in."
“Who is that?” Adam demanded, slamming his hands down on the table as he marched up next to Pidge and Hunk. Both looked up to see the pilot pointing a shaking finger to where a man was stabbing at his pasta.
“Um…I don’t know. I think he’s analyst or something.” Pidge said, squinting at him. The mystery man dropped some pasta on his shirt and looked deadpan at the mess for a moment before not attempting to wipe it away and continued eating. “A dumb one.” Pidge tacked on, dryly.
“He’s my enemy.”
“What?” Hunk said, glancing up. “Why?” He frowned. Adam shook his head.
“I don’t know…But he is. I feel it. I know he is.” He whispered and clenched a hand over his chest “I’m going to go talk to him. Assert my dominance.” Adam nodded and Pidge hummed.
“Okay, have fun.” She said and turned back to Hunk “Anyways… Yeah, my mom has been really into plants lately. It’s weird. And Matt wants to cut his hair for some reason. I hope he doesn’t – he would look like a loser… But more importantly, I want build my own robot." She said thoughtfully. Hunk nodded.
"That sounds cool!"
"He's going to look like my twin."
"That's...Weird, but I support you anyways." He said "Um... Why are you building this robot again?" He asked and Pidge took a long sip of chocolate milk as she seemed to mull over her answer.
"Honestly? I think I'm losing control of my life and all my decisions are meaningless because someone else is controlling me and freedom is actually an illusion. I guess this robot is my way of playing God by creating something I can control and relegate in the way I fear I'm being manipulated." She said and grinned "I'm going to call him Chip!"
"Huh... Chip is a nice name."
“Flowers are just...so...beautiful.”
“Uh huh.”
“I just…They make me so sad. But happy. You know?” Lance sniffed and Keith put a hand on his boyfriend’s arm, rubbing a hand in circles “And people need food to live, right? What a better way to give back to the universe than to create?” He whispered “I can’t believe it ended this way! It's so fucked up!”
“What ended this way? Lance, you’re getting a little… Into this farming thing. There's Adam. Go talk to him - I think he’ll help put things in perspective for you.” He said, guiding him into the cafeteria and pushed him to where Adam was talking with some guy Keith felt was vaguely familiar, but couldn’t place. "But remember he's figured out our secret handshake so don't mention anything about that." Keith added and Lance nodded.
“Secret handshake...” He repeated and frowned “Wait. Why do we need a secret handshake again?” He asked and Keith bit his lip. Maybe he should take him to Coran instead...
”For when we want to do stuff without Adam knowing, remember?” He asked and reached up to touch his arm when Lance’s expression faltered. Keith jerked his hand back, eyes widening for a moment.
“Yeah...And afterwards we can talk more about the flowers?” The other paladin pressed. Keith froze, but found himself slowly nodding.
“We can talk more about the flowers. I promise."
"Oh good. I can't wait to tell Allura!" Lance smiled and Keith stared as he watched him head off towards Adam's table. For a second he could have sworn...No. He must be tired. Lance didn’t have glowing blue marks under his eyes...Maybe he had just gotten used to seeing so many Alteans...
He turned for a moment to sit down next to Pidge and Hunk. Both gave him small waved of acknowledgement before continuing their conversation about whatever robot Pidge was making. Keith stared at the table.
"I'm galra."
Pidge paused in her speech before turning to Keith.
"I prefer the term 'fluffy Barney' but Shiro said I wasn't allowed to say that to your face," She shrugged "Why the shock? You turn purple when someone touches your ice cream." She said and Keith blinked up at her.
"I... Doesn't that mean I have a responsibility to that part of my heritage?" He asked, biting his lip "Should I be working to help stabilize their government or something? Find diplomats and a leader? And what about the Blade? I'm not doing enough." He said and shook his head "I know Krolia has been doing a lot of work with the other galras, but I should have been involved. I should-"
"Keith. My friend. Our devoted team leader. Paladin of the red and then the black lion. My guy. My main man. Hero of Earth and all of space," Pidge interrupted "Chill out. You can do all that stuff if you want, but like, it's okay that you're taking a break. Besides, you know they'll ask you to become emperor or some shit and...Do you want to be emperor?"
"...no."
"There you go then," Hunk yawned and put his head in his hand "Eat your lasagna and become a morally responsible person later."
"But-"
"You got boring after you decided to be all responsible and stuff," Pidge complained "It's like you have no flaws whatsoever."
"Pidge!" Keith objected "I am not boring! I have-"
"Just illegally download some music and maybe trip over a rock once in awhile, you freaking goody two-shoes." Pidge continued and Hunk gasped.
"Oooh. Damn. She called you a goody-two shoes." He whispered before turning to see Keith staring at Pidge with his mouth open.
"Say that again." He scowled at her, crossing his arms. Pidge smirked before taking another sip of chocolate milk. Not breaking eye contact, she leaned in a little more so she was almost touching Keith's nose.
"You went on a space whale and you...Got...Boring. You and your mama and your space dog were cool for a little bit and then you became a stereotypical anime character." Pidge told him and Hunk glanced up at the ceiling.
"Hey, God. I know you and me have never really talked or anything, but if you're out there-"
"I'm not an anime character!"
”You’re Ash from Pokémon, Keith. Face it.”
”DAMN PIDGE!” Hunk yelled “Don’t be rude to Ash like that - oh. Sorry, Keith. You’re...A really complex person!” Hunk said raising his hands in surrender "I, for one, like that you became perfect. It is...Really inspiring." He said with a firm nod. Keith gawked.
”Are you two fucking kidding me?”
“Who are you?” Adam hissed as he sat down across from the stranger. The man looked up, blinking at him for a few seconds. For a second he looked around to see the rest of his table was empty aside from one very annoyed pilot and himself before answering.
“Oh. I’m Curtis. You’re Adam Frasier, right? I-”
“I hate you.”
A pause.
“Right... Um. Cool. Do you want some pasta?” He asked, gesturing to his food.
“We’re enemies.” Adam said and pointed a finger at him “I will destroy you.”
“Is…Is that a ‘no’ to the pasta, then?” Curtis asked raising an eyebrow “I try to keep my enemies well fed. I feel like it evens the playing ground a bit, you know?” He asked and Adam blinked. For a second his mouth opened and closed like a fish before snapping shut. Curtis waited. Adam leaned back.
“I see we are going to be enemies with sexual tension then,” He sniffed and crossed his arms. Curtis smiled. “I will have you know I am a married man.” Adam informed him and shoved his hand in his face, showing off the golden ring on his left hand. Curtis drew back before nodding at the band admiringly. He moved his head so he could meet Adam's gaze and grinned.
“That’s too bad. I have a thing for boys with glasses. Or with big arms. Either one. Imagine both!” He beamed and put his fork down to clasp his hands "My dream guy would definitely be someone with thick arms and glasses. Like a bundle of protein who is also a nerd, you know? That would be such a gift." He sighed and looked at his pasta "Then again... All the boys like that are straight." He groaned and poked a fork at his food again. Adam stared.
“It appears we are star-crossed enemies," He sighed "But yeah. I've been there. Tell me more about these heterosexuals that plague you, Curtis."
“What happened to you?” Keith asked as he sat down next to Shiro who had piled himself up in the midst of Garrison textbooks in order to isolate himself from the rest of the cafeteria. The man was squinting in front of him, pressing a tissue to his nose as he scowled. “Um…Are you okay?”
“I keep running into things,” Shiro muttered, pressing his temples “I can’t believe I survived war to only go blind.” He grumbled “I’m getting old, aren’t I? I’m old. I have white hair, glasses soon… I don’t deserve this. I may have killed some people, but I think the people I saved kind of evens it out, right?”
“Right…” Keith said and took a bite of his pizza (since his lasagna had somehow ended up all over Pidge) “As thrilling as this conversation is, I wanted to ask you about something else.”
“I raised a psychopathic brat.”
“Whoa! Easy.” Keith frowned “Shiro, if you need glasses than just… Get glasses. In fact, I think the Garrison can fix your eyes anyways. Why is this an issue?” He said and poked him with his fork. “You’re getting worked over this.”
“I was more referring to the fact you are using a fork and knife to eat your pizza. I thought you grew out of that.” Shiro pointed out and gestured to where Keith had been cutting his pizza up into smaller pieces. Keith paused before brightly stabbing his fork into the crust.
"I knew it! I do have flaws!” He beamed and licked his lips "Can I talk to you about my problems now?" He asked, tilting his head at little bit. As a kid, he had perfected the 'sad orphan' look to use against Shiro in his time of great need...aka he was running out of time to finish his homework and knew the man had the answers stashed away in his desk. Despite the years that passed, Shiro seemed no less immune to it now.
“Fine,” He groaned “What’s on your mind?” He asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Keith took another blasphemous bite of his pizza and chewed thoughtfully.
“I’ve been thinking… About the Blades. The universe is at peace. I’m sure there will be small squabbles, but they aren’t really meant as police task force, you know?” He asked and Shiro hummed in agreement. “Maybe they can transition into a sort of…I don’t know. Rescue squad? They could bring resources or something to people still struggling from the war.” Keith explained thoughtfully.
“That’s a really good idea, Keith. Have you talked to Kolivan about it?” Shiro asked and bumped his shoulder “Or Krolia?”
“No… I kind of wanted to run it by you first.” Keith admitted and put his chin in his hand “I was going to talk to Lance too, but he’s really caught up on this farm thing.”
“Farm?”
“He wants to live on a farm.”
“Oh… That’s… Nice.” Shiro said, rubbing his temples “I didn’t peg him as farming guy. He seemed so set on being a pilot. Wasn’t his dream to be a fighter pilot in space?” He asked and Keith sighed.
“Yeah. Maybe after the war he’s over it?”
“Doesn’t seem very… Lance.”
“I’m trying to stay positive. He would look good in overalls. And, like, he probably wouldn't straighten his hair that much so it would get curly again and he could get more freckles... So I guess if he really wants to live on a farm, I can't complain.” Keith reasoned "But I'm not milking a single cow." He added, wrinkling his nose "Me and Kosmo can paint the barn or something." He shrugged and Shiro hummed.
“Overalls, huh? Do you think Adam would be down to farm?”
"I don't think Adam has ever seen a farm."
“Lance!” Adam called as the boy walked over, collapsing into the seat next to him “Thank God you’re here – this is Curtis. He’s the antagonist in my memoir.” He said, gesturing to the other man. Curtis waved his fork in greeting.
“Hi,” Lance nodded and leaned against Adam “I want a farm.”
“Sure, sure. We were just – wait. What?” Adam paused and turned to him “Why do you…? Okay. Sure. Why not?” He shrugged and when Lance brightened, hit the paladin’s forehead “I’ll tell you why not! Because that’s stupid.”
“Hey!”
“I did not stay up until three in the morning with you every night with a squirt gun to make sure you studied to become a farmer. I literally carried you on my back to class that one time you twisted your ankle. You can become a farmer after you pilot for another twenty years!” He told him and Lance scowled.
“I saved the universe! Surely it’s okay if I’m all piloted out!” He argued and Adam stared. “I died so I think that-”
“Alejandro…Don’t you dare start down that path with me. You and Takashi think you can get away with everything just because your soul left your body. I – Curtis. Back me up here.” Adam said and Curtis glanced up from where he had been staring at them blankly.
“…Farming is a noble profession. I think it’s great he’s branching out. Doing one thing for the rest of your life seems a bit mundane.” He reasoned. Adam took a long breath.
“You,” Adam whispered and pressed his hands together before nodding “Are my enemy. I know it. I feel it.” He said. The man took another bite of pasta.
“If you say so.” He shrugged “Is that guy really your husband?” He asked, tilting his head at where Shiro was sitting with Keith. Adam’s eyes followed his and he smiled a little before nodding. “He’s ridiculously hot.”
“I know- wait. Stop making it difficult for me to be your enemy!” Adam objected and turned to where Lance was still staring at the food in front of him. “Can you believe this?”
“…The potatoes are calling to me.”
“I will kick your ass back into space, I swear.”
“Hellooooo. Allura?” Romelle called, tilting her head as her girlfriend stared at the sky. Allura groaned and rolled over. “Are you feeling alright?” She asked and nudged her with her toe “Maybe we should see Coran.” She mused and when Allura huffed, sighed. “Come on! We can try to cook some recipes Hunk gave us! I've really been in a cooking mood!” She beamed.
“Lance has pretty eyes…Don’t you think?” Allura frowned and sat up “And a very nice laugh.”
“Um…I suppose. I don’t know if Keith would like you saying that though.” Romelle told her as she crossed her arms “I’m not sure how I feel about you saying it either.”
“Saying what?” Keith called, rounding the corner. Romelle rolled her eyes as his approach and stuck her tongue at him. Keith glowered at her in return.
“Allura sounds like she’s going to leave me and steal your man,” Romelle told him dryly and when Keith’s eyes widened, snorted. “It was a joke, you weirdo. How did apartment hunting go?” She asked and pointed her fingers into a fake gun “Did you kill any good deals?” She asked. Keith stared.
“You’re the worst thing that has ever happened to me.”
“You’re starting to sound like Adam,” Romelle shot back and Keith scowled, kicking a rock at her. “Come on – all that time on a space whale and you still don’t find me funny?” She pouted and looked down at the ground “Allura…You find me funny, right?” She asked, a little hopefully as she folded her hands together and batted her eyelashes. Allura pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and growled.
“I need to end this. Too much blood has been spilled!” Allura hissed from the ground and her marking glowed. Romelle blinked.
“Wow…Juniberry, I don’t… It’s really okay if he doesn’t find me funny.” She objected and knelt down “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” She asked and Allura groaned, rolling onto her side and curling into a small ball. Romelle grabbed her arm, eyes wide as she looked up at Keith. Allura gave a shaky breath.
“She must pay for what she has done! It is the only way to end this!”
“Right… Keith?” Romelle said, looking up. Keith was already kneeling down to swoop her up. Allura groaned as she was moved, but didn’t say much else. Romelle trailed behind, attempting to braid Allura’s hair as they walked.
“Today is the weirdest day ever.” Keith muttered.
“So…You’re going to start a galactic kitchen?” Pidge asked, wiping lasagna from her face (compliments of Keith and his temper). “Seems legit.”
Hunk handed her another napkin, grimacing as she continued to try and get the mixture of food and chocolate milk off of her. The place where Keith had occupied a thirty minutes earlier was now filled with an irritated looking Kinkade. He was silently tossing the napkins to the side as Pidge wiped them off. Occasionally, he froze in the middle of the action, staring at Pidge for a few moments before continuing his quest to get his friend clean.
"Um... You're Katie Holt, right?" He asked suddenly and Pidge froze.
"What? Ryan - we've known each other for years." She said and Kinkade's expression faltered for a moment before clearing again. They stared at one another.
"Right...Sorry, I'm in a weird mood." He said slowly and glanced over to Hunk "Your kitchen idea sounds lovely."
“You think?” Hunk asked “I feel like it can bring people together and stuff. Maybe I can double as a diplomat? I can probably get Romelle and Shay as my cooks!” He added eagerly, posing his fingers as if he were framing a shot. Pidge rose an eyebrow, dabbing at some sauce on her shirt.
“I mean...Romelle or Shay have shown no interest in cooking, but whatever. Maybe they'll like it.” She offered before clearly giving up on getting herself fully clean. She leaned up against Ryan's shoulder, yawning. Hunk continued his thoughts, wringing his hands together as he spoke.
“It’s a good idea then? I was going to leave my days a mob boss behind me…”
“Dude, I don’t want to alarm you…But I think you can just be a legal business owner now.” Pidge told him, rubbing her eyes. Hunk pursed his lips.
“Oh. That’s…Huh.” Hunk said thoughtfully, tapping his upper lip “I didn’t really plan for this. I guess I kind of got used to breaking the rules for the greater good.” He said and Pidge snorted.
“Don’t tell me you want to keep breaking the law.”
“Listen. I’m just saying-”
“Forget the Galra. You were the real villain all along.”
“No. No - listen... You can't say that because my moms would be sad and they still don't know I'm a mob boss. I think my dad knows, but only because I sold him weed this one time." Hunk mused and Pidge spat out her drink, drenching Hunk on the other side of the table. Kinkade leaned away.
"You sold your own father weed?!" Pidge gasped "Dude. Why?" She demanded as Hunk grimaced and grabbed some more napkins to wipe away the milk on his face.
"I don't know," He said "The priest said-"
"You sold weed to a priest?"
"Uh. No. But he did bless it."
"You...Sold blessed weed? Hunk, you're not even a Christian. Isn't weed the 'devil's lettuce' or something? I'm so confused."
"I don't know... It felt right at the time."
“Hey, what are you doing out here?”
Allura looked over from where her feet were dangling over the edge of the building. For a second her eyes widened as Lance took a few more steps towards her, his gaze following the sunset she was watching.
“Lance,” She greeted and smiled “I thought I would be alone up here.”
“Yeah, well… I need a break from everything. It’s been so weird lately. Keith is talking about the galras needing a new leader, Shiro is really upset about glasses and Adam really wants to murder this random guy.” He added with a roll of his eyes and gestured beside her “Can I sit?” He asked and she nodded.
“Things are…Very different here.” She said after a few seconds of silence “Are you happy?” She asked, tilting her head and Lance furrowed his brows. Happy? What…?
“Of course,” He frowned “Are you?” He asked and Allura’s smile flickered as she looked down at her hands. They were sitting at on the roof of one of the taller buildings in the Garrison. It towered over the desert, making the plants and buildings look a bit like dots and smudges.
“I am… Satisfied.” She decided and looked up towards the sky. The sun basked over them, making her hair flicker gold “Tell me about Keith.”
“You’re acting weird,” Lance said, leaning back so he was propped up on his elbows “You know Keith – kind of moody? Black hair, dark eyes, throws a lot of temper tantrums?” He said. Allura peered over at him, eyes searching.
“And you love him?”
Lance stared. Where was this coming from?
“More than anything.” He answered and Allura pursed her lips at that. He wanted to ask if she was surprised – she often complained they were too in love. A bit hypocritical considering her and Romelle were just as a gross. “Do you love Romelle?” He asked.
“Romelle…” She repeated and closed her eyes “Sometimes I feel very blind.”
“Why?”
“I suppose there are options that are there,” Allura told him “But simply don’t happen. I must be somewhere where they did.” She told him and then shook her head “But… I’m not sure if I regret anything. Falling in love was a privilege after all.” She said and Lance stared.
“I…I’m kind of lost, Allura.” He said “Maybe we should go inside. It’s a bit hot out here and you aren’t making much sense.” He said “Or this weird day could be the cause, I guess. Coran says he thinks our reality is being messed with.” He shrugged and Allura chuckled.
“Do you want to know a secret?” She asked and Lance raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t sure. Quite honestly, he was a little scared. “I’ve been traveling through realities.” She said and Lance reeled back. Right. Definitely crazy. How was he supposed to get her back inside?
“Oh…That’s nice.” He began tentatively. He shifted a little towards her, reaching for her hand slowly.
“Hm. I wanted to say goodbye in all of them.” She said and Lance froze. Something in his stomach was whirling with panic. Allura’s eyes turned to him, soft and beautiful as ever. “I’ll miss you.”
“Allura. Stop it.” Lance said “You’re scaring me.”
“Keith will make you happy.” She said confidently “He does in many other universes.” She mused “I hope I can find just as many where I make you smile like that.”
Hello. Police? Someone? Yeah - What the fuck was going on?
“Let’s just go back inside. Please-”
“Lance!” Wait. He spun around to see Allura herself poking out of the door entrance, waving at him. Her hair was tied back, spilling over one shoulder while Romelle peeked out over the other. "Coran wants us all back inside. I apparently had an episode where I was hallucinating so he wants to keep an eye on us." She called.
“Allura?” He blinked “Wha-?” He turned back beside him. No one was there. For a second, he stared at the empty space, trying to process what just happened.
“Hey,” Romelle greeted, almost skipping over next to him “You look all weird and white. Are you okay? Does Allura need to heal you? HEY! JUNIBERRY! HE NEEDS HEALING!” Romelle called. Allura was right behind her, arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at Lance.
“Are you alright?” She asked, tilting her head. Lance blinked.
“I…Yeah. I just… I think I’m dehydrated or something. I think I'm having weird hallucinations too.” He said with a shake of his head. He grabbed Allura’s offered and pulled himself up. “Hey…Can you travel between realities?” He asked. Allura rose an eyebrow.
“We have before-”
“Not like that...But by yourself? Could you do that? Without Voltron?” He pressed and Allura blinked, hand retracting a little at the question. Romelle looked between the two, uncertain.
“I’m…Not sure. I don’t think I could while fully alive, but maybe if it was just my spirit…”
I wanted to say goodbye in all of them.
Lance nodded, not letting himself react. Before he could think of a way to respond, the door opened again, this time revealing a tattered looking Keith.
“Can we have dinner now?” He asked weakly “We can start a farm – two. We can have two farms and cows and whatever just please come to dinner and make Adam stop talking to me. He’s trying to fight that man and I can’t take listening to it anymore.” He said and Lance snorted, crossing his arms.
“I’m not really in the farming mood anymore…”
Keith stared.
“I literally just bought a farm so please take that back.”
“Oh. Um…That’s actually so sweet,” Lance told him, oddly touched. He made a note to bring that up next time Adam tried to compete with him over who had the best significant other. “Well…We can donate it? You were talking about charity earlier…”
“You are so fucking lucky I love you.” He whined and Romelle patted him on the back. The snickering took away any sympathy she might have been trying to convey. Lance shook his head.
“I love you too…I’ll be down in a second, okay? Just need to do something up here real fast.” He promised. Allura frowned at him, but nodded. She grabbed Romelle’s hand and tugged her back down the stairwell after giving Lance another long look. Keith tilted his head, but nodded. He moved to turn away, but paused before taking a few steps towards Lance and kissing him before exiting behind the Alteans.
According to Slav there were countless realities… He would be a fool to think that all of them would be happy. He wondered what the chances were that this one would be his. From somewhere in the back of his mind he could feel Blue’s old connection to him spike up. There was a sharp pang – almost as if the lion was trying to convey its pain. Lance breathed it in, shocked at the force of it. When it simmered down he shook his head, turning away from the roof before freezing.
Lance stood still for a few moments – almost wishing for the figure to come back. The wind only blew and Lance’s heart seemed to squeeze at the silence.
“Goodbye, Allura.” He whispered and turned away.
“Hey…Takashi?” Adam said as he walked into the room “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” He said and set down a cup of coffee between them. Shiro frowned, looking up at his husband with a brow raised. For a few moments there was silence.
“Adam…?”
“You know all this talk of alternate universes?” He asked, folding his fingers together. Shiro nodded and reached over to interlock their fingers. Adam sighed.
“What about it?”
“I think in a different reality you died and Curtis and I got married.” Adam said and held up a hand “Before you say anything, know that I’m sure in whatever universe this was that I waited at least ten years to properly mourn your death. Obviously, Curtis fell in love with me the second he laid eyes on me, but I wouldn’t let anything happen because I was so distraught with grief. I would imagine you came down from the afterlife to give me your blessing before disappearing forever.” He finished and paused “I just thought you should know.”
Shiro stared.
“Funny. I was going to tell you that I thought Curtis married me in an alternate universe.” He said and Adam gasped “Oh come on! You just said-”
“The disrespect – do you even love me?!”
“Adam.” Shiro said and the other man puckered out his lips before reaching across the table and pulling the coffee he had brought back towards him. Shiro snorted, but said nothing as he watched his husband struggle with the information for a moment.
“Well… You would still love me the most, right? In secret, obviously. I guess it makes sense. You would move onto Curtis after I disappeared into the stars and you would never forget me – but in a desperate attempt to move on you agreed to one date with Curtis. Eventually, you realized you were stuck in the relationship and-”
“I’m sure Curtis and I are very happy together in our alternate universe somewhere.”
“You are so goddamn mean, Takashi.”
"Come on, Adam. I'm in love with you in every universe. We just probably meet each other in a million different ways. Coffee shops, normal high schools, tattoo parlors, Hogwarts-"
"Damnit! Why couldn't we be in the Hogwarts universe?! That would have been awesome! I would be the best Ravenclaw and you are definitely a Hufflepuff... I would have saved you from getting picked on by some Slytherins and it would have been love at first sight!" Adam said, eyes widening in excitement.
"You think?"
"Oh definitely. Trust me. I know my Hogwarts houses. Also, Keith would be a squib. Or possibly a Death Eater...Or maybe Voldemort's long lost child who he had with Bellatrix Lestrange, but nobody knew because I swear I think that's something that would happen."
A thousand realities away....
"You fucking Gryffindor - GET BACK HERE TAKASHI!" Adam screamed "I'm telling Professor McGongall! I - God damnit - get off me!" He whined as there was a flash of red and a smaller figure emerged from the shadows to scurry next to Takashi after detaching himself from Adam's leg. "Just you wait until Quidditch, Shirogane! I'll crush you and your evil little demon!" He shouted.
"Come on, when has Slytherin ever beaten Gryffindor in Quidditch?" Shiro called, throwing a smirk over his shoulder. He reached down and ruffled the third year's hair. The boy scowled, but Adam could tell he was pleased by the action "See you, Frasier!" He called and tugged the boy's hand "Come on, Keith. I'll help you study for potions. Professor Snape is pretty tough." He told him softly and Adam was left to groan at the mess he was left in. Stupid Gryffindors. Stupid Shirogane.
"Hi."
"Jesus - who the Hell are you?" Adam hissed and the boy scowled at him, crossing his arms.
"I'm Lance...Your new housemate?" He asked, a little hopefully and it took Adam a second to recognize the green tie knotted around the twelve-year-old's neck. He was carrying way too many books than was probably good for him, eyes wide as he looked at him "Do you need help cleaning that up?" He asked, gesturing with his chin to the spilled potion that was simmering on the floor. "My big sister is a potioneer. She taught me how to clean that stuff!" He said with a big smile. Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't you that kid that was supposed to be in Gryffindor?" He asked, remembering the drama with the sorting hat a few months prior. Keith Kogane and Lance McClain were in the only students in history to switch houses. It was a well talked about event. Lance's face darkened at the accusation and Adam flicked his wand so the books levitated from the boy's arms next to him.
"No! I hate Gryffindor!" He growled "They're stupid and not even that brave. I'm brave. You don't need to be Gryffindor to be brave!" He added and crossed his arms. Adam snorted. The kid's face had gone bright red and lips puckering out in dismay. The older Slytherin smirked.
"Is that so? Well you can help me take down Kogane and Shirogane in that case." He told him and stepped back so Lance could flick his wand and clean up the mess around them. For someone so young his technique actually wasn't terrible. Veronica McClain was a Ravenclaw... He shouldn't be surprised.
"I want to take down Kogane!" Lance said brightly "He's a jerk. Hey - did you know Professor Slav said there were millions of realities. That means you and Shiro probably like each other in one of them. Maybe you even get married." He giggled and Adam snorted.
"Professor Slav teaches divination. He doesn't know anything." He said "Come on. I'll teach you how to actually be a Slytherin. It's a bit of a culture shock from the Gryffindors so be prepared." He informed him "And contrary to popular belief... Snape actually doesn't like us... Matt Holt - this Ravenclaw that I know - he swears that Snape used be in love with Lily Potter who - wait. Aren't you mudblood?" He cut himself off. Lance sighed and attempted to grab his books from the air.
"Well... Nobody in my family but my sister and I have magic...And mama says you can't use that word!"
"Oh wow... Maybe you should talk to Professor Slav about teleporting you to a different universe. Everyone here is going to eat you alive." Adam told him and Lance sniffed, crossing his arms.
"No! Hunk said he would protect me!"
"What the fuck is a Hunk?"