Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a year and a half to the date since Lance had left Voltron. The team had gathered in the bridge of the Castle of Lions and sat in pensive silence. At first, everyone found blame in one another as to the reason why. Hunk blamed Keith for being too aggressive during their banter and escalating the situation from a teasing jaunt to a full blown over the top insult. Keith blamed Pidge for talking down to Lance like he wasn’t smart enough to keep up with them. They in turn, blamed Shiro for not noticing how much progress the Red pilot was making and always ignored his suggestions. Shiro had accused Allura of taking Lance’s flirtation too seriously and that dismissing him as nothing more than a philanderer while not addressing his contributions lead him to pull away. Allura had rounded on Hunk for not noticing his supposed best-friend had been hurting so much.

It had been Coran who had ended the bickering by pointing out that it was likely a combination of all these factors, in addition to what Lance had confided in him solely. He had recounted how nervous the Blue Paladin had been when he approached Coran in secret requesting to learn about the ins and outs of a variety of Altean technology and repair mechanics. While being more than happy to pass on the knowledge, he had learned that Lance was sleeping for barely a few vargas a night as he had been training while the rest of the Castle slept.

He had found out that bit of information when he awoke multiple times from alerts that the training room had malfunctioned, and upon going to address the concern it had turned out Lance had managed to code and reprogram certain exercises for himself and was continuously tweaking it as he progressed. Upon confrontation, Lance had confessed that he had insomnia and tended to train and work on projects when he couldn’t rest. That bit of information came as a sobering shock to the rest of the Castle who had dismissed Lance as solely their sniper support.

Pidge was the first to break the silence, reaching in her bag to pull out a small device. “I remember a few days before he left and found this in my work station. I had assumed it was from Hunk, you know? I should’ve realized it had that Lance touch to it immediately. He was the only one who I had told,” she sucked in a breath before continuing as she tried to keep her emotions in check “so how could it have been Hunk? I still don’t know where or how he managed to make this. The Earth movies on it should have been impossible to find.” The device in question was similar to a tablet, but it contained several films that Pidge had loved growing up. She remembered the conversation she had with the Blue Paladin when he had found her staring numbly out the ship’s window one night. He had kept her mind off Matt by asking her what movies she had enjoyed growing up and talked well into breakfast the next day. She placed the tablet back in the bag with a sad smile.

Hunk had a solitary tear roll down his cheek and placed a hand on Pidge’s shoulder in a comforting fashion. “He started that garden in the solarium for me and never bothered telling me, probably wanted to wait for the first growth in case it didn’t work. I didn’t even know about that place until we started searching for him and I had stumbled upon it. At first I thought it might have been an original part of the Castle, but when I looked at all the things growing I knew it was Lance. He must’ve kept a catalog of all the different produce I enjoyed from the planets we visited and managed to…” He trailed off as another tear fell.

No one spoke for some time following Hunk’s recollection, they were all well aware of the hidden gifts bearing enormous sentiment the previous Paladin had left in his wake. Allura had broken into a silent cry when she had discovered the book Lance had somehow stowed in her chamber’s personal library. Pressed flowers with a poem written in Altean in Lance’s script filled each page with the poems relating to the planet he had obtained each flower from. The one that broke Allura the most was the Juniberry he had somehow managed to find and preserve, that one had been accompanied by a poem she remembered reciting to them all having heard it since childhood on Altea.

Shiro’s gift was discovered a week after the others, and upon realizing what it was his he had to apologize profusely for the hole in his room he had created with his Galra arm in a fit of self-loathing. Lance had placed it under the Black Paladin’s pillow, likely assuming Shiro would discover it after a night of fitful sleep. It was a pendant adorning an almost luminescent gem that contained shades of every color he could think of. A small note had been attached explaining that Lance had obtained the gem from Balmera and had it worked on by an alchemist on a planet they had liberated. It had been imbued with an energy that cancelled out negative brain waves while the wearer slept, being nearly ninety-percent effective at eliminating most of Shiro’s PTSD induced night terrors. He had wished Lance would have saved it for himself, considering what Coran had informed them of his sleeping habits.

Keith hadn’t cried since Shiro had returned, but broke that streak when he had gone through his personal effects for the first time in a while. Lance had left a letter, dated almost two months before his departure, with codes for training sequences he had devised for Keith that he had thought he might like. He had included that he didn’t want to tell him in person for fear he thought he was kidding or that Allura might be angry with him for re-coding an ancient machine. In addition, there was a vague request at the bottom for him to use one of the many numbered sequences listed on the back in the holo-room whenever he was training too hard or needed a breather. He had cried again upon finding that the first sequence was a simulation of the Earthern Aurora Borealis that he had wistfully recalled many times to the team whenever they were on a planet with similar phenomena. Keith hadn’t dared to go on to the next for a while.

Lastly, Coran’s gift had been one no one except for Allura had truly understood. The rest of the team lamented that Lance had always spent more time with the older Altean than they had as he was usually cast off for cleaning duty when he could have clearly been of use elsewhere. Lance had left a journal similar to the one he had for Allura, except his had detailed stories from alien races Lance had interviewed on what their planet had remembered or learned from previous Alteans. A lot of the stories Lance had included that they seemed far fetched but Coran had laughed when a side note had also commented that from what Allura and he had told him, he wasn’t quite sure. In addition to the book was a painstakingly beautiful hand-woven blanket Coran had now slept with every night, adorning the Altean solar system he had missed deeply.

Allura had taken up the mantle as the Blue Lion’s pilot, with Shiro returning to Black and Keith to Red. No one had expected all five of the Lions to shut the team out for almost a week after Lance’s departure. All the Paladins could get from them was the waves of anguish at the loss of him, something the whole Castle seemed to have felt. Allura had informed them that Blue shared images of Lance talking to each of the Lions like they were his own, buffing out scratches and just chatting with them like they could really hold a conversation. She hadn’t even known they enjoyed those kind of things, leave it the most underspoken member to discover secrets she’s sure her father didn’t even know.

Shiro broke the silence with a deep sigh. “I’m not sure how much longer we can keep going like this, we need to find him.” He looked over to his boyfriend who was nodding in agreement. Keith’s eyes had black bags that hadn’t seemed to go away since Lance’s departure.

Hunk was fidgeting in his seat and the others watched as he shared a nervous glance with the Princess. “Well, Allura and I have been tinkering with the range scanners to search for him. We’re trying to track him in a similar manner Zarkon had used to track Black, except instead of the Lion’s quintessence we would be tracking Lance’s. Since he’s piloted both Blue and Red it’s been a bit of a challenge to try and isolate his specific line.”

Allura nodded in agreement before pursing her lips. “We’ve been following leads about the growing rebel faction that appeared shortly after Lance’s departure. Kolivan won’t disclose to Keith or I if Lance has contacted them, which leads us to conclude he’s likely working with them.” She pulled out a tablet detailing the last few known locations of the rebels and pointed at the most recent one. “There hasn’t been any movement since their return to Olkari, Coran and I have already set course for the planet and we should be arriving in a varga or so.”

They hadn’t had any success in encountering the faction each time they visited the last known location and all sighed as they got up to prepare for their arrival. Keith trailed after Shiro wanting nothing more than to return to Keith’s, which had long since become Shiro’s as well, room and curl up to sleep. Neither of them had realized how much they had taken their fellow paladin for granted and it hurt them both to know they were such a deciding factor in Lance’s decision to leave with no warning.

Keith had to be placed in a cryopod after the news that Lance had left his bayard and taken an escape pod and some rations without so much as a goodbye. He had stormed out of the room and took down level after level in the training simulator to the point where he literally collapsed from exhaustion. Hunk’s accusations were not unfounded. Keith had always had confusing feelings towards Lance, often snapping at the Blue Paladin for even the simplest of taunts. He tried to shake the bitter memory of when Lance had told him he looked like shit and asked if he was sleeping well. Keith had blown up at him, not even acknowledging the concern on the other man’s face, and accused Lance of not doing enough and that he would be just as tired if he actually got off his lazy flirtatious ass. Instead of rising to the bait, Lance had just clapped him on the back with a sad smile and told him to rest up before leaving a bowl of food he had placed out for Keith next to him in his wake. God, Keith thought, how could I be such a dick?

Shiro had confided in Keith similar instances where his own feelings had come out in a destructive way. Lance had approached Shiro out of seemingly nowhere late one night when the elder had had a particularly horrific nightmare and padded out to the common area to be alone. Lance had tried consoling him in an uncharacteristically soft voice and asked if he wanted to talk about anything or possibly help him with a gift he was making for Pidge. Shiro had unfairly, in his cranky nightmare induced state, snapped at him and told him to mind his own business and that he wouldn’t understand even if he tried. In a similar reaction Lance had had to Keith’s unfair treatment, he offered the fuming Shiro a sad smile before departing without a word. He hadn’t even realized until after that Lance had already been in there on the other couch, unable to sleep himself, and had awoken on the couch with a blanket Lance must’ve placed on him later after falling asleep.

They had all gotten so used to Lance’s easy going nature, kind smiles and overly loud jokes that no one noticed how much the man had grown after the first year with Voltron. He wasn’t nearly as competitive with Keith and had switched from outright flirting with the Princess to listening intently and doing his best to make her laugh at stupid jokes. Pidge and Hunk had told them how Lance would observe them during their projects and take genuine interest in what they were discussing despite them wrongfully assuming he had no idea what they were talking about. No one had noticed how many strides the man had made and how he had been able to match evenly with Keith on many of the training exercises they did, only focusing in on where he was short coming.

It had been wrong of them, Shiro knew that. He knew that they were using Lance as their stress relief and didn’t bother to take into account how hard it must’ve been for him since the man was always so outwardly cheerful. He gripped the pendant he hadn’t taken off since its discovery and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand as they walked to the hangar. “We’ll find him Keith,” he promised for the hundredth time. “We’ll find him and do our best to make sure he knows how much we care. I…” Shiro felt Keith squeeze his palm as he trailed off. “We can’t lose him again.”

The duo had fallen asleep against the Black Lion until the alarms startled them awake and Allura’s excited voice rang through the coms. “Paladins! We have arrived at Olkari and have been hailed by the leader of the rebels-” She paused in her announcement and continued in an impossibly high pitched voice. “It’s Lance! We’ve found him.”

Keith and Shiro scrambled to get up faster than they would’ve originally thought possible. They had found him. “Lance,” They said in unison.

Chapter Text

They had expected Lance to look slightly different as some time had passed, perhaps a little older, but no one could have prepared them for the image of the man occupying the Castle’s display screen. He was dressed in a similar dark suit the Blade members wore that clung to every muscle, and had a helmet in his left hand which in it of itself wasn’t very startling. No, what was startling was that said hand was made of an all too familiar metal that Shiro had the unfortunate experience of himself. Lance’s hair had been buzzed down on the sides with a slight fade to the longer top, white streaks patterned their way through his longer strands. His more defined face was marred with various scars that could likely have been healed by the pods, a thought that bore heavy guilt on the Paladins’ minds.

Lance looked like he had been training harder than ever, as he had bulked up to over double his originally lithe and toned figure when they had last seen him and could likely overpower their current leader if he wanted to with sheer strength alone. If it weren’t for the guilt and heartbreak at seeing their friend’s icy stare, Keith and Shiro would’ve likely dropped their mouths open in desire. They instead ignored the questioning looks the Castle’s inhabitants shot their way due to the furious reddening of the pairs’ cheeks. “Lance,” Shiro greeted “it’s good to see you.”

Seemingly ignoring the Black Paladin, Lance turned to look directly at Coran and his icy stare softened slightly. “You may land your ship at the coordinates my Lieutenant is transmitting to the Castle now, the Olkari leaders and I will be there to receive you and will discuss your business here when you’ve settled. Nice to see you, Coran.” With a sharp yet courteous nod in the Princess’ direction, the transmission cut out and left the room in quiet shock for a few moments.

Pidge broke the silence after handing the coordinates she had extracted to Coran and cast a nervous glance at Shiro. “His hand...he looks a little older than just the yearish he’s been gone, don’t you think? And what did he mean by his Lieutenant?” Not having an answer, the leader shrugged and squeezed his nervous boyfriend’s hand reassuringly. His gut was telling him that their encounter was not likely to be a pleasant one.

Allura let out a startled scream upon exiting the Castle which led to the remaining Paladins and Coran sprinting out after her. A large purple scaled wyvern-like creature with startling blue eyes stood a few yards away from the exit along with several Olkari and a group of varying alien races. The Paladins deactivated their bayards when they recognized a familiar voice from above. “Put your weapons away, please. Fio won’t harm you, she’s very well trained.” The sentence ended with a small ‘oof’ as Lance had descended from the large creature.

Hunk, momentarily having forgotten Lance’s coldness on the call just ticks ago, rushed over to the Blue Paladin and brought him in a tight hug. “Dude! You have a dragon now? That’s so cool!” He backed away hastily upon feeling Lance’s unfairly muscular torso tense up at the touch and had eventually returned the embrace in an awkward gesture. “Sorry,” Hunk apologized with his cheeks having gone a furious scarlet in embarrassment.

Lance shrugged it off and let his gaze drift over each of the new arrivals. Pidge tried her best to smile warmly to him, but knew her face betrayed her. She wanted nothing more than to duplicate Hunk’s actions, especially now in person she was able to catch the jagged scar that started just below Lance’s right eye and continued through his eyebrow. Pidge wondered how he had avoided any damage to the eye itself, but resigned herself to likely never finding that out. The Olkari leaders greeted everyone in turn, advising that they could discuss plans in a nearby meeting hall that had been prepared for their arrival. It unnerved the Princess when one of the leaders informed them they had known of their impending visit as ‘Praetor Lance’ had advised the leaders a quintent ago.

Lance whispered a few things in a low voice to the Olkari when they had arrived at the hall and nodded in thanks when they had went inside ahead of them to give them a moment. He gave a half-smile at the confused looks exchanged between his old friends. Fio had been slowly following behind, never wanting to leave her companion’s presence. “Well,” he said with spread arms “Hunk’s already gotten one, any other takers?” The group raised their eyebrows in disbelief at one another and no one made any move for a minute, gauging if Lance was serious or not. Shiro tore away from Keith as gently as he could, not passing up on the chance, and wrapped his friend up in an embrace that could have rivalled Hunk’s bear hugs.

Shiro knew he probably held onto him a little longer than was appropriate, especially for a guy in a relationship. For the moment though, he allowed himself to drink in the woodsy scent of Lance and enjoy the feel of the firm body body hugging him back much less enthusiastically. Shiro understood why, but it still made his heart pang with guilt. An awkward cough had him pull away and he refused to meet anyone’s eyes as he knew his face would betray any innocence he could try and fake. Keith, Allura, Pidge and Coran followed suit with much more appropriate hugs but Shiro noticed with a smirk that his boyfriend had returned looking just as flustered as he was. “So...you don’t hate us?” Pidge asked, blunt as ever. The group shot her furious glares that she simply shrugged at.

Lance waved his robotic hand at them and heaved a sigh. “No, I never hated you. Didn’t you ever find those gifts, how could you think I did?” He tried flashing them his trademark grin, but they could tell it didn’t come close to meeting his eyes. “I left because I wasn’t needed anymore, you all made it very apparent. I didn’t want to bother you with a goodbye because I knew you’d try and convince me to stay even though we all know it was better for the team.” Lance spoke with such casualness it broke their hearts to know he genuinely believed this. “When I left I took a pod to Olkari, they gave me a proper ship in exchange for my help designing some defense systems. After I spent honing my skills on a neighboring planet known for its militant tactics and extreme combat prowess, I liberated a few planets with the help of some other rebels, rescued Fioletovvy from some exotic creature traders, was stuck in that quantum abyss area for almost like two years which was trippy, got captured and experimented on by the Galra, lost an arm-” He flourished the replaced appendage at them like it wasn’t a big deal “You two and I finally got something in common now, eh Shiro and Keith?” Shiro didn’t like the implication that the only thing Lance thought that bound them was losing an appendage and Keith didn’t enjoy knowing Lance had suffered in the same way he and Krolia had, but Lance had done so alone.

Hunk noticed the leader frowning and tried to clear the awkwardness. “That and Shiro and you are both like, super buff now and have that whole white hair thing going on.” He grinned in pride at the low laugh Lance let out in surprise, noting how his friend’s smile reached his eyes this time.

Pidge smirked at Lance and nodded in agreement. “Definitely, I bet he could hold his own against Shiro. Maybe even win.” She tried to convey her regret for her prior actions in her face and noticed the familiar spark of challenge appear in Lance’s eyes.

“I would win,” Lance agreed. The determined tone and manner in which he said this caused further discomfort amongst the group. What had Lance had to go through to turn him like this? Shiro knew the discoloration of the hair he had likely meant he had undergone similar, or possibly more brutal, torture that he had endured as well in his time imprisoned by the Galra. Extreme stress and agony would do that to a person.

Allura placed her hand lightly on the former Blue Paladin’s shoulder and tried for a soft tone with her next words. “You do belong with us Lance, you’re needed and loved. Voltron isn’t the same without you, and it never will be. We are all so sorry for how we treated you. We should have told you how much you are needed, you were an excellent Paladin and are an even more excellent friend.” She tightened her grip when he tried to shrug her off to hide his annoyed face. “Red misses you. All the Lions do, and we do as well. What did you mean when the Galra experimented on you, Lance?” She flinched back in surprise when the man before her had somehow moved next to an equally stunned Pidge in a blur.

The Blue Paladin gave the group a sardonic smile that Keith would like to never see again on his handsome face. “The Olkari were going to inform you in the meeting room, but since you asked. The Galra have been experimenting on creating a sort of super-soldier serum for their troops to mass-distribute. Apparently the Robeasts and altered Generals aren’t getting Zarkon off like they used to.” He let the news sink in to his shocked former companions before continuing. “A month or so after I had been captured that bitch Haggar came to my cell with a needle saying how I should be thanking them for curing me of my weaknesses, and that I should be grateful for the opportunity to be part of the future before they would kill me. Why not test out something potentially deadly on a prisoner versus your own, right?” Lance laughed hollowly and ignored the horrified looks on their faces. “It was painful as fuck, but their dumbasses didn’t count on it actually succeeding in such an ‘inferior’ race. After I got used to the effects, I was able to escape and steal a ship. So yeah, been a fun time. I’d ask what you guys have been up to, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t already know.”

Coran was the first to recover from their collective surprise. “What do you mean?”

Lance had the good grace to look sheepish and shrugged. “I kinda lead the group of rebels you guys have been tracking, we actively coordinate to visit planets Voltron has liberated and help with relief efforts when we’re not fighting the Galra ourselves. A lot of boring political stuff but also helping to set up treaties with other free planets so they can aid in their own defense when our groups aren’t around, as well as trade so they can get the supplies to rebuild.” He smiled with a little pride evident in his features.

Lance had forgiven them a long time ago, yes he was hurt but he would be lying if he said he hadn’t had time to reflect on everything. Years in the Abyss experiencing past memories gave him plenty of that. He had also seen glimpses of the future, one where he was back with Voltron and kicking Galra ass with his friends. Lance still wasn’t sure he was ready, or if he ever would be, to return but he couldn’t deny how nice it was to see them all again. Allura’s words seemed genuine, but he still found it hard to believe his former team actually cared about him like that. Especially Keith and Shiro, though he can’t deny how nice embracing the two men had been and how their hugs seemed to linger longer than the others had.

He knew they had been seeking him out for some time now and finally relented after the Olkari convinced him to at least speak to them, even offering to hold the counsel themselves on their land. It’s not that Lance still resented them, even if his first reaction to seeing them all together was to only acknowledge Coran. No, he just needed to focus on the war. Serious up, something they used to tell him to do all the time. Shiro clapped him on the back and gave him the most adoring look he had only seen the leader use on Keith. “That’s amazing Lance, we’re so proud of you. I-” he cleared his throat and pulled his hand that had again lingered a moment too long “We are so sorry you had to go through all this. We should have been there for you better and none of this would have happened, I miss you.” He said the last part in such a quiet voice Lance was lucky he had superior hearing now or he might not have caught it.

With a shrug, he gave them his best fake grin. “Maybe, maybe not. I don’t hold a grudge against you guys. Plus, look at me now. Fake arm, enhanced soldier. Someone just needs to find me my hot ass Captain America and I’ll be complete.” He genuinely smiled at the confused looks on the Alteans’ faces and the awkward laughter from the other Paladins. Lance shrugged off the twin wide eyed gazes and red faces Keith and Shiro adorned, chalking it up to them having had a similar thing for the superhero.

“Bucky has nothing on you, buddy!” Hunk shot him a thumbs up and Lance almost felt like he was part of the team again, before everyone had gotten so distant. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t ride a freaking dragon, what did you call her again?”

Lance smirked, he was very proud of his girl. She had been the only thing to keep him sane while he was trapped in the Quantum Abyss. “I call her Fio for short, but her name is Fioletovyy Viverna. It means Purple Dragon in Russian, and before you judge me for my naming skills your Lions are literally called by their color too so I don’t wanna hear it.” His companion in question had dozed off under a tree nearby, Olkari children were resting on her from all sides. She was truly gentle for her intimidating size and features.

Keith was surprised at how the name rolled off Lance’s tongue with what sounded like practiced ease. “You know Russian?” He probably should have asked where she was from, but Keith was only aware Lance had spoke Spanish and Altean. How many languages could fit in one person’s head?

Pidge nudged Keith with a grin. “Oh yeah, he specialized in language classes back at the Garrison in addition to flight ones. He has family from literally everywhere, Hunk and I would always walk in on him speaking Russian or French or Romansh to some cousin overseas during private hours.” She didn’t miss the brief flicker of shock that appeared on her friend’s face, likely surprised that she had remembered those kind of things about him. Pidge knew she was going to have to make it up to Lance, they all were, if they had any chance for him to come back.

Lance tried to will away the blush creeping its way up his neck at the praise from Pidge as well as all the impressed looks he was receiving and cleared his throat. “Right, we can catch up more later. We shouldn’t keep our Olkari friends waiting, I’ll be with you in a few ticks, just gotta let my girl know first.” He opened the door to the hall and gestured for the group to go in before him before making his way over to Fio.

He knew that someone had followed him and was only momentarily surprised that it turned out to be Shiro who had appeared next to him as Lance gently stroked his companion’s snout in a loving manner. “She’s beautiful.” Lance hummed in response. The Dracsocis purred at his touch, something that he was delighted to discover when she had first done so. A purring dragon, he was so lucky to have her. “I do hope we will talk and catch up later, Lance. We’re not here for the Olkari, and I think you know this. If you want to talk about what happened with the Galra or your time in the Abyss, Keith and I would be more than willing to lend a sympathetic ear. I know you have no reason to trust us, but we do genuinely care about you Lance. Probably more than you will ever know. I’m just sorry it took you leaving for us to realize we hadn’t shown you properly.”

Shiro sighed after a few moments when he got no response and reached down his shirt to pull out the pendant he had been gifted. He doesn’t deny the rush of pleasure that coursed through him at the genuine smile on Lance’s unfairly handsome face. After all this time he knew those buried feelings he had once confusingly harbored for the Blue Paladin had come back with a vengeance, although now Shiro wasn’t scared of them. Now, he was determined to show the man how he deeply cared for him. He knew that Keith had a similar mindset. “I haven’t taken it off since I found it. It really helps, thank you so much Lance. You’re incredibly thoughtful and kind.” Okay, he knew he was probably being a little much but Shiro had to make up for lost time.

Lance had continued to smile warmly at him and Shiro prided himself on keeping his face red-free. “I’m glad it works. Come on, we shouldn’t leave the others waiting.” Feeling a bit better after their interaction, Shiro followed after Lance back to the Hall with growing hope they would be returning with their friend and pleased with the knowledge that Lance maybe into men as well if his Captain America joke was anything to go by.

Chapter Text

Lance had awoken strapped to a table in a dimly lit room writhing in agony while low purple lights filled his vision. His heart sped up as he recalled his ship being locked in on by a Galran tractor beam before everything went dark. He winced at the very minimal movement the restraints allowed that bound him by the feet, legs, neck, arms-wait. Lance cracked his eyes open further and had to do a double take when he examined his left arm. His first reaction was to scream out his rage and desolation, knowing only one being who could have been responsible for his predicament. “Haggar, you bitch!” Lance ignored the strange phantom sensation of controlling his new limb and tried his best not to think of how hard this must’ve been for Shiro, favoring cursing Haggar. “You vile, horse-shit eating, raggedy-Ann doll looking cunt! I will kill you! Do you hear me?” He felt the sting of tears in his eyes and let a single sob escape him.

A bone chilling laugh echoed through his mind, taunting him. “All alone now, former Paladin. No one to save you. You will be my new pet, my new Champion.”

-

“Praetor Lance, are you well?” Lance snapped out of his reverie when the Olkarion leader Ryner appeared before him with an all-too knowing sympathetic look. He hated that she had been there for too many of these episodes, regardless of how much she insisted she was happy to help. He wasn’t too thrilled to discover the Voltron Coalition members staring at him with guilty and sympathetic glances. Lance didn’t enjoy the bitterness that overtook him with the thoughts of how they had never seemed to care how he was struggling prior to leaving.

“Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking about...never mind. What were we discussing?” He shrugged off the pressing looks he received in response, taking small delight in knowing he wasn’t obligated to answer anyone since they weren’t his commanding officer.

Allura cleared the tentative silence that overtook the room with a small cough. “Quite alright Lance, we were asking how the Rebels have been holding up? Ryner tells us you’ve done a marvelous job as their leader and have been able to help several planets under Galra control. We were discussing, with your help of course, an opportunity to take out the oppressive forces controlling the neighboring star system here. There are too many planets and fleets for Voltron or the Olkari forces to take on alone, we believe us working together is the best course of action.”

Lance studied the holograms the Princess had displayed, highlighting exactly where and how dense the Galran forces were as Allura continued. “If you agree, Red would be thrilled to have you lead your forces from her. She misses you greatly.” Lance shot Allura a glare that could have melted an entire system of ice planets and stood up with a slam of his fists to the table.

“My forces and I will join you, as it is the right thing to do. But I hope you don’t think for a second you will be able to persuade me to return by having the Red Lion guilt me into it. We are all aware that you are better off without me holding you back, and I don’t want to be roped back into being the weakest link for some stress relief.” The sound of the table crunching under his hands deterred anyone from protesting further. “We will meet tomorrow to discuss strategies, until then I bid you all farewell.” He gave a curt nod to the Olkari leaders and didn’t spare a glance at the others, leaving the Hall with a tension so thick they doubted a Lion's’ fang-blades could pierce it.

Ryner placed a comforting hand on a hurt Allura’s shoulder. “I do not know the full story of what transpired between you all and Praetor Lance, but I do hope you will show him patience. He misses each of you, he has not said in so many words but it is evident in the pride I see in his eyes when we are informed of your success in defeating a fleet or rescuing a ship of slaves.” She removed her hand and smiled sadly at the stunned expressions of the Paladins before her. “I do not think he would like me sharing this, but I worry about him. Instances, such as before, where he seems to be vacant are becoming too common for my liking. I have awoken a number of times from these fits he tends to have in his sleep, begging for his life to end. He does not talk about what happened with the Galra, or what happened when he was stranded in the Quantum Abyss for so long. He has only mentioned his enslavement in passing, though it clearly has taken a toll on him.”

Keith shot his boyfriend a sorrowful look that he could see mirrored across his friends’ faces. Enslavement? “Ryner...You call him Praetor and the others call him general, how exactly did he get there?” He figured this was the safest question to ask, as the other horrifying issues Ryner had brought up seemed like she had minimal to no knowledge of.

The Olkarian leader seemed to perk up at the inquiry. “When Lance had first arrived seeking solace and refuge, we had arranged a deal to provide him with a battlecruiser in exchange for his ideas for improved planetary defenses. He helped us develop a sort of sentient-shield system using the vast network of Elder Trees that dominate our planet.” She grinned at the extreme interest Pidge had shown at her words. “Using our abilities, we were able to instill a sort of ‘hostile command code’ as Lance had called it. Upon a threat being detected, we are able to activate the system which mutates our flora and fauna to create a kind of concealing shield. The plants temporarily overtake the surface of our planet, concealing any life-form signatures with their sheer number and size that the Galra would be able to detect. We have utilized the system a handful of times and I am pleased to say it has been successful since.”

Hunk felt a sensation of pride coarse through him at his friend’s rather ingenious idea. The Olkari plants were often mistaken by scanners as sentient beings due to the unique makeup of their foliages genetic code, reverse-engineering it to mask the whole planet as devoid of life was nothing short of genius in his eyes. Ryner paused in her story as the group listened to the wyvern and presumably Lance take off into the sky, the loud rumble of the creature echoed through the Hall. “We in turn gave him one of our best vessels which he used to visit nearby planets we had provided the coordinates of that were interested in joining the fight against the Galra. He was able to convince quite a few members of their populous to rally together in each other’s aid, liberating other planets with a ‘ragtag team of outcasts’ as he said. The various species turned to him for leadership when their numbers grew too great to coordinate amongst themselves, and he continues to fight hard to prove to them he is worthy of their trust.”

Keith was disheartened and also pleased with Lance’s eminent role. He had a feeling that if he hadn’t been chosen by Shiro, Lance would have been selected as the Black Paladin in his stead. “Please, continue.” He asked the Olkari with a small smile.

Ryner’s face became more crestfallen at the request. “He was captured roughly six Phoebs after his arrival, unfortunately none of our forces could locate him. Praetor Lance had returned about four Phoebs ago and resumed leadership, though looking how he does now and with the Dracsocis. Ever since then he has been much the same as you see him today, anything further you wish to know he would need to answer.” Ryner’s expression became carefully neutral as she leveled her gaze at the group. “Please, I ask you consider what you’re requesting from him at this moment and what he were to give up.” She and the other Olkari had gathered towards the exit where she beckoned them to follow.

Shiro extended his hand in formality to Ryner who had taken it with a firm shake, Shiro’s mind was going a thousand miles a minute at the knowledge they had gained regarding their lost friend. “Thank you very much for agreeing to meet with us and sharing what you know. I promise-” he cut himself off to cast an emphatic glance at each one of his companions “We promise that we will give him all the patience he needs. We know he’s doing phenomenal out here and none of us could be more proud, nor can any of us apologize enough for how this all arose. However, I cannot promise we will not do our best to bring him home. Lance was the one who bonded us together and we need him. He’s everything we’ve been missing and more.”

Hunk nodded in agreement to the leader’s statement. “He’s my best friend. I would do anything to get him to see me like that again.” He stuck his fist out in a familiar formation the team had picked up shortly after Lance had left at Pidge’s suggestion. Before each mission, each member would declare what they intended to accomplish and united their fist with the others as a sign of unity.

Coran joined his fist next, he was fascinated by the ritual and eager to voice his own thoughts. “I see him as my son. I’ve already lost one, and I don’t intend to lose another.”

Pidge wiped her hand and added her own with vigor. “I used to tease him like I did Matt, I never told him how I see him like my big brother. I don’t intend to lose anymore family.”

Allura nodded at the determination in the Green Paladin’s face. “I too feel a kinship with Lance, he always knew how to take care of everyone including myself. Though I suppose I didn’t realize his intent, it’s clear that we didn’t show our appreciation. He belongs with us. Home.” She made sure to direct her words pointedly at Ryner, hoping to convey their intent to rectify their errors clearly.

Shiro and Keith were the last to complete the circle, both having similar thoughts that Keith voiced. “He’s our missing piece. No one else can get Shiro to loosen up when he’s too stressed, or pull me away from the training deck after I’ve spent ‘too long’ there. He’s our comrade, our friend, our family.” He turned his gaze to his boyfriend who nodded in agreement.

The group broke their huddle and chanced a glance at the Olkari who were, surprisingly, beaming at them like this was exactly what they wanted to hear. “I am glad to hear of your devotion to Lance, he is more than deserving. You are welcome to stay in the rooms we have provided you here in the Hall, please just ask one of the attendants located towards the sleeping chambers for assistance with anything you need. I suspect Lance will return upon the rising Star.” Ryner bowed in courtesy and departed the Hall with the Olkari trailing behind her.

She had not been surprised to find the Praetor leaning outside the Hall in stunned silence and only offered him a secretive smile as she and her kin departed further into the forest. Lance had sent Fio off to hunt after he had stormed out, expecting the meeting to take much longer than it had. He had definitely not tried to eavesdrop on what was happening in the Hall, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him when his hearing had honed in on the conversation topic. Now, Lance truly wasn’t sure how to feel about his former team. Could he pick up his pieces and allow them in again? These thoughts were drowned out by the beating of wings overhead and he resigned himself to what he suspected to be yet another sleepless night.

Chapter Text

Keith made his way out in the middle of the night from Shiro and his guest room in the Hall careful not to stir his boyfriend. He couldn’t sleep, usually he would go train but on nights where they stayed on foreign worlds he often found himself on short walks with that night being no exception. He hadn’t expected to find Lance at the end of a short path in the woods nearby, but the man didn’t look surprised in the least to see Keith.

“Can’t sleep either?” He questioned Lance. The latter gave a wry a grin and shrugged.

“Nah, bad dreams ya know?” Lance moved over to make a spot next to him on the log he was sitting on that Keith eagerly occupied. He wasn’t pleased to know Lance was losing sleep, but he wasn’t brushing him off like earlier so he took that as a win.

Keith noticed that the former Blue Paladin wasn’t looking at him but seemed to be lost in thought. “...You wanna talk about it?” He asked, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

Lance went quiet again for some time before sighing and looked over at him for the first time since he arrived. “When I was enslaved, I was forced to fight alongside other prisoners of the Vresta-” at Keith’s inquiring look he scowled slightly “they’re these horrible bird and snake looking hybrid people. They’re on par with being just as gnarly as the Galra but only seem to exist towards the Quantum zone for some reason. Anyway, I...I lost someone.” He had to strain his ears to hear the last bit as Lance’s voice trailed off with a sigh.

Keith wanted to hold his hand to comfort him but stopped himself before he could reach out, knowing the gesture would likely not be appreciated. “Tell me about them.” For a moment he thought he was way out of bounds, but the look on the other man’s face was wistful.

Lance shifted a little closer to him before he spoke. “His name was Krolarn and believe it or not he was Galra.” The surprise Keith knew that shown on his face must have amused Lance because he seemed to relax slightly. “I know, I was shocked too. But I think we both know a few Galra who defeat that stereotype.” He fought the swell of joy in chest at the small praise in favor of the worry that overtook him. The old Lance would have winked at him and mocked Keith thoroughly for how red he would turn each time. Never for the reasons the former would think though.

“He and I were forced to fight as mercenaries and always stationed in the same group. The Vresta made sure we didn’t escape and were complacent by fitting us all with shock collars. Like we were fucking theirs.” The hollow laugh Lance let out made Keith’s skin crawl. He tried his best to keep his eyes off the angry scars littering the man’s neck. “We fought so many battles they kinda blur together, but he was really just a kid like all of us were you know? Reminded me so much of my brother Luis. Krolarn, he always had this thing he’d repeat to me whenever I’d get anxious or before we had to fight. So simple but so effective. You know what he said?”

Keith shook his head, knowing Lance hadn’t really expected an answer. “No, what was it Lance?”

“Don’t forget to breathe. He’d tell this to all the other slaves whenever they were down. He was a lot like Shiro where he just radiated that trusting aura, you know? Like, even the smallest of gestures go a mile because it’s just so genuine.” Keith nodded, because he did know what Lance had meant and felt his heart weaken to know he had lost someone like that. “I was pretty messed up then, still am.” Another self deprecating laugh. “It was after the arm and I had all but given up, captured again right? But Krolarn wouldn’t let me. He held me when I had nightmares, taught me what it was to fight for something again. I’d tell him about you guys and he’d always tell me how he wanted to meet you when everything cleared up.”

Keith would have thought Lance would be in tears by now, hell he was close to them himself, but the expression on the latter man’s face reminded him too much of Shiro’s when his boyfriend was shutting down. “Lance, you don’t have to keep going.” He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and left it there after Lance’s shoulders relaxed.

“No, it’s okay. I haven’t really told anyone about him, thank you for listening. He was a good friend and I will honor his memory the best I can.” Keith had no doubt Lance would and was sure Krolarn would be proud of him. He took a moment to really assess how different the man before him was.

It had been only a year and a half for them, but for Lance it had been almost four years. The obvious physical differences aside, he was much more confident. Not in the same way he would hide his insecurities with boisterous exaggerations of his own prowess, but genuine belief in himself that surfaced in every action and word. His demeanor had changed to that of a soldier’s. Keith hadn’t missed how Lance had now always stood with a firm stance and how his blue eyes never seemed to stop scanning his surroundings, prepared for any attack or surprise. He really didn’t think he would miss the constant unfocused jittering the Blue Paladin had always done while idle, but Keith would give anything for it to come back if it meant Lance hadn’t had to go through what he had to curb the habit.

“You should get back to sleep, Keith. Shiro is looking for you.” Keith frowned when Lance stood up and missed the warmth on his hand immediately. He looked around for his boyfriend and spotted the familiar figure step his way into the little clearing a few moments later.

Shiro’s surprise was evident at not finding Keith alone but his expression was quickly replaced with a smile upon realizing who else was there. “Lance,” he greeted. “Good to see you, can’t sleep?” He frowned at his boyfriend knowing a similar question could be asked of him.

Lance shrugged with a neutral expression. “It’ll come eventually. You two should head back, Fio’s out on a late night hunt and we’ll be returning at sunrise for the meeting.”

Keith frowned at the sudden change in demeanor. “Actually, no one seems to be having much luck sleeping tonight. After Keith snuck off for one of his walks I noticed the others were up as well. We’re all in the common area, Hunk is making some snacks. You should come by, at least until Fio is back.” He swears his boyfriend has a magic voice as he watched Lance’s walls come down as quick as they had came.

“I suppose I could, thank you.” Lance followed behind them in silence and Keith thought better than to try engaging him again before seeing the others. He didn’t want to chance the possibility of their friend changing his mind.

The reaction to the trios arrival was immediate. Coran, Pidge, Hunk and Allura fell silent at once. They had clearly not expected the visit, but Keith was pleased to note that once they recovered from their surprise they slipped back into casual conversation. “Lance, seems this night is cursed for us all yes?” Coran smiled warmly at the former paladin who returned it with a small grin of his own.

“I agree. Between the Olkari lighting off those damn fireworks and my shoulder I doubt I’ll get more than a varga.” He laughed it off good naturedly and Keith felt Shiro squeeze his hand at the way Lance seemed to be more at ease. “Hunk, I heard rumors of snacks. Tell me they’re true?”

From the small kitchen, Hunk beamed at his friend and pushed a small tray of egg roll-looking food that Lance helped himself to greedily. “Of course, when have rumors of food and me not been true?”

Keith watched as Pidge, Allura and Coran wove their way into short pleasant conversations with Lance as the Olkari’s version of fireworks boomed distantly in the background. He didn’t mind not speaking to him at that moment, having felt more than grateful that Lance had shared with him what he had. Keith made a note to tell Shiro later, with permission from Lance of course. His boyfriend in question was going through their guest chambers grabbing all the blankets and pillows he could in one go, which to Keith’s private pleasure was an absurd amount. Shiro was almost too buff sometimes. Only almost, though. He knew that Shiro was doing it in homage to the old days when Lance demanded everyone bring their bedding to the common room once every seven days for a night of old Altean movies.

Keith had always openly voiced his opinion that he found them pointless regardless knowing that wasn’t true. He had still attended every one and could see exactly how important they were. Coran and Allura had been thrilled when they had been informed of the customs and traditions of an Earth sleepover. It was one of the only times they talked openly about Altea without that look of sorrow in their eyes. Pidge and Hunk were forced away from their inventions and took their minds off the overall anxiety that came with nearly dying everyday. Shiro would always fall asleep first but Keith knew that it was the best sleep the man would get before the next movie night. He himself benefited from the enjoyment of simple pleasures with his friends, something that was so rare and hard to think of during war.

Shiro threw a pillow at him and he flipped him off in return. Lance’s laugh echoed through the room and Keith’s heart skipped a beat. He banished the images of the three of them in a similar situation, but back on Earth in a house. Their house. “Pidge, think you can find a way to play one of those Altean movies?” Shiro gestured to the large screen positioned towards the top of the wall.

Pidge nodded and began working on linking her tablet to the Olkari monitor. Keith noticed Shiro’s smirk when Lance made his way from the kitchen with a plate full of Hunk’s cooking in his prosthetic hand and positioned himself between Keith and Allura. He pressed his middle finger into the shoulder where his hand rest on Shiro who only chuckled quietly in response. “All set!” Pidge ushered Hunk from the kitchen to the couch where the rest of the team was already huddled in a mass of blankets and pillows. The two of them took their seat next to Allura and the movie began to play.

Keith had nodded off halfway during the film, not understanding it anyway since it didn’t come with English subtitles. He was pleasantly surprised to wake up to Lance snoring softly with his head rested on his shoulder. Keith shifted slightly to loosen his joints and Shiro was looking down at him with pure adoration. “You two look so cute.” He mouthed. Keith was too tired to glare at him and suppressed the urge to pull Lance back down on him when the man had suddenly stirred and straightened up.

Keith noticed Lance glance around with a sleepy expression. Pidge had started another film that Allura, Hunk and Coran were having a three-way conversation in whispers about and looked a little guilty for having fallen asleep during the movie. He straightened up and stretched his arms before nudging him. “I dozed off too.” Keith’s grin widened at the thankful look Lance had given him. Tonight was going much better than he thought it would; until it wasn’t.

A loud bang followed by a purple flash outside the windows drew the room’s attention. Panicked looks crossed both Shiro’s and Lance’s face as their eyes went misty before they dove on to their teammates and barked out commands.

“Move!” Shiro grabbed Keith and brought him to the ground.

“Get down!” Lance pulled the others down in two gos and the duo of men tried to shield their shocked friends.

Keith grabbed both of them and tried to catch either of their eyes. “Lance! Shiro! You’re safe, you’re on Olkari. Please, you’re okay. We’re okay. It was just a firework that got too close. Don’t forget to breathe.” He was experienced with his boyfriend having these kinds of flashbacks and thanked any deity out there that the phrase Lance had taught him just vargas ago seemed to bring a small sense of clarity in both their eyes. It took a long moment with the rest of the room in absolute silence as Keith continued to mutter reassurances before the two of them seemed to return to themselves fully. No one had dared say anything, everyone’s expression bearing some semblance of heartbreak. They didn’t deserve to go through this.

Shiro and Lance gripped Keith’s sides as they apologized profusely. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hurt anybody did I?” The smallness in Lance’s voice was overbearing. Everyone reassured him that they were fine and that the blankets and pillows made excellent shock absorbers.

“I’m so sorry, Lance are you okay?” Shiro’s brow furrowed at the look of pure guilt on Lance’s face. “It’s not your fault, you know that right?”

When he looked up from Keith’s side the frown on his face made it abundantly clear that Lance didn’t believe a word that Shiro said but nodded nonetheless. “Thank you for the invite, I’m sorry everyone. I should get going, I’ll see you all in the morning. Thanks again.” He turned his head to whisper into Keith’s ear before pulling away. “I appreciate you pulling me out of that, it’s how he used to.”

Lance was gone before the others could fully process what had occurred and the cries for him to stay and that the night didn’t have to be other fell on deaf ears. When Keith and Shiro had went back to bed that night, he felt like they had made more progress than he could’ve hoped for in a short while.

Chapter Text

Shiro could tell the team was surprised with how professional and militant Lance had been during their meeting with the Olkari. He didn’t know why they were still shocked with how much the man had grown but hoped for everyone’s sake it didn’t discourage Lance from considering rejoining. The battle plan discussion took three Vargas with the Rebels, Voltron and Olkarions all agreeing with a strategy worked out between Lance, Allura and Shiro. Any attempts made him to catch their friend’s eye were ignored and he was only a little disappointed. They were discussing liberating a whole system of planets after all, personal matters could come later.

Shiro was pleased to find that when the meeting adjourned Lance was hanging back with an almost bashful expression. His presence didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the team who looked to the man expectantly. With a scratch to the back of the head, Lance nodded at the final Olkari to leave and sighed. “I’m...sorry about last night. I know you say you already forgave me, but I do apologize.” He held his hand up to prevent any protest. “A few of my fighter ships need some parts to test a few upgrades our engineers developed. There’s a swap moon just outside the system that Ryner suggested.”

Pidge shared a curious look with Shiro before speaking. “Are you asking some of us to go get it for you? Not that we’d mind, but we’ve seen you with like five hundred troops ready to fall at your feet.” She grinned at Lance who turned, what Shiro decided, was his favorite shade of red yet. He wondered how many other shades he and Keith could get the man to turn before reminding himself of the situation at hand.

Lance shook his head a few times and looked like he was trying to supress the urge to vomit. “No! No, I mean- I was asking if you all would want to join? I need a break and if I have to sit through one more meeting where Kr’al bitches about Sarya taking his lunch again I may become a space felon. They are twins, eat the same thing everyday, and the bags are identical. What the fuck does it matter?” Shiro smiled at the familiar rambling before realization kicked in. Was Lance actually asking to spend time with them? Maybe Keith was right and they were making progress.

Allura huffed a laugh and had a look of pure excitement in her eyes. “A break sounds like a great idea, and I missed out the last time you lot went to the swap moon. Will you need any help locating what your crew needs?” She cast an incontestable gaze at the team, making it clear that this wasn’t something optional. Shiro would have to remind her later to stop with those, he thought it was very evident that everyone wanted the former Blue Paladin to return just as bad as her. In his and Keith’s case, he suspected perhaps more so.

Lance’s face morphed into a brief expression of shock before dissolving back into his normally stoic form. Shiro wondered if he had thought they would say no. “Oh, I mean I can get them myself while you guys look around. I-” He cut off when the list he had withdrawn from his black suit was swiped by Hunk.

“Nonsense, buddy! Seven pairs of hands are better than one, plus if we finish fast we’ll all be able to spend sometime looking for something we want too.” His eyes scanned the writing and he frowned. “Lance, half of these parts weigh about as much as Yellow’s paw. How were you intending on doing this yourself?” Shiro noticed the dubious looks Pidge, Coran and Allura shot Lance after reading the items for themselves.

Keith laughed at the shrug they received in response. “I’ve done worse.” What? “If you guys really want to help, it would be great if we could break up into three groups. Two of you take the bottom, myself and two others the middle, and the other two the top. I would suggest Coran and Allura on separate teams.” At the curious glances he received, Lance shrugged. “Some of these parts are pretty heavy and those hover-dollies can only handle so much. Might need to put that Altean strength in use.”

Pidge nodded in agreement. “Is that why you’re taking a team of three?”

Lance let out a genuine laugh at that and shook his head. “No, I need them to be my eyes.” Clearly not going to offer more information, Pidge scrunched her nose and read through the middle portion of the parchment before balking.

“What is it?” Keith asked as he made his way to look for himself. He murmured a few unintelligible words as he made his way down the page. “An ion cannon base? Lance, those things are huge! Even with the Alteans you can’t expect us to be able to transport that back, let alone the odds of finding a shop carrying something that big.” Shiro noticed his boyfriend’s annoyance at the shrug Lance gave in response.

“You never know, Keithy. You can pair up amongst yourself, I suggest we leave in half a varga. I’m gonna ask a few of my soldiers to look after Fio while we’re gone, I’ll be back.” He left with a small salute and bow towards Allura before departing.

The Princess frowned at the door in his wake. “I wish he would stop doing that. Hunk, you did give me an idea though.” Her eyes sparkled with delight. “A swap moon is a perfect place to search for a personal gift for Lance.” She grinned at the enthusiastic nods of agreement. “The two going with him will have to excuse themselves if time allows and do their best to stow the purchased item. Permitting we are in the same area, one of us could meet you alone and stow the gift in our own cargo so he’s never the wiser.” Shiro’s brain kicked into overdrive as he began to think of anything he could find as thoughtful as the pendant he had received and noticed the other’s expressions go pensive as they were likely on the same thought process as he was.

“If you don’t mind, Shiro and I would like to be the two to go with Lance.” Keith turned to Hunk with an apologetic smile. “I know he’s your best friend, but I-” His boyfriend stopped mid sentence at the hand Hunk held up in response.
“I get it, we’ve all noticed how he’s been more comfortable around the two of you more so than any of us. Other than Coran, obviously.” He grinned at the aforementioned man who adorned a gleeful smile.

“Oh yes, his eyes never seem to leave Shiro or Keith unless it’s regarding battle. Much like how a certain Red Paladin used to be around a certain Black Paladin, eh?” Coran wriggled his eyebrows, a habit he undoubtedly picked up from Pidge, and Shiro laughed at the mortified expression on Keith’s face.

Allura shot Shiro a mischievous grin. “Is there any other reason you two might be requesting to go with a particularly muscular versus us?” He choked on his tongue and received a vengeful kick to the shin from his equally embarrassed boyfriend.

“Leave them alone, I can’t think of anything better than Lance coming back and happy with two oblivious idiots.” Pidge snickered and narrowly avoided a choice kick Keith aimed in her direction. “I’ll go with Allura and Hunk can go with Coran that way you two can go with your loverboy. Sound good?” She laughed in delight at the murderous stares Shiro and Keith gave her but they nodded nonetheless.

-

The ride to the swap moon was filled with idle chatter while Lance led the Yellow and Green Lions in one of his fleet’s cargo-ships. Shiro thanked any deity out there that Keith hadn’t brought up the old nickname, not that he had genuine worry the man would but he had learned to prepare for anything out in space. Lance had received a call shortly after launch from his second in command, who turned out to be Nyma much to everyone’s surprise. She had a report from a scouting mission the she had insisted couldn’t wait and had only gotten off the line after Lance had landed and informed her as such.

Shiro watched in amusement when Lance brought his hand down his face in a dramatic sigh. “Remind me why I was ever interested in her? She never stops talking.” At the disbelieving expressions on Keith and Shiro’s face, Lance huffed another sigh. “Nyma is the kind of person who can make a story about grabbing a coke from the gas station take an hour and a half. Complete with date, time of day, age at the time, and a story within the story not really having to do with anything. Shiro,” The man in question was not prepared for the look of absolute solemnity Lance gave him and it definitely did not send blood south at tone of voice in which his name was said. “She’s my Slav.” The blood flow stopped immediately as he felt his face stretch into one of horror.

“She’s your Slav and you made her your second in command, why would you do that to yourself?” He grimaced at the memory of the Bytor and shuddered to imagine having him as the Red Paladin. No thank you.

Lance gave a miserable laugh before opening the exit hatch and motioned them to move out. Shiro noticed both lions had touched down nearby and the lights were out, meaning the others must have already set out into the vast expanse of stores before them. Keith had gotten distracted half a dozen times before they located the first item on their list. Shiro had been worried Lance would grow irritated or snap at his boyfriend for stopping at every knife and sword outpost he could find, but was thrilled to note the look of fond endearment on Lance’s face instead. “Keith’s like a kid in a candy store.” He chuckled at the half-hearted scowl the Red Paladin shot him over his shoulder as he examined a Balmeran dagger set.

Shiro kept watch over Keith in an attempt to restrict his spending while Lance scanned nearby shops for anything on the list. When his boyfriend had finished his purchase, the two set out on search for their friend and felt their jaws go slack when they located him. Lance had a large complex metallic tube lifted on his shoulder like it weighed nothing and was making his way towards the two of them with a grin on his face. Shiro couldn’t stop himself from noticing the slight strain of Lance’s muscles in his black suit and knew it was a lost cause.

“Fuck me,” Keith breathed quietly next to him. Shiro could only nod in agreement.

Chapter Text

Keith dismissed Lance’s observation that he had stopped gawking at every knife shop since bringing back the pipe by simply lying that he had already found what he was looking for. In his defense, the only lie in that statement was that he had found who he was looking for but it’s not like he could tell Lance that. Not yet, at least. His internal musings were put aside at the gentle tug from Shiro’s prosthetic on his right and he turned to give his boyfriend his attention.

Keith was met with a surprised smile on Shiro’s face and noticed that it was actually Lance’s metallic fingers laced through his. He fought the blush creeping up on his neck rapidly and shot the man an inquiring look. “You keep fidgeting and it’s...distracting.” Lance turned his head away so Keith couldn’t read his expression. “I can let go, I just-”

“No!” He cut Lance off probably a little too fast and tried to compose his voice back to non-shouting level. Get it together Keith, he berated himself. “I mean, I don’t mind. Shiro always holds my hand when I get too fidgety, so it’s- you can hold my hand.” His words seemed to have the opposite effect he intended and felt the cool metal ripped away immediately. Keith was able to catch Lance’s face in the motion and the poor man looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“I didn’t mean to imply that I was like Shiro, I would- I know you’re together I didn’t…” His normally calculated blue eyes darted everywhere around the market as if plotting escape routes. Knowing Lance, Keith didn’t doubt that was the former Paladin’s exact thought process at the time.

Shiro quickly stopped their flighty friend from darting away with an easy smile. “Lance, it’s okay. I’m not upset, and if it makes you feel better you can hold my hand too.” He offered his own prosthetic and grinned widely at the snort received in response.

“Oh god, we’d be a solid wall walking through the shops.” Lance eyed the pair of them conspiringly and puffed his chest up a little. “You sure you just don’t want to be seen with this piece of eye candy?” His huff that followed was nothing but self-deprecating and Keith would not stand for it.

Shiro, always the smooth one, made a show of eyeing up Lance from head to toe and licked his lips for effect. “You are so much more than just something nice to look at. Though I can confidently say out of all the planets we’ve come across, you’re still one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” Keith wanted to kiss the satisfied smirk off his gorgeous boyfriend’s face in thanks for the way his words had effected Lance. The way Shiro had dropped his voice into that low tone he used only when Keith and he were alone seemed to have a similar result in Lance that it did on the Red Paladin.

The man halted in his tracks and stared at the two in disbelief, an insanely delightful crimson color adorning his sculpted features. Keith desperately wanted to kiss every inch of the flushed skin and fought the urge with all his will power. “He’s right you know.” For the hell of it, he ran his eyes over the unfairly muscular Adonis before him and smiled lavishly, satisfied at the small shiver he caused with his gaze. “I wish I could prove it to you.” He leaned in close enough that he could feel the sweet puffs of Lance’s breath ghost his own lips and locked eyes. Keith would like to say that when he had leaned forward to close the gap that he was met with a passionate kiss in response, but he would be lying. Lance had backed away just in time and let out a nervous laugh.

“Okay, haha I get you’re okay with me holding your hand. No need to tease me like that, it’s not fair.” He shot the two a stern glare and pulled out his list. “I think we got everything we need now, so I’ll leave you guys to shop around and I’ll head back to the ship to wait for the others.” Lance’s expression softened for a moment as he seemed to recall something. “Oh right, I’m not sure if you guys remember the Voltron shows.” He snickered at the dual shudders before continuing.

“Right, so Pidge, Hunk and I were working on something less flashy but still enough to satisfy Coran right? Well, you know him it wasn’t close to his standards and it got dismissed but I could tell they both really wanted to perform and I had already promised the Olkari I would perform something during their version of a sort-of Harvest Festival tonight and figured it would be a good of enough time as any. If you guys want to come it’d mean a lot.” Lance offered them another small smile before sprinting away in a blur before either men could respond.

Shiro shook his head after a few moments of stunned silence and chuckled lowly. He turned his attention to Keith and shot him a challenging eyebrow. “You tried to kiss him, you realize what this means right?” He smirked at Keith’s panicked expression. “You broke the rule babe.” Shiro added a solitary finger wag just to be a little shit and it boiled Keith’s blood.

“I didn’t- Shiro that’s not fair!” He cursed and chased after his ridiculous boyfriend’s laughter as the other man tore through the crowd back to the ship. Keith knew exactly what Shiro meant and kicked himself for giving into temptation. In an effort to keep the hopefully future relationship as equal as possible, they had made an agreement that neither of them would attempt anything physical or confess anything emotional that the other wasn’t able to unless Lance made it clear he was uninterested. By trying to initiate something further he opened the door for Shiro to kiss Lance, which itself was not an issue. It was something he was looking forward to watching time and time again if he was honest with himself. What annoyed him to the core was that Shiro would get to taste Lance’s lips before Keith could and he had no intention of letting that happen.

-

He and Keith arrived at the ship in tandem with breathless laughter and grinned at the seemingly unaware man before them who was talking to Pidge and Allura with a happy smile on his face. The two shot each other devious looks and sidled up to each of Lance’s sides. Shiro casually wound his fingers through Lance’s and felt him stiffen momentarily and guessed that Keith had done the same on his right. Shiro gave a lazy grin in response to the questioning gazes the women before them were shooting him and laughed internally how Lance hadn’t faltered in whatever he was prattling on about.

Coran and Hunk had arrived moments later with their share of the parts and exchanged similar glances at the trio of men holding hands but shrugged it off when Lance broke away to assist them with loading the heavier parts. Shiro wasn’t disappointed too long from the lack of warmth as a whole new form of heat coursed through him as he watched Lance load the ship with every muscle visible through that cursed black flight suit. He swore he could count each abdominal individually through the fabric and was grateful for the Paladin armor he adorned for concealing a rapidly growing problem.

An obviously fake cough from Pidge put a halt to his ogling and he felt embarrassed at having been caught. Shiro leaned down to whisper into her ear and sighed. “I’m so gay Pidge, what do I do?” He choked out a laugh when she jabbed him in the gut with a huff.

“You talk to him you idiot! Honestly you and Keith are utterly ridiculous, you both are practically eye fucking him now!” Shiro sputtered sheepishly and noticed his boyfriend go completely tense as he looked anywhere except for at Lance, who was now bending over to grab a box. He hated how his eyes trailed over the firm ass in the distance and felt a foot stomp on his. “Hey! He’s not a piece of meat, Christ! Look, after tonight’s performance I think you guys will have a lot to discuss. Just, hold off looking at him like that until then okay?” She shot them both pointed glares.

Keith let out an indignant squawk. “We’re not looking at him like anything.” His voice betrayed his words and Shiro could tell he knew it. He had to admire the man’s conviction.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you were looking at him like he was 1600’s North America and you were England. Ready to colonize the fuck outta his ass.” She cackled in delight at the joint shouts of protest at her observation and darted off towards Lance for protection. Shiro would give her credit for knowing the one place she would be safe from Keith’s wrath, there was no way they would be going near Lance after a remark like that until they could compose themselves.

Thankfully the man in question had been too preoccupied for conversation with ensuring the equipment was properly stowed and preparing the ship for take off. Keith and Shiro stayed silent in the cockpit as Lance spoke with Nyma over the comms with a look of annoyance very evident on his face. Shiro still wasn’t sure why he would hire someone who had chained him up on a planet to die, was a thief, and apparently incapable of shutting up but supposed Lance had his reasons.

He couldn’t help but let his mind wander to thoughts of what sort of performance Pidge, Hunk and Lance were referring to. Shiro had a feeling it was going to be something important if Pidge had suspected Keith, Lance and himself were going to have something important to discuss after it was over. He told himself we would worry about it later and allowed himself to doze next to Keith who had knocked out shortly after take off. Shiro’s last thoughts before he lost consciousness were of wistful visions of him and his two boyfriends travelling the galaxies after the war was over.

Chapter Text

Pidge slammed the door to Keith and Shiro’s room open and huffed at the lack of any signs of waking from the men before her. She had tried to be respectful and knocked several times to no avail and wasn’t going to continue to quietly rap on the door for another fifteen minutes like Hunk would do. She let out a heavy sigh when pulling off the thin blanket did nothing to stir them and thanked any deity out there that the two at least still had their underwear on. “Keith, Shiro, wake up!” Pidge shook Keith’s shoulder and took a step back, knowing a knife to the throat was usually the startled Red Paladin’s response. She let out a surprised “huh,” when nothing happened before grinning devilishly.

Allura appeared behind Pidge and laughed lightly. “The blanket trick didn’t work, they’re truly lost to the world.” She clucked her tongue and noticed the scheming look on the Green Paladin’s face. “What are you planning?” Allura grinned at the roguish look that overtook the other’s face and held her laughter in as Pidge began spouting nonsense in hopes to rouse the sleeping men.

“Leg day is worthless,” she whispered into Shiro’s ear “your necklace is stupid.” Frustrated at the lack of response, she moved over to Keith. “Knives are stupid and Mothman is fake.” Pidge grinned at the annoyed twitch he gave but ultimately huffed when it only caused the man to turn over. She shot Allura a helpless look and was almost afraid of the Princess herself at the much too thrilled expression of clear delight crossed her regal face.

In a casual tone Allura glanced back out the window where a group of Olkari were gathering around a certain former Paladin and said loudly, “Is that Lance training outside? That flight suit definitely doesn’t show off his muscles in the right way.” She shot a wink at Pidge who responded with a curious glance before catching on.

“I’ve never seen Lance without a shirt, but damn. If I wasn’t super gay and had to pick a dude…” She snickered loudly at the sudden burst of activity and Allura full out laughed. Shiro and Keith had shot up faster than Pidge thought physically possible and frantically glanced around the room before setting twin glares on the two ladies in front of them.

Shiro pointed to the exit with an embarrassed look and tried covering his morning wood, something that his boyfriend had suddenly remembered and grasped the nearest blanket to haphazardly cover their twin problems. Keith narrowed his eyes at the continued laughter and extended his finger in a similar fashion. “That was a dirty trick Allura, and you know it.” He was proud of himself for suppressing the blush threatening to overtake his face.

Pidge and Allura laughed and turned away to leave before the latter called over her shoulder in a far too smug tone for either’s liking, “It wasn’t a trick. If you’re lucky you’ll catch him before he’s finished.” The two women continued to cackle as they heard the sounds of Keith and Shiro frantically trying to dress and cursing themselves for sleeping in. Pidge had a feeling that after tonight’s performance and the sickeningly-sweet way her friends were cooing over Lance that her friend would be returning back to them.

-

Keith knew he was being ridiculous but couldn’t contain himself. Shiro had insisted they both take a micro-short shower before going to see Lance as the duo reeked from helping him and the rebel’s unload their newly acquired materials. He grumbled the whole three minutes it took to get clean and how they were missing out on seeing their friend’s more than likely ‘insane skills’ but Keith knew his boyfriend hadn’t bought his fib for a second. Okay, not a total fib as he was curious to see what training the planet Lance mentioned taught him but it was primarily just to see Lance himself. God, they were so far gone.

Shiro raised an eyebrow at the rather revealing shirt Keith had chosen while they dressed and let out a low whistle. “I have never once seen you wear this, trying to impress a certain someone?” He laughed when his boyfriend turned around and gave him a similar incredulous look that held, much to Shiro’s personal pleasure, a hint of desire.

“Me, impress someone? You’re the one wearing that, aren’t you?” Keith glowered at the snicker he received in response. Shiro had only thrown on a simple black tank-top that clung to his body, but it did so in ways Keith was convinced Zarkon himself would give up his schemes by simply glancing at the man.

The Black Paladin smiled wickedly. “So what if I am?” He leaned close enough to Keith’s ear that it caused the latter to shudder when he spoke. “I can’t wait to see how you react when I’m the first one to kiss him.” He chuckled and sprinted out of the room before he could be caught.

Keith took off shortly after and the two arrived outside where a large group of the planet’s natives and the rest of their team were watching with mixed reactions of awe and anguish as Lance sparred against a mixed group of aliens serving under his command. It would have been impressive and even sexy if they hadn’t noticed the amount of dead white tissue that littered the man’s torso. Scars weren’t a problem for them, they were a part of the life. What had the members Voltron feeling sick was how little regular skin seemed to remain and knowing they could have prevented all of this had they done more.

Shiro didn’t see Lance sprint off during the middle of training other than the blur he left in his wake. He and his team members looked around for signs indicating where he went and were met with a sickening sight as they locked onto a pair of figures in the distance. Several Olkari screamed as various individuals toppled to the ground, lifeless. The former Paladin was moving at blinding speeds against a bloody knife-wielding hooded figure who seemed intent on taking anyone around Lance out. Olkari and aliens alike cried out for their friend’s safety as the two zipped off across the fields landing blow after blow against one another.

Allura turned to Ryner with a pleading look on her face. “What is happening?! Who is attacking us?” Her question was met with a very grim look from the planet’s leader as her people began to clean up the recent massacre.

“The Praetor mentioned Haggar had created others like him, it appears that she has sent an agent to ‘terminate’ their predecessor.” She pointed to the duo in question and frowned sadly. “There is no helping him, he must do this on his own.” Shiro wanted to protest but had immediately understood upon again focusing in on the scene before him. Troops had begun to mutter concerns about relocating if he fails as that’ll mean the Galra had discovered them for good and mourned the idea of losing their gracious leader.

Lance and the aggressor were moving far too fast on ground for the Lions to be able to fire, and there was no way any of them could be of assistance physically let alone inspire hope into those around him. He found himself helpless and felt a familiar squeeze on his hand. Keith bore a strained smile and repeated the action before turning to address the concerned group. “He’ll be okay, he’s got this. Lance has survived more shit than any of us could possibly imagine enduring. Left his home planet, never knowing if he’ll return home without so much as a goodbye to help save the universe from a threat we weren’t even aware of. He survived a serum meant to kill him and came out stronger. Tortured, experimented on, left for dead, stranded in a foreign sector of the Universe for two years without company,” Keith cleared his throat and hoped his words would carry. “Lance McClain is the bravest man- No, bravest being I have ever known. He will win this and we will defeat the Galra threat. Together.” The confidence in his tone seemed to invigorate their hero as everyone cried out in agreement.

Cheers had risen from the remaining crowd as the fight before them had come more into focus and made it clear Lance was winning. He had broken one of the assailant’s legs and was having little trouble deflecting the powerful blows jabbing in his direction. Shiro recognized the look of utter rage evident in the man’s handsome features and knew he had to thin the crowd before it got worse. He whispered to Ryner something Keith couldn’t hear before gesturing to the malicious blows Lance was landing and understood immediately. The Paladins and Olkari ushered all the children and those faint of heart into their homes while the threat was dealt with.

By the time they had gotten the last person into their home, Shiro had resolved to shielding his fellow Voltron members from what he knew was coming. Lance hadn’t ceased with his devastating blows to the hooded figure who had dark turquoise blood oozing with every encounter and didn’t look close to stopping. There was no disgust or bitterness in Shiro’s observation, only guilt for being part of what lead up to this. To his surprise, none of his teammates had listened to his pleas for them to return to their rooms despite knowing the impending outcome.

The remaining bystanders watched on as the Praetor gripped his opponents neck and broke it with a sharp yank, no change in emotion on his sculpted face. His blue eyes barely scanned the crowd before they widened in panic upon reaching those of his former companions. In a blink, Lance was standing in front of the spectres and bowed lowly before speaking in a hauntingly hollow voice. “I am so sorry you had to witness that, this is all my fault.” Shiro wasn’t sure how he was able to do it, he would later bless it as instinct, but he was able to essentially clothesline Lance before he could take off too far and looked at the others with a sheepish grin as they examined their unconscious friend in shock.

Keith sighed from his right and shot him a disapproving, yet slightly amused, look. Shiro shrugged as if he didn’t just knock out his and his boyfriend’s crush, let alone their former teammate. “You seen him, he was about to take off and brood over something he had absolutely no control over. I don’t blame him for what he did, and I don’t expect any of you do either.” The pointed glare he shot everyone in attendance was returned with equal vigor, no one questioning his statement. “He clearly thinks he’s the monster they tried turning him into and I’m not letting him saving us turn into another dark experience that plagues him. Keith was right when he talked about Lance, we-” He gestured between himself and his fellow guilty friends, “We were part of him leaving Voltron and leading him down this path but we refuse to allow him to suffer like this any longer.” A mischievous grin overtook Allura’s face before she clapped her hands in delight.

“I know Lance said he was planning a performance tonight, however given today’s events and his current state…” She winced at the memory of the knockout “I believe he’s actually the one who could use a good cheering up. If you are okay with this Madam Ryner, we would like to take your Praetor’s place tonight in the festival.” Hunk and Pidge mumbled something indescribable from behind her and the Princess took that as confirmation.

The Olkari leader looked between the six of them for several moments before offering a small smile and nodding. “I do not condone of your methods to...incapacitate him; but I do thank you for not allowing him to take off again. He has left for Vargas each time this happens and comes back looking like a punished Termel.” Before anyone could inquire further she clapped her hands in delight and addressed all of them with a gleam in her eye. “We will show him what it means to be alive again.”

Chapter Text

Lance was, needless to say, less than enthused at having been knocked out and continued to grumble at Shiro for pulling such a ‘dick move.’ The latter only shrugged with a barely sympathetic smile. “You were going to get too into your head again, and don’t deny it.” Lance’s mouth snapped shut as he swallowed his retort and used his prosthetic hand to give him a rude gesture. Keith chuckled from next to Shiro but quickly composed himself at the look Lance gave him, clearly not pleased that he hadn’t stopped his aggressor. The surprisingly non concussed man had also been bummed that due to how long he was incapacitated, the festival had been moved to the next day and expressed his disappointment freely.

The tension in the room was cut when a thump sounded in the vents prompting Shiro and Lance to activate their Galra arms for defense. The latter locked eyes with his companions before his face softened slightly. “Stay close, I won’t let anyone hurt you two.” On instinct, Lance created a protective shield with his body in front the men, expecting the assassin to leap down any moment. A tick passed before the former Red Paladin sighed and powered his limb down, gesturing for Shiro to do the same. “Pidge, what are you doing?” He half-smiled at the bemused looks the other two shot him and heard her curse from above.

“Dammit Lance, how’d you know it was me?.” A panel from the ceiling fell open as she climbed out in a huff. “I was trying to see how you were doing since these two idiots-” she shot the still bewildered couple in front of her a murderous glare “wouldn’t let anyone in the room until you were up.” Pidge turned her look on Lance and poked him in his chest. “Now you, explain.” Her expression made it clear she wasn’t leaving until she had her answer.

He gave her a mysterious smile and leaned down to whisper, “A great magician never reveals his tricks.” Just to piss her off more, he ruffled her hair and took off in a blur before she could even blink leaving the room in a stunned silence.

Keith nudged Shiro after a moment and noticed the grin on his lover’s face that he knew mirrored his own. “He’s starting to act more…” He trailed off not quite knowing how to finish the sentence. They couldn’t verywell say ‘like himself’ as they clearly hadn’t known Lance very well while he was on the Castle. Yes he was known to be a prankster and mischievous, but that had only been a small fraction of the man they so desperately ached to be with. Lance was kind and compassionate, goofy yet could command a room’s respect with a single sentence. He was protective and had sacrificed so much, they could only begin to hope to be apart of his life again.

Pidge broke their very evident pining with a smirk as she spoke. “So, we gonna talk about how protective Lance got of you and Keith?” The twin blushes on the men before her caused her to cackle wildly.

Shiro mimicked the hand gesture Lance had used on him just minutes ago and fought to contain the delight at knowing it hadn’t just been something he hallucinated. “Shut up Pidge.”

-

They had found Lance again in the field outside the Hall playing with the Olkari children that were climbing all over his surprisingly content dragon. She was on her side dozing in the sun while her companion was using his strength to toss the young Olkari high into the air before catching them as they screamed in delight. Shiro and Keith joined the onlookers that were mainly made up of the parents as well as Hunk, Coran and Ryner all watching with astonished smiles on their faces and it wasn’t hard to guess why. The expression Lance bore as he entertained the rapidly growing crowd of kids was one that they hadn’t seen since the Castle. Gone was the rigid and carefully guarded face of a man who had lived through far too many horrors, replaced by one of pure content and joy.

Allura and Pidge joined them shortly with equally surprised expressions. “Lance certainly seems to be...happy.” The Princess turned to Shiro and Keith with a scandalized look on her face. “Would the sudden change happen to have something to do with you two? You were the last ones with him other than Pidge” She raised a perfect brow and noticed the others, including Ryner, look to them for answers.

Before either of the now crimson Paladins could respond, Lance called out to them from his space in the clearing. “Those two jerks? One of them knocked me out and the other did nothing to stop him.” Despite his words, the tone of his voice harbored no malice and was smiling in their direction. The grin only widened at the stunned expressions of his friends, clearly taken aback at him hearing them from such a distance and pointed to his ear.

Pidge gasped from her spot and the others looked to her in concern. “Super hearing! That’s how you knew it was me, you dick!” She took off towards him with murderous intent when Lance had the audacity to mime like he couldn’t hear her.

The rest of the group laughed at the spectacle and watched as the tiny Green Paladin chased the still laughing General around the field like they were ten. Lance was holding back using his true speed and allowing her to just catch up to him before taking off in a blur. Pidge let out a yell of frustration when he had the gall to speed off, returning to tap on her shoulder from behind before the chase began again. Shiro felt his heart swell at the look of delight on Lance’s face and promised himself he would do whatever it took to keep that expression permanent.

He called out to Pidge who was clearly pushing past her limits and exhausted while Lance hadn’t even so much as begun to breathe heavier. “Give it up Katie! He’s too fast, Lance is unbeatable.” Pidge deflated in the distance and accepted her fate as to never getting her revenge, although he expected it would come later in a different form. Shiro however, definitely did not expect the latter to appear with a harsh gust of wind inches from his face, and Shiro certainly didn’t expect the kiss on the cheek he received.

Lance was smiling wildly and chuckled at how flustered that simple act made the man before him. “Thanks Shiro, thought she was going to collapse before giving up.” He raised an eyebrow at the slack-jawed and crimson Keith as his smile slowly morphed into a smirk. “Sorry Keef-y, wasn’t making a move on your man.” Lance pecked a kiss to the now embarrassingly flustered Paladin’s cheek and ignored the completely baffled looks he was receiving. “Now we’re even.” He continued to grin as he let himself be pulled away by one of the Olkari children he was playing with earlier who was demanding that Lance not hold back when he tossed him again.

Shiro barely heard him responding to the kid that if he did that, he’d likely go into orbit and doubted the parents would be pleased with that. He was too busy exchanging equally flustered looks with his boyfriend and enjoying the tingling sensation where Lance’s lips had been a few minutes before. Hunk broke the silence first with a low whistle. “You know, technically you guys aren’t even until you kiss him.” The eyebrow wriggle he added earned him a snort from Pidge who had finally made her way back.

Allura looked absolutely delighted and nodded enthusiastically. “It seems as though you two did have an effect on him. You should ‘get even’ with him as well and see how that goes.” She swore in Altean at the laugh that came from the distance, indicating Lance had overheard.

Shiro couldn’t say that he wasn’t having a similar train of thought but decided neither he nor Keith could handle much more embarrassment and quickly brought up a new topic. “Ryner, how did that assassin get in last night? I thought the planet was able to cloak when a threat is detected.” He ignores the shout of ‘nice subject change Shiro!’ in the distance and tried his best not to bury his face in his hands.

Ryner studied his and Keith’s faces for a few moments with amusement before answering. “Assassins, like this one, usually sneak aboard shipping transports or refugee vessels. As you can imagine it makes us wary of new faces but if there is one thing we’ve learned from Lance, it’s that you need to have trust in others. The amount of allies and advances we have made since joining the Planetary Union alone has brought us deca-phoebs further into our rebuilding and we would never have been able to accomplish this by not trusting in our friends.” She pointed a few Olkari workers in the direction of the village’s square as they were bustled about getting things set for the upcoming festivities.

Shiro nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds like my- our Lance.” He shrugged sheepishly at the disgusted groans Hunk and Pidge gave in reply.

“Dude seriously? You two are the most useless gays I’ve met in my whole life, and that’s coming from me.” Pidge dodged the jab Keith aimed in her direction and put her hands on her hips. “Tell me I’m wrong.” She smirked when the only response she received was the finger from both men. Having Lance around again was already working wonders for her friends and she wasn’t afraid to selfishly admit for herself as well. None of them had smiled or teased other this much in months, she missed it dearly.

Pidge shouted at the sudden appearance of her thought’s subject who was grinning wildly. Did he have mind reading powers too? She would have to ask him after she kicked his ass for startling her. And for mussing up her hair. And for using his abilities to cheat. The little shit was racking up a whole lotta trouble and didn’t even know it yet. “You’re wrong, you’ve met me!” She opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself as Lance lowered his face inches away from her ear. “And no, I don’t have mind reading powers.” Pidge felt her jaw go slack as he pulled away laughing wildly while she stared in disbelief.

“That’s exactly the opposite of proof! Do you know what everyone here is thinking?” She ignored the panicked looks coming from Keith and Shiro as well as a few other onlookers who were likely having less than pure thoughts about the rugged and muscular General as well.

Lance laughed for a long moment as everyone waited for him to calm down and reply before he shook his head. “No, I was messing with you Pidge. I could see it all over your face, you were like-” he did an infuriatingly accurate mime of her expression at the moment before continuing in a horrible imitation of her voice “-Holy shit how did he know? You’re very tiny and I’ve heard you crawling through the walls several times back at the Castle. Also, I wouldn’t recommend you ennacting your revenge while I sleep. Just for, you know, safety reasons.” He continued to smile but the shift in tone made it evident that he was serious.

Pidge was even more convinced that Lance was able to read minds but had to acknowledge that anyone who knew her would be expecting some sort of payback for everything he’s done. She wanted to grill him on the subject further but recalled something that brought a Cheshire grin to her face. “Speaking of safety, want to explain what happened earlier when you caught me in the vent?” At the blank look she received in response she continued. “You know, how you got very protective of Keith and Shiro when you thought I was an intruder.” She ignored the mortified protests coming from the two next to her and cocked a brow.

Lance’s poker face had definitely improved over the years but the redness creeping up his neck betrayed him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I was as protective as I would have been with anyone.” He raised a finger to inspect the nail in a failed attempt at casualness, especially considering it was his left and a prosthetic.

Allura turned to Pidge expectantly. “Explain.” She put her hands over both Shiro and Keith’s mouths to prevent them from saying anything.

Pidge shot a pointed look at Lance who held the same neutral expression but gestured for her to continue. “I’d like to know what you think you saw as well.” The redness hadn’t fully retreated but she did notice how he refused to meet the silenced men’s gazes.

With a devious grin, she begins telling them how she had just wanted to check up on Lance and didn’t want to wait until he was awake and decided to crawl through the vents to get there. “-but before I could fully get into the room I bumped my head and they thought the noise was an intruder. So Lance and Shiro both activate their Galra arms and Lance steps in front of both of them standing at full height and says-” She put on her best militant face and spoke with a low sultry voice. “Stay close, I won’t let anyone hurt you two. Then this Daredevilesque motherfucker somehow knows it’s me and they stand down.” Allura squealed in delight and dropped her hands from Keith and Shiro’s mouths that had fallen open in horror.

“Oh Lance, that’s so romantic.” She didn’t expect the nervous laugh from the man before him as he scratched his neck awkwardly.

“It wasn’t like that, I would never make a move on two taken men. What kind of cyborg do you take me for?” He didn’t seem to notice the looks of dejection that overtook the two Paladin’s faces and shot an incredulous look at Hunk when the man nudged him.

“I don’t know buddy, I don’t think they’d-” He was cut off by Coran who had silenced him with his hand.

“We’re not suggesting anything Lance, all in good fun.” Coran nods at the grateful looks Shiro and Keith shoot him before returning his gaze back to the former Paladin who watched the exchange with a raised brow.

Ryner backed away from the rapidly growing tension between the seven of them as no one spoke for several moments. All eyes were on Lance who had gone silent with his expression unreadable. Minutes passed before he broke out into a bout of laughter that shocked the hell out of those present. Shiro leaned down to Keith and whispered, “I think I might have accidentally hit him a little too hard.” The others nodded as they continued to watch their friend lose his shit over something.

“I’m sorry, I-” Lance tried composing himself before another fit of giggles overtook. “-I’m sorry, it’s just so ridiculous isn’t it?” He failed another attempt at keeping it together as they voiced their confusion.

“What’s ridiculous number 3?” Coran was just as bewildered as the rest but had a feeling that Lance hadn’t laughed in so long that now his subconscious is trying to make up for lost time.

The laughing General shook his head a number of times before wiping a tear from his scarred eye. “I’m sorry it’s just, we don’t speak for almost two years and now look at us.” He glances between them still smiling. “I think my time away definitely did the team some good, don’t get me wrong the fucked up shit I went through will haunt me till the day I die, but we all needed to grow. Allura, don’t take this the wrong way but you’re much less bossy and I would never have expected you of all people to be so invested in such a will-they won’t-they situation.” Before anyone could address what he meant his attention shifted to Hunk and Pidge. “Guys, you were both good friends but man did you piss me off whenever you dismissed me or thought I wasn’t smart enough to keep up. Now you’re sneaking through the vents just to check if I’m okay and asking to collaborate on future projects.” The two blushed with regret but smiled nonetheless.

Lance simply clapped Coran on the back, having been the only one to not truly wrong him and pointed at a panicked Shiro and Keith. “You two, a whole laundry list of things that I don’t even want to get into now but not being brushed off or my ideas questioned is definitely a good change. I’m still not completely sure about everything, but with your permission after the festival and the mission next week...I’d like to talk about re-joining Voltron, where and if I’m needed.” He expected the stunned looks on his friends faces and laughed when Pidge poked him to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“Lance, maybe we should get you into a healing pod and run some tests to make sure Shiro didn’t do any damage.” Coran made motion to move to Lance in an attempt to guide him towards the castle but the man had backed away with a small chuckle.

“Guys, my head is fine. I heal like, ridiculously fast. Watch.” To everyone’s protest, he cut a small line into his hand from the knife that he had pocketed and within moments the wound had rehealed. Ignoring Pidge’s and Coran’s soft murmurs of ‘astonishing’ he reached into his shirt and pulled out a very familiar looking pendant. Everyone turned to look at Shiro with murderous glares, all having wanted to give their gifts to Lance at once. The latter held up a hand before they could shout at him. “He didn’t give it to me, you honestly thought I wouldn’t notice the random trinkets scattered among Ion cannon equipment?” He laughed at the sheepish grins his friends all exchanged.

Hunk spoke next. “We got those on the run to the swap moon and had forgotten in all the ruckus to retrieve any, did you just find them?” He was hoping his friend would like his gift, though he feared it wasn’t nearly as thoughtful as the one he in turn had received.

Lance shook his head. “No, I had found them once we got back. I always personally inspect the cargo as we unload it to ensure there are no explosives on board.” He seemed a little sheepish at his admission.

Allura shot him an inquisitive gaze and asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Then, may I ask, why the sudden change of heart?” She noticed his eyes quickly dart to the couple next to him and back before her gaze again, much more flustered than she had seen him in ages.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if you were all trying to bribe me at first.” He chuckled nervously again and fiddled with his pendant while his friends felt another wave of guilt cross over them. Before anyone could defend themselves, he continued. “I don’t think that now, but you can see why I would.” Everyone nods. “It’s been four years for me since I’ve left and 6 years since joining Voltron, I’m just tired of hanging onto so much bitterness and resent. Everyday I’m reminded that no matter how bad it’s been for me, it’ll always be worse for someone else. What Ryner mentioned earlier reinforced that it’s important to trust your friends and I can’t say I completely do, but I think we’re on a good start. You know, other than trying to steal my spot at the festival.” Switching from something heartfelt to easing the tension, typical Lance.

Allura and the other’s looked scandalized at having been found out while Pidge stomped her foot in frustration. “You can’t let us keep one surprise, can you?” She stuck her tongue out at the headshake indicating ‘no’ she received.

Lance smiled again and acted like he had just seen something requiring immediate attention in the distance. “Oh look, Keith and Shiro. Would you two mind assisting Ryner for a moment? She looks like she needs help.” He pointed to the Olkari in question who was dealing with a hoard of workers that were asking her a million questions at once.

The bewildered couple shot each other looks before nodding and took off towards the overwhelmed planetary leader. Hunk noticed Lance watching them leave until they were just out of earshot before looking back at the remaining members with a mischievous grin. “Okay, now that they’re occupied I need your help with something.” As realization dawned on each of his friends, matching smiles formed on their faces.

Allura spoke for the group, “We’re in.”

-

Shiro and Keith hadn’t seen Lance all day since he had asked them to assist Ryner and couldn’t get his whereabouts out of any of their teammates. “You think we did something? I know she needed help but he could’ve asked any of his cadets to do that.” Keith had been trying his hardest not to let it affect his mood but wasn’t having much luck with his boyfriend not doing much better.

“I don’t know Keith, he seemed like he was in such a good mood today. Let’s just be happy he’s considering re-joining the team.” It was a feeble attempt at making them both feel better but Shiro knew he had to try. They’d only been on the planet for five days but Lance had rooted his way back into their hearts tenfold, it was making the two miserable.

The pair were heading towards the festival to warm up before they were approached by Nyma. She had swapped out her lieutenant’s uniform for a fancy dress that hugged her in all the right places. A brief feeling of jealousy crossed both men’s minds at the idea of Lance finding her appealing again but quickly shut it down, knowing how far their friend had grown. The smile she adorned was secretive and made them nervous. “Keith, Shiro. Lance requested you meet him at his home in fifteen doboshes.” New feelings of excitement and confusion overtook the pair.

“We were supposed to do a performance with our team soon but…” Shiro scratched his neck in thought, torn between not wanting to ditch them and his burning desire to figure out what Lance wanted.

Nyma waved them off and her smile widened. “They’ve already been made aware and will be performing without you. He lives in the small hut a road down from the Hall, you’ll see Fio’s nest in the back and can’t miss it.” She made to leave before either could reply before turning back around and saying, “Oh, if you were going to change those outfits you wore yesterday were…” Nyma shot them both a wink and then walked away, chuckling as she heard the two men race back to the Hall to change.

The couple put on their aforementioned clothing in lightning speed before making their way to the house Nyma had described. Fio’s pit was not easily missed and they both took a deep breath before knocking on the door gently. A call of “Come in!” came a minute before they actually opened the door, nerves radiating between them like never before.

The hut itself was modestly furnished and a pleasantly warm fire crackled quietly in the background. The amount of flowers and candles scattered around the living room perplexed the two of them as they scanned the aromatic home for Lance until they spotting him in the kitchen nearby waiting. “Thank you for coming, sorry about the show.” They watched as he flushed darkly when he took in their appearance.

Twin shrugs were given in response. “You’re more important.” Keith felt a sense of accomplishment as Lance’s breath hitched from the earnesty in his tone. His boyfriend nodded alongside him in agreement.

The former Paladin began to fiddle with the necklace Shiro had gotten him in an attempt to hide his face. “You two are important to me too. I had originally intended to do this tonight with Pidge and Hunk because I was a coward and if it failed then at least I’d be able to shrug away quickly, but it’s too important and personal.” He knew he wasn’t making much sense as he watched Shiro and Keith grow more confused with each sentence. With a deep breath, he motioned them to the living area where they all walked in silence. “I, uh rewrote this a dozen times. I couldn’t find the right way to actually talk to you guys about this so I figured, why not?” Lance took another breath as the two sat down before pressing a button on some Olkari device that began playing a soft tune.

“ Can't say how the days will unfold,

Can't change what the future may hold

But, I want you in it

Every hour, every minute ”

Shiro and Keith gasped as Lance began to serenade them, his voice warm and beautiful.

“ This world can race by far too fast

Hard to see while it's all flying past

But, it's clear now,

When you're standing here now

I am meant to be wherever you are next to me ”

Shiro was having a hard time believing what was happening and could see Keith was as well. Lance continued to sing as he offered a hand to them, flushing slightly as Shiro took it. He began to guide the other man in a romantic waltz, never allowing them to miss a step regardless of the Black Paladin’s lack of skill. As they danced, he made sure to keep his eyes on Keith as well while he sang the next verse to make sure he was conveying the right message.

“ All I want to do

Is come running home to you

Come running home to you

And all my life I promise to

Keep running home to you

Keep running home

To you ”

Shiro was having a hard time keeping his eyes dry as they progressed, never thinking he could be so happy. He gladly allowed Lance to pull apart and bring Keith into a similar dance and his heart swelled at the sight of his boyfriend and, well whatever Lance was, together. The former was flustered and pink cheeked but nevertheless allowed himself to be slowly spun around the room while being sung to. Shiro could tell Lance was relieved that they hadn’t shut him down when he continued, voice growing stronger and smile larger.

“ And I could see it

Right from the start

Right from the start

That you would be

Be my light in the dark

Light in the dark

Oh, you gave me no other choice

But to love you ”

The dance ended when Keith returned to his spot near Shiro, failing to discreetly wipe at his eyes. Lance closed the last verse as he approached the two, dropping into an almost whisper.

“ Can't say how the days will unfold,

Can't change what the future may hold

But, I want you in it

Every hour, every minute ”

Shiro sucked in a breath right before a pair of soft lips met his and, after his brain finally caught up, he returned the kiss. It was soft and chaste until Lance pulled away far too quickly for his liking to repeat the action with Keith who was waiting eagerly. Shiro would be lying if he said that the sight wasn’t something he hadn’t envisioned dozens of times over.. The two broke apart after a moment and the room went silent. All three men had a million things running through their minds as they processed the events that had unfolded. They had just kissed Lance who had just poured his heart out to them after everything that happened.

Keith was the first to speak and said in a shaky voice, “I love you too, so much Lance. I’m so sorry.” He didn’t bother wiping at his eyes, letting the tears slowly flow.

Shiro followed suit with his tone just as broken. “I love you, we’re so sorry for hurting you.” The two cried silently as Lance sat himself between them shushing them in a soothing tone.

“We’ll work through it, I promise. I love you both, please no more tears. It hurts enough seeing even one of you like this, but both of you is too much for this old gay heart to handle.” The wet chuckles he got in response encouraged him to hold both men’s respective hands and began rubbing soothing circles on the backs of their hands.

Keith and Shiro rested their heads on his shoulders and the room remained quiet with the exception of the dwindling fire crackling before them. They drifted to sleep together for what they knew wouldn’t be the last time.