Work Text:
“This is Taka———of Voltron, this is our 7th atte——-contacting Earth, please res———quickl———cannot disclose our coordinates———-Galra Em————angerous———-I am with Paladins Hu———rett, Katie Hol——-eith Kogane and Lance————-as well as———-——cess of Altea———————attempting to go through the blockade surrou———————————try to assist————-Garrison——————valuable information——this——war is bigger than us—————-entire galaxy———————— if this gets to——-—— please inform————Garrison in——————pass this message to specifically to———————-amuel Holt,————Iverso—————fficer Adam———Sergeant—————-they’ll know what to do——————————- they found us? Paladins, to your ——————— Now !——-we can’t reveal————else———this is Takashi——gane——-signing off. ”
Iverson awkwardly clears his throat. “This message has been transmitting on repeat all over the planet for the past couple of hours.”
Sam busies himself with tracing the origin point of the transmission, muttering about not deploying any weaponry at his daughter and son. His hands are uncontrollably shaking but he doesn’t let that stop him. Adam wonders if that’s what he used to look like during the first few months, with his faith in Takashi’s piloting skills the only thing keeping him going.
Yes, Adam knows that Takashi is not dead, he’s seen Sam Holt return from space with his own two eyes four years ago and pat Adam’s shoulder with the words you know, he talked about you a lot. But hearing Takashi’s voice for himself is something he was not prepared for.
In fact, Adam is currently sitting in a chair, burying his head in his hands, trying to figure out if he wants to drown the sound out or if he wants to find a way to keep it in his mind forever.
“Adam,” Colleen whispers, placing a mug of coffee in front of him. “Are you alright?”
Adam’s heart is beating so quickly he thinks he’s going to throw up. He takes three quick sips of his coffee and inhales deeply. “I have no fucking idea,” he says, before getting up to face Colleen. “How the hell did you cope with suddenly hearing the voice of your partner, as they return from outer space when you thought they’ve been dead for several years?”
“I’m not sure about that, but if all goes well, I’ll be hearing from my son and daughter too,” Colleen shrugs, and she brings Adam into a hug. “They never warned us about that in grief counselling, huh?”
He’s seen Colleen at her worst, lying in Katie’s bed, hugging herself in Matt’s lab coat and continuously rubbing at her wedding ring. If she can get through one more day without her family, surely he can too.
Adam briefly wonders if Keith’s grown any taller, and if he actually listens to Takashi without frowning now. Does Takashi still lecture Keith with a small frown? Does he still do that sigh and tired smile?
“God,” Adam laughs, wrapping his arms around Colleen’s frame. “I should probably call my therapist after all this is over.”
Colleen laughs, before letting Adam go to help her husband. “I’m not sure if dealing with an intergalactic war is part of our healthcare package, but I’m sure we can work something out.”
”If we manage to save your kids, Takashi, the runaway Cadets and the Earth, I’m sure we’ll be eligible for something,” Adam grumbles, and Colleen looks back with a cheeky grin.
“Commander Holt?” Iverson gruffly asks, as stiff as always.
“Give us a moment,” Sam responds, holding out a shaky hand. “We’ll send them something back immediately- In fact, Adam?”
“Hm?” Adam responds, finishing the last of his coffee in slower sips. He thinks Colleen stole it from Iverson’s hidden collection of fancy Italian coffee.
The lions have landed near a lone Galran base on Pluto and Shiro finally takes some time to check on the transmission before exiting the Green lion.
“It worked,” Pidge cheers through the comms. “We’ve got something back!”
“Great,” Shiro replies, patting her back, “Can you patch it through?!”
“I wonder who it is- I hope it’s not Iverson,” Hunk wonders aloud. “Imagine us going all this way just to hear his voice-“
“Ugh! Anyone but him,” Lance replies with a shiver. Pidge chortles in response, and Shiro is reminded of when she admitted she hacked into the Garrison systems right under his nose.
“Agreed,” Keith says with a brief chuckle and Shiro rolls his eyes. “That guy always had it out for me-“
“Only ‘cause you punched him in the face!” Lance retorts with a loud laugh. “You were a wild child even before you ran away into space.”
“He deserved it,” Keith says, and Shiro knows he’s feigning nonchalance, but it works because Lance’s laugh simmers down into a small giggle.
“You guys,” Hunk groans, and Romelle’s teasing laughter is heard somewhere in the background.
“Okay,” Pidge announces, “I’ve got it!”
“This is ———————of the——axy Garrison.”
Shiro immediately turns the volume higher.
“Shiro?” Pidge quietly asks.
“—-ill send the MFE pilots to greet you at these coordinates promptly, and———inform the families of Pala—— Garr——Holt, Koga———McCla—- as well as your own, Paladin Shir————We would like to thank you——your contributio—————-war——-and will be needing—————————with the blockade—————rest assured that——————-in our power to————our reinforcements——————-and protect our home——-and with that being said——“
Shiro inhales sharply.
“Welcome home, Takashi.”
Shiro exhales shakily, with a small huff of laughter.
“——is Commander Adam———, yes, I’m a Commander now, Takashi, signing off.”
The comms remain silent for a few moments as Shiro struggles to regulate his breathing.
“Shiro?” Keith hesitates, breaking the silence.
Pidge turns around, and if she sees Shiro’s tears, she doesn’t say anything about it. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” he says with a relieved sigh, “I am.”