Chapter Text
“Ready to go?” Acxa asked in a bored tone.
“In a minute,” I shifted my duffle bag on my shoulder. Truth was, I was ready to go. Everything was packed, Kolivan had given us the okay, the shuttle was fueled, Kosmo teleporting in and out of it in his excitement.
I felt Mom’s hand on my shoulder.
“Cold feet?”
“You could say that,” I mumbled.
“Don’t over think it, just move,” she gave me a light shake. I couldn’t help the smile that reached my lips. Most of my guardians had always urged me to slow down, think. And here I found my mother telling me to do the exact opposite. So, for the first time in a long time, I just moved.
“Keith!” Coran greeted excitedly. He was at his desk, looking mildly surprised when I knocked. “And you brought Acxa and Kolivan, hello!”
Acxa nodded her acknowledgement.
Kolivan gave a short bow saying, “Coranic.”
I suppressed a smile as Coran blushed and rose to his feet, flustered.
“Coran is just fine, Kolivan,” Coran said for the hundredth time.
“An engineer of your stature deserves to be addressed by his proper title,” Kolivan deadpanned, yet again. I’m sure Coran regrets making his “Coranic Mechanic” joke in front of Kolivan all those deca-phoebs ago. Now, he was shaking out his hands like he did when he was nervous.
“There’s really no need for that,” Coran smiles, his ears already pink. “So, what brings you guys around Altea?”
“Acxa and Keith will be in need of your wormhole, they will be traveling to System X-9-Y,” Kolivan says in his formal tone, which wasn’t much different from before.
The confusion in Coran’s face went away rather quickly. I braced for his questions, but he just smiled.
“Right this way, then,” he stepped around us.
He led us down the Castle of Lions’ familiar halls. The white arches, once cold and intimidating, were now shrouded with the unmistakable feeling of coming home. Only now, something was incredibly different from the first time: the castle was buzzing with life.
“Romelle!” Coran called. “Emi, have you seen Romelle?”
“She was in the Control Room last I heard,” Emi called back, not stopping to answer. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to be.
“Very well,” Coran said, more to himself, his pace brisk. “You guys can go prep for the shuttle and wait for the wormhole to power up—Kolivan can follow me.” He turned sharply mid-step, like he remembered something. “Keith, take this with you, for tomorrow’s call.” He placed a small disk in my hand that I recognized as a hologram-call projector.
“Sure thing,” I smiled at him. His eyes were warm before he turned around, but there was something sad lingering. It was always there if I paid close attention. Something had broken and healed funny inside of him. When we broke the news to Coran of Allura’s sacrifice, I saw how his face crumbled and his world shattered—distraught and despondent were words that lacked in what he truly felt. Altea coming back was only a small relief. I never felt like I had the right words for him, I don’t think anything I could offer could console the pain of losing the closest thing he had to a daughter. So, I would smile and be reassuring and would make sure to keep in touch with him as often as I could, see him in person at least once a phoeb.
I led Acxa back to the shuttle bay and waited for the radio to come to life. Soon enough the static turned into Romelle saying: “Paladin Kogane, do you copy? Over.”
“Loud and clear. Over.” I began to fly the shuttle out of the castle and to the outside landing strip.
“Wormhole for System X-9-Y is a go. Please confirm this is your destination. Over.” A flash of teludav blue appeared and the wormhole circumvolved wider.
“That is correct. Over.”
“You are clear for take-off.” Romelle’s voice changed into something less formal, “Have a good trip! Over.”
I smiled. “See you in two movements. Over.”
And then we were engulfed by the pull of the wormhole.
* * *
The sky on Earth was brighter than on Altea, but I never seemed to get used to the shift. The shuttle emerged over the Garrison landing strip and the radio buzzed to life again.
“UFO incoming; pilot, identify yourself. Over.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Shiro, you are absolutely ridiculous. Fighter Pilot Kogane, requesting a full stop landing for Sierra three-five Foxtrot. Over.”
“Request granted,” I could hear his smile. “Get your ass down here. Over.”
Shiro pulled me into a crushing hug almost as soon as I entered the control bay. Kosmo was leaning on Shiro’s leg, wagging his tail like crazy.
“Hey, Kosmo,” Shiro scratched his head. “I almost can’t believe you’re actually here.”
“I’m not sure if you’re talking about me or Kosmo,” I said.
Shiro shoved my shoulder playfully. “You, smart-mouth.”
I laughed, remembering when I was younger, and he had far more reason to call me that.
“I was thinking we could go for dinner tonight,” Shiro said, taking a step back to let me in the room. Kosmo was already teleporting around, curious about what Shiro’s crew was up to. “After you settle in; that sound good?”
“Sounds great,” I smiled.
“Keith! You’re here!” I turned to see Curtis all smiles and bright eyes, with his hand out. “Where’s Acxa?”
“I’m pretty sure she went over to the West Wing,” I said, shaking his hand.
“McClain seems to be the favorite, then,” he crossed his arms with a huff. “Anyway, how was the trip over?”
“Quiet. Same old view,” I shrugged, trying to ignore the fluttering mess Lance’s last name left in my gut.
“Well, here it’s loud and ever-changing,” he gave me one of those smiles Shiro would call charming. “Welcome back, Keith.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll see you at lunch, Commander Shirogane,” Curtis said to Shiro, extending his fist. They had a silly handshake while they were on-duty which consisted of something similar to a hand game and finger guns, sound effects and all. Every time I’d seen them do this, Shiro always ended up laughing, shaking his head; Curtis always had a very smitten smile on his face.
I leaned back in a corner, watching Shiro navigate his way around the room. The way he supervised and instructed reminded me of when he was a teacher and Junior Officer. To anyone who had never seen him active as the Head of Voltron, he seemed to be in his element. He was a natural leader.
“Keith, sit down,” Shiro said without looking over.
“I don’t want to impose,” I said, kicking off the wall. “Knowing you, you’ll find a way to delay paperwork with me around. I’m gonna head out, settle in.”
“Okay. What about Acxa?”
“She can find her own way home if she wants to hang around Commander McClain so much.”
“Jealous?” Shiro smirked.
“It hasn’t even been a day, don’t start,” I waved walking out, leaving Shiro laughing.
Kosmo popped out right beside me, making the officers in the hall give me a wide berth. Kosmo had become a comfort many years ago, his absence more obvious than his looming figure. My hand reached to pet his mane naturally, his pace in sync with my stride.
We rode out into the desert, the way to the cabin engraved in my muscle memory. It was peaceful out here, a place where it was just me and my thoughts, uninterrupted. It hadn’t been that way in a long time.
So many things had changed since the last time I had stayed in the cabin, I was struggling to remember the last time I had been on Earth. I didn’t want to think that it was when we freed the Earth from the Galra, but that seemed to be it. Every other visit was too brief to be considered even a stay.
The landscape rolled past in a pleasant monotony. I could feel Kosmo staying as still as he could behind me, extremely aware of his surroundings. Soon enough the cabin showed up in the horizon.
“Here we are,” I told Kosmo, dismounting. Kosmo hopped off following me inside. “Shiro put it lightly when he said ‘fix up.’”
The cabin was clean and in order, something I hadn’t bothered to do in years. I went upstairs to inspect the ceiling and sure enough, Shiro had patched it up. I dumped my bag on what used to be my dad’s bed. Kosmo curled up on the bed, like he’s always belonged there.
I laid down beside Kosmo, staring at the patch. I tried to imagine Shiro putting it up, possibly fumbling with the few boards that appeared crooked. The thought made me smile. I closed my eyes and reached out.
My eyes opened to find the landscape of a moon before me. Black felt familiar and comfortable, like coming home after a long school day. I stood and looked around; nowhere familiar. The surface of the moon was smooth, soft swirls of purple and yellow on the ground. It didn’t have an atmosphere, which made it feel cold. It was quiet. Shiro hadn’t been here in a while, but I could tell he’d been here after me. It was serene, only the quiet whirring in Black’s head disturbed. I took a minute to collect my thoughts. Everything always seemed clearer in here.
I let out a breath, propping myself up on my elbows. Dinner tonight, Coran’s call tomorrow, deal with Lance after the call. That was the plan. It wasn’t terrible, but it was vague as hell. How do I deal with Lance?
* * *
I knocked on the door to the house I had only visited once before. Shiro swung the door open with a smile.
“Hey, Keith,” he said, stepping aside.
“Hey,” I walked into the warm house, shrugging off my jacket. “How was your day?”
“Long and dull,” Shiro shut the door and led me to the dining room. “Yours?”
“Surprisingly tranquil.”
“Look at that. Tranquil,” Shiro teased. “Never thought you’d use that word.”
“I didn’t either, honestly.”
I took my seat as Curtis came through the kitchen door. He set down a plate in front of me and one in front of Shiro.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, turning on his heel. He reemerged with a plate of his own. “Hello again, Keith. How are the Blades treating you?”
“Good, they keep me busy,” I watched as Curtis sat beside Shiro, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I don’t really get time off, so I’m looking forward to these two weeks.”
“Do you see progress with your efforts? Interventions and all that,” he asked.
“It’s slow,” I said, picking up my fork, “but it’s definitely a step forward than, say, two years ago. Zarkon’s empire has deep roots. The Intergalactic economic systems, for example, mostly run on GAC. It would be too complicated to dismantle a ten-thousand-year-old economy. Some things stay, others go. Like tyrants and rogue operations that haven’t gotten the memo that the empire fell.”
Curtis was nodding but his eyebrows were scrunched together. “Sounds dangerous and tedious.”
“Depends on the day,” I said with a shrug. “Those are the rarer cases. We’re mostly working on humanitarian missions nowadays.”
“But you’re still on high-alert,” Shiro said.
“It’s hard not to be.”
“Well, you’ve got time to unwind now,” Curtis said with a smile.
We ate dinner exchanging a few words back and forth. It wasn’t as tense as I thought it would be, Curtis had an easy-going personality that balanced out Shiro’s idle stoicism. It was odd to see a compliment to a behavior I was used to managing.
When I was younger, Shiro and I would eat together in a comfortable silence. Only when Adam was over, did Shiro become more talkative. With Curtis it was different. Shiro didn’t speak up to keep him entertained or to fill in my silence when Adam spoke to me. With Curtis, Shiro laughed and listened, naturally commented, but wasn’t eager to please. He didn’t step outside of his nature, Curtis simply brought something out in him that was already there. They seemed to fit together like clockwork. It was nice to see Shiro so happy.
Curtis’s question made me wonder when the Blade of Marmora would loosen its grip on me, when it would be okay to take a breather. It certainly didn’t seem to be anytime soon, but I didn’t mind. It’s not like a had a life waiting back on Earth… Funny how my thinking flipped when I was here. I really needed to sort my head in these two weeks.