Chapter Text
There was rarely a time when the paladins could rest against their fight against Zarkon. The life of a paladin almost never allowed for leisure, and the Alteans, especially the princess, doubled down on that mindset. Their days were filled with gruelling fights and the constant pressure of saving the universe from the Galra, and when there was no fight to be held, there was training to be done. It was like every step they took had to include a battle in between.
But as rare as they were, breaks in their duties did happen.
And currently, Keith was taking full opportunity of it.
He was sitting on one of the couches in the common area, one arm draped over his eyes and the other over his lap. His head was tilted back to lay on the head of the couch near Shiro’s arm, close enough that he could feel the heat coming off of it. God, it made him drowsy. After the intense training session they had completed a couple of hours ago, Keith wanted nothing more than to let temptation take over and get some much-needed sleep. In fact, he would have fallen asleep then and there if it hadn’t been for his teammates’ voices jolting him back awake every few minutes.
“...nd if it hadn’t been for Hunk, I’d’ve blown up his kitchen,” Lance said from opposite Keith’s position on the couches. He knew that Lance had laid his head on Hunk’s lap while Pidge had wiggled herself under Lance’s legs and had placed her laptop on top of them. The sound of clicking from the keyboard mingled with the trio's voices.
Lance was telling tales of his childhood as a way to pass the time, and Keith had to admit that some of his stories were pretty entertaining. They were currently listening to a story about Lance trying to cook his first meal without adult supervision at the good old age of six.
"I'm telling you, guys, it was a disaster," Lance said. "Sauce was literally everywhere. And I mean everywhere , like even on the ceiling."
Hunk chuckled. "Yeah, and don't forget about the time you tried to make pancakes and ended up setting the kitchen on fire."
"Wait, seriously? How on earth did you manage to pull that off?" Pidge asked with a snort.
"I have no idea!" Lance exclaimed, frustration making his voice so high pitched he was starting to resemble a kettle. "I just got distracted and completely forgot that the stove was still on. Next thing I knew, flames were shooting up all over the place."
Shiro couldn't help but laugh. "You know, Lance, I'm starting to see a pattern here. Maybe you should stick to ordering takeout."
Lance spluttered. "Hey, I resent that! I'll have you know that I'm a great cook now. I just had a few bumps along the way."
"Sure, Lance," Keith replied, his tone tinged with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes, even though nobody could see it. "And I suppose I'm a unicorn."
“Oh, haha. Make fun of six-year-old me. Just so you know, my inner child is crying buckets right now,” Lance huffed.
The group dissolved into soft giggles at that. It wasn’t that funny, but the air was teeming with good vibes at the moment. Even Keith let himself sport a grin.
“Oh, that reminds me of the time Matt and I tried to make breakfast for mother’s day one year,” Pidge announced, bringing the attention to her.
As they settled in to listen to Pidge's story, Keith found comfort in the company of his team. It didn’t matter that they were lightyears away from Earth, engaged in a war against a brutal empire. They were simply friends enjoying each other's company, forgetting the troubles of the universe for a little while.
The tales being recounted stirred up memories of his own - memories of racing around a kitchen, playfully wielding a spoon covered in batter. The room filled with the sound of laughter, which turned into shrieks as they were caught. Keith remembered warm hugs and gentle smiles and a fuzzy feeling in his chest that he wished would never go away.
But… goddamit, Keith knew he was lying to himself. In the end, it did matter.
Here he was, listening to funny stories told by what he hoped he could call his friends, trying to fight off sleep from laziness instead of exhaustion. And that sparked growth in a strange feeling down deep in his gut. Something heavy that he could not ignore, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself from it. He could recognize the feeling any day, as it was something that stuck with him ever since he left Earth.
It was guilt. He felt guilty for enjoying his time in outer space. He was feeling guilty because he was fucking around in space while the one person who probably cared for him more than anyone in the universe was waiting for him on Earth.
He left you on Earth, and it ruined him on the inside, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
As the trio on the other side of the couches laughed at whatever Pidge had said, Keith felt the hand in his lap tighten into a fist. His thoughts floating back to you were inevitable, but they did not hurt any less. It filled him with restless energy, completely overcoming the relaxation that he had been feeling before.
The little therapist on his shoulder told him the most logical thing to do at that time would talk to the others about you. Maybe finally share with them what he was missing on Earth. For all the others knew, save for Shiro, Keith didn’t have anyone waiting for him back home. He was never one to reveal more than what was needed, and his feelings felt insignificant to the fate that was handed to them.
But as Keith thought of the words to say to add to their conversation, he found himself hesitating. It wasn't that he didn't trust his teammates or that he thought they wouldn't understand, but he didn't want to burden them with his problems. They were already shouldering so much of their own feelings about the people they left on Earth, and Keith didn't want to add to that weight.
Keith took in a deep breath and tried to will his hand to unclench. He only managed to lessen the tension, but it was enough. But then, as if sensing his inner turmoil, Shiro spoke up, quiet enough that it didn’t get the attention of the others. "Keith, is something on your mind? You seem a bit tense."
Keith took his arm off his eyes and looked at Shiro, grateful for the concern in his voice. He sighed and decided to take the chance. "It's just…they reminded me of some things I did on Earth when I was a kid. I still miss her, Shiro."
Shiro looked at Keith with a gentle look in his eyes that stamped down some of the restless energy coursing through him. “Why don’t you tell them about it? Get that off of your chest.”
“Yeah, I might. I just… I don’t know. Talking about her makes me feel sick. Not because of her, but about how we just left her like that,” Keith said, sitting up fully to give Shiro his undivided attention. “If I start, I may not stop, and I don’t know how much I want the others to know.”
“Then start small. You said their stories reminded you of something you did with her? Tell that story.”
“Yeah… you’re right. Thanks.” Keith smiled at Shiro, who reciprocated it.
“What are you guys talking about?” Lance called out. Keith turned to see the trio looking at them expectantly. He looked back at Shiro, who made a gesture as if to say, ‘go ahead.’ He nodded, then turned to the others again. He had the perfect memory in mind, something that involved baking and powder being on every surface of the kitchen that they could see.
However, Keith had barely opened his mouth when a sudden tremor shook the entire castle. The deep rumble sent the other Paladins scrambling to their feet, but Lance wasn't so lucky. He was knocked off balance and sent tumbling to the ground as Hunk rose to his feet.
“Dude!” Lance said on the floor, quickly getting up to whack Hunk upside the head. Hunk’s only response was to chuckle sheepishly.
“Paladins, we’re under attack! To your lions!” Allura’s voice called out overhead on the speakers.
Oh, come on . The universe had the worst timing.
Not wasting a moment, the paladins rushed out of the common area to the bridge. Keith started to curse whatever was attacking them for the bad timing but then changed his mind. The restless feeling was still deep in his bones, and maybe this attack would help him get rid of it.
As they reached the bridge, Keith looked out at whatever it was that was attacking them. It was a Galra cruiser with the ion cannon aimed at them. The ship’s defences were up and ready as another shot was firing up in the cannon.
“Why the hell are they attacking us now?” Keith directed his question to Coran, who was typing away at his station.
“I haven’t the faintest idea. I can only pick up this one cruiser on the radar, so I’m only assuming that this is a wrong-place-wrong-situation.” As Coran finished doing whatever he was doing at his station, he turned to the paladins with a grin and a thumbs up. “But don’t you worry, this battle should be a piece of cake! Nothing you haven’t handled before.”
Shiro shook his head in amusement despite the tense situation they were in. “Let’s hope. Paladins, to your lions.”
Keith's heart raced with anticipation as he rushed to his lion hangar. After a quick change into his armour and the trip to the hangar that still felt a little excessive to him, he jumped into the cockpit. He quickly began running through his pre-flight checks, his hands moving quickly across the controls as he prepared for battle.
The other Paladins were doing the same, and soon the Lions were hurtling out of the castle and into the vast expanse of space. The Galra cruiser was getting closer by the second, and Keith felt his adrenaline surge as he prepared to engage.
“Okay, team. Let’s destroy this thing before they can do any more damage to us. Hunk, I want you and your lion to destroy the cannon first. Everyone else… uh, just go ham,” Shiro said into the comms.
“Copy that.”
“Roger.”
“Hey Keith, bet I can destroy more of the ship before you can,” Lance said.
Keith, being the little shit that he was, instantly took the bait. “Oh, it’s on.”
As Hunk flew to the cannon and sank Yellow’s claws into the metal, Keith flew Red to the front of the ship. He set Red’s cannon at the hull and smirked as a chunk of it blew up in a fiery explosion. Lance was hot on his heels, firing at the ship with Blue’s weapons, a competitive grin on his face.
Pidge was also in on the action, unleashing her own barrage of attacks on the Galra ship. The ship shook under the force of their combined assault.
As they continued to battle, Keith couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as he blew yet another chunk out of the ship's hull. He glanced over at Lance, who was still grinning as he continued to fire at the ship.
The Paladins attacked fiercely, determined to protect the castle. But as the battle wore on, Keith couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The restlessness he had felt earlier was still there, gnawing at him from within. And he couldn't help but wonder if something was missing. Why had this Galra ship attacked them with no warning? And why was there only one of them?
His answer came in the form of Coran screeching into their comms. “Paladins, you must cease your fire!”
At his words, Keith obediently pulled back on his assault and swerved Red before he could do any more damage. In doing so, he almost crashed into Lance, who squawked and pulled himself out of the way.
“What is with everyone going against me today?” Lance said, to which everyone ignored in favour of listening to Coran.
“What is it, Coran?” Shiro asked.
“We’re detecting other signs of life on the ship that are not Galra!” Allura sounded frantic, and as her video feed popped up on Keith’s dash, he could see her bringing her hands up to her forehead. “Oh, how stupid of me to forget to scan the ship. We could have injured the innocent!”
Keith focused on the Galra ship in front of them and saw the destruction they had laid down upon it. Multiple pieces had floated off into space, but they had only managed to damage the front of it and the ion cannon itself before they were stopped.
“Shit,” Shiro swore under his breath. He took a moment to assess the situation they were in before turning to address the others. “Okay, new plan. We haven’t destroyed the area where the prisoner hold is, so our top priority is getting in there and freeing those prisoners. Allura, be ready to send an escape pod to whatever coordinates we send you. How many life forms are we looking at?”
“There are currently six life forms in the prisoner hold. A pod will be ready as soon as you give the word.”
“Great. Pidge, I want you to go scan for an entrance for us. Hunk, Lance, protect her from any stray shots sent her way. I want to be in and out of there.”
Pidge immediately flew around to the side of the ship, Lance and Hunk in tow, and in no time, was able to find a decent entrance for them. Keith waited as Green blew up a hole in the side of the ship before following Shiro to join the others.
With a bit of bumping around, Keith was able to maneuver Red’s head into the hole that Pidge had created. Once he was confident that he could board the ship without being sucked out into space, he made his way out of his lion. The others were already on the ship, waiting for him.
“We’re in. Allura, if you can send a pod over to our impromptu entrance, that would be great,” Shiro said. “The rest of you, follow me. I know where the prisoner holds are.” He then turned and started to run down the hall. The others followed without question.
The purple of the Galra ship made everything blur as Keith ran through hall after hall. As they ran, Keith couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. They were deep inside enemy territory, and the mission was already off to a rocky start. And, call it intuition if you will, but there was something about this ship. Something strange. There were too many ‘whys’ that this ship brought, and he hated that he didn’t have the answers to them. He just kept his awareness sharp as they turned another corner.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of multiple footsteps over their own, marching as one. A shadow appeared from behind the corner they were running towards, slowly coming closer. They rushed to hide behind the nearest columns against the wall and waited with bated breath for someone to come out.
Shiro motioned for them to keep quiet with a finger. Keith twitched at that. What was ambushing them going to do? The occupants of the ship already knew that they were there.
Keith's heart pounded against his chest as he watched a group of Galra sentients march towards them. Oh, so that’s why Shiro stopped them. It was like there was a never ending stop to the number of robots coming their way. If he had thrown himself in like he wanted to, he would have been overwhelmed by the numbers. He couldn't help but feel the urge to attack, but he knew better than to risk their mission by acting recklessly. The team waited, their hands on their bayards, ready to spring into action at any moment.
The guards came closer, their guns at the ready. Keith hesitated, waiting for Shiro's command to charge. But as the guards drew nearer, he could feel the tension building. Lance aimed his gun, ready to shoot, but Shiro's raised hand stopped him.
One step closer. Keith gritted his teeth, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He activated his bayard, ready to strike. Shiro's hand was still up, poised to give the signal.
Then, as the first guard stepped into their hiding spot, Shiro dropped his hand and screamed, "Now!"
The team sprang into action, their weapons flashing as they fought against the Galra sentients. Keith fought with all his might, his bayard slicing through the air as he took down one enemy after another. One down, two, three. He felt the heat of a laser blast fly behind him, and a sentry on his six fell.
But despite their efforts, the Galra sentients kept coming. Keith gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder, taking down one guard after another. The adrenaline was coursing through his veins, and he felt more alive than ever.
Finally, with a deafening roar, the last of the guards fell to the ground. Keith deactivated his bayard and looked around at the carnage they had wrought. The hallway was littered with the broken remains of the enemy, and the air was thick with the smell of burnt metal.
Shiro let out a deep sigh, his prosthetic arm still smoking from the heat of battle. "Let's move," he said, his voice low and steady. "We have a mission to complete."
Keith sidestepped some of the sentry remains, observing the destruction with a grimace. It was during times like this, destroying and infiltrating Galra ships, that he was glad most of the crew weren’t alive. He didn’t want to imagine what the battle would have looked like with real Galran soldiers.
The group continued down the hallway, following Shiro's lead as he made his way toward the prisoner hold. The ship was eerily quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the empty corridors. Keith couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach, a sense of foreboding that something was waiting for them just around the corner.
As they approached the door to the prisoner's hold, Shiro signalled for the team to stop. "We don't know what kind of resistance we might face in there," he warned, "so be ready for anything."
The paladins all nodded in agreement, deactivating their bayards as Shiro opened the door with his Galran hand. They were greeted by a dimly lit room with various alien species lining the walls.
The sound of their entrance had drawn the attention of the prisoners, and they began to stir in their cells, their eyes wide with fear and desperation. Keith couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as he looked upon the prisoners, knowing that they were all suffering under the same tyrannical rule that he and his team were fighting against.
"Don’t be afraid. We are the paladins of Voltron, and we're here to help you," Shiro announced, his voice echoing through the room. "We're going to get you out of here."
A beat, and then a sniffling sound came from somewhere in the back of the room. Keith squinted against the dim light of the cell and saw an alien girl sitting in the corner, wiping away tears from her eyes.
“We… we’re free?” She sniffled again, pushing herself up to her feet with her hands on the wall for support.
Another one, closer to the door, threw himself up and clasped his four hands together. “Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
After rising to their feet, the remaining inmates meandered about, gathering a few items scattered on the ground and stowing them in pouches fastened to their hips. Keith assisted an elderly prisoner in joining the group, and they proceeded down the corridor toward the hole they entered from.
But then, Hunk’s voice rang out from the back of the group. “Wait a tick, didn’t Allura say there were six life forms? Why are there only five prisoners here?”
Well, shit. Keith counted the heads of the prisoners and realized Hunk was right. They were missing a prisoner.
A gasp came from the group of prisoners. “My friend! She’s not here!” The alien girl from before broke away from the group and looked back down the hall. “She’s kept in another cell opposite from ours. No, no, no, they did horrible things to her before you came. We must save her!"
“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I’ll go get her,” Keith said. He handed the prisoner he was helping to Pidge and ran off down the hall. The rest of the group stopped walking, waiting for Keith and the last prisoner to join them.
Keith reached the cell where the prisoner was supposed to be held and activated his bayard. With a swing, the door broke apart, and he was able to kick down the rest.
The light of the hall flooded into the room, and Keith was able to see a heap of a body on the floor. As his eyes adjusted to such low lighting once again, he took a look at the prisoner’s face.
What he saw made his legs go weak.
He never thought he would see that face again. The one that haunted his dreams and was on his mind every waking hour. And to see that face in space, a million miles away from their home, was almost enough to make him collapse.
No. It couldn’t be. He was imagining it.
He couldn’t be seeing you. There was no way. But the sight of you lying in a heap on the floor set his heart racing faster than he thought possible.
There was no way. Right?