Chapter Text

Prologue

"3... 2... 1... And off goes Alfor Altea on his Andalusian, Regal King!"

"Coming up to the first fence, a simple brush fence, and they cleared it easily!"

"Next up is the coffin, which has been known to give this horse some trouble... And they cleared it with only a slight hesitation! Well done!"

"Now coming up to the first combination, they have an option to go to the closer, bigger hedge or two smaller hedges, further away from their destination... Alfor steers Regal King towards the first fence, jumping towards the bigger hedge... And Regal King jumped the bigger hedge like it was nothing!"

"Now for a short gallop before reaching the first drop fence into a stream... This horse seems to dislike where his feet have planted! And! Oh no! On their way to a Normandy bank out of the water, Alfor Altea was thrown!"

"...Alfor Altea seems to be gravely injured... From what I can see his helmet was split! Paramedics are rushing towards the fence, and two spectators are running out to rein Regal King in."

"Someone is kneeling beside the rider, appearing very upset... Oh no, that's Allura Altea, Alfor's daughter.

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"I can't, Coran, not with Father in his condition, what am I supposed to--"

Coran shushed Allura softly, and pulled her into his embrace. "You have to go to King, Allura. I can't get him to calm down, and I think you're the only person who can at this point."

She sobbed lightly into his shoulder, and clutched tightly at his back. "I can't leave him like this, Coran, I c-can't..."

"You have to. I wish you didn't, but you have to. I can't get King out of his trailer, and you know what could happen." he replied softly, and ran a soothing hand through her hair. "I'll be here with your father until you get back, and I'll call you with any news. Alright?"

Allura nodded, and stepped back, brushing her tears away. "Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can." With her shoulders back, she made her way down the hospital corridors back to where Coran parked the farm truck.

The ride felt short, with all of the thoughts of the past few hours running through Allura's mind. Her father falling from his horse's back, the white in King's eyes when Coran took a hold of his reins, the long ambulance ride to the hospital, the hours spent waiting for her father to get out of surgery... She drove back to the farm on autopilot, and only realized she'd made it home when she heard the gravel rattle under the truck's aging tires.

Coran had left the unhitched trailer backed up towards the barn. The fading blue of the trailer rattled with King's agitated pacing inside. Allura parked the truck beside the single horse trailer, and stepped out on wobbly legs. This was the first time she'd seen her father's beloved horse since the accident. She peered into the trailer from the back, and immediately understood what Coran meant; Regal King was in a frenzy, pacing as much as being tied in a small trailer would allow him.

"King..." Allura murmured softly, pushing all of her feelings about her father down. King could seriously injure himself if he kept twisting and turning in the small space, especially after a competition day. She slowly unhinged the latch holding the door up, and slowly lowered the ramp. "It's me, honey... Will you let me in?"

King turned his head sharply at her voice, the whites of his eyes visible from where she stood on the ramp a few feet behind him. Allura kept talking as she slowly moved closer to him. "It's okay, honey, you're okay... But you won't be if you stay in here. Why don't we go to your stall, huh?" she cooed, and slowly reached out to touch his blanket-covered rump.

He lifted his head up sharply, and tried to step away from her touch. He couldn't shift very far, though, in the trailer. He bumped his left side against the walls of the trailer, and let out a shrill whinny.

Allura felt tears prickle in her eyes. "Aww, King, baby. It's me. You're okay," she murmured, and stepped fully into the trailer, right beside his back legs. She placed both of her palms on his back, following his shifting movement to keep the weight of her hands on his back. "And... Father's going to be okay too. You didn't do anything wrong, King, that was a very daunting fence. I don't think I would've been able to do it."

He seemed to still under her hands, and finally his head drooped, nearly to the floor. Allura swooped forwards, and grabbed his head, pulling him up to her eye level; she couldn't see the whites of his lovely brown eyes anymore. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, and tears muddled her vision. She felt a weight droop on her lower back, and knew King was pulling her close, just like he used to when she was younger. Back then, she could hardly wrap her hands around his tall shoulders, but now, she came to his withers.

After a while, she pulled away, dried her face of her tears, and turned to untie King from the trailer wall. They slowly backed out of the trailer together, and slowly made their way into the barn.

The barn was in a state of hazard, from the early morning start they'd had getting ready for the show. There was a trail of sawdust coming from the far end of the isle, from King's stall, when he was brought out this morning. There were bits of hay laying just outside of stall doors, that dropped during early morning feeding. King's stall door was left open, and Allura's mare, Princess, had her head sticking out into the isle to greet them. Allura brushed past her with a quick stroke to her forehead, before steering King back into his stall. Gathering her thoughts, she went through the motion of removing his purple travel blanket, halter, and matching boots, and placing them on the saddle stand just outside of his stall. She grabbed a few grooming tools, and started brushing him down methodically; it was something so natural that seemed to ground the both of them. She slowly cleaned his hooves, and slowly untangled his perfectly braided mane, until it was flowing down his dappled neck again.

The shrill sound of her phone ringing pulled her harshly out of her thoughts. She stepped into the isle, pulled her phone out of her back pocket while latching King's stall with practiced ease. Lifting the phone to her ear, she answered with a soft "Hello?"

"It's me," Coran said, with a pained tone. "Your father... H-he didn't make it."

Chapter Text

Welcoming

Keith pulled his phone up to his face, checking the address before throwing his turning signal on. He slowly turned his truck and trailer in, and idled up the driveway to gather his thoughts. He'd discussed boarding his mare here with the owner... Allura, was it, only a few days before, and now he was suddenly showing up with Red. Hopefully he wasn't imposing on their plans for the day.

Coming up the driveway, he had time to admire the view. There were two white barns at the center of the property, connected together by a long covered walkway, and a matching white mansion to the right. Surrounding the buildings was acres and acres of pasture, some of which was occupied by horses. There was a stunning black Friesian galloping along the fence line, and a dark bay Thoroughbred grazing leisurely on the far side. There was a young man with sandy brown hair leading two horses out of the barn, two Andalusians. One of which Keith recognized from local equestrian history; Regal King, the dark dapple grey Andalusian stallion that was involved in the fatal cross country incident five years ago.

He pulled his truck to a stop just outside of the barns, and cautiously stepped out. The man leading the two Andalusians turned and walked over to him, waving. "Hi there, welcome to Altean Stables! My name's Matt, can I help you with something?"

"Uhh, hi Matt, I'm Keith." he started, and wrung his hands in front of himself nervously. "I... Spoke to someone the other day about boarding my mare, Blood Oath, here. I hope it's okay that I brought her..."

"Oh!" Matt exclaimed, and clapped his hands together as best he could while holding two lead ropes. "Allura mentioned that you'd be here one of these days. I'm just about to put King and Princess out to pasture, but I'm sure my sister could get you and your mare settled in." he turned, and yelled "Pidgeon!" in direction to the barns.

A young woman walked out, arms crossed, with a shouted "Don't call me that!" as a response. She looked just like her brother, with the same nose, bright brown eyes, and crazy brown hair that her brother had. "What's up, Matt?"

"This is Keith, the guy Allura told us would be coming? He brought his mare, mind showing him where he could put her?"

She nodded, "Sure. Did she say she wanted him beside Blue or Yellow?"

"I don't think it matters... Wherever you think after you get a look at her!" Matt said over his shoulder, walking towards the pastures with the two horses in tow.

"My name's Katie, but everyone here calls me Pidge." she said, introducing herself. "Keith, right? Let's take a look at your mare, here... What breed is she?"

Keith moved to the trailer, throwing his hair back in a quick ponytail. "Thoroughbred, 6yo. Red's a little..." he started, unhooking the door, "Hot tempered, so I'd step back while I bring her out." Stepping in, Keith ran his hand up her back as he approached her head. Red turned to look at him, and huffed softly as he untied her. She stepped quickly out of the trailer, head high, and pranced in place as soon as her hooves hit the gravel.

Pidge whistled at Red's glossy coat, and all 16hands of muscle the Thoroughbred was known for. "Wow, she's amazing. I'm assuming Red's her barn name, what's her show name?"

"Show name's Blood Oath. She's my pride and joy." Keith said with a soft smile, and rubbed his mare's nose softly. "Where do you think we should put her?"

"Well, if she's headstrong and energetic, I recommend putting opposites together. Plus, Red and Blue are always a pair, aren't they?" Pidge said with a smirk.

Keith nodded, and followed Pidge into the barn. All of the stalls were wooden, latched close, and a few held horses. There were four other horses sitting in the barn, all of different colours and breeds. Pidge led Keith and Red towards an empty stall beside a blue roan Appendix Quarter horse, who was apparently quite nosy, she had her head over the divide.

"Piss off, Blue." Pidge said fondly, and playfully shoved Blue's head back into her own stall. "Let Red get accustomed to her new space before you go bugging her."

Keith chuckled, and unhooked the lead rope from Red's halter, letting her amble into her new stall. Red immediately went to the divide where Blue's head was moments ago, to investigate her new neighbor.

"That's Lance's horse, Sea Star. She's pretty laid back, but is a complete diva because Lance spoils her." Pidge explained, while watching Red and Blue interact curiously with each other. "Isn't she beautiful? The only horse with a rare colouring here."

Footsteps echoed down the isle, stopping on Pidge's right. "So you finally admit that Blue is better than Green?" the new man questioned, smirking at Pidge. The man who approached was stunning; bright blue eyes, long dark eyelashes, soft brown hair, and a devilish smirk. He was tall and slightly lanky, wearing a blue vest over a black sweater, and black breeches. His tall black boots clicked on the floor as he shifted his weight back and forth.

"No, dummy, Green is still the best pony here." Pidge retorted, and bumped her hip against him. "It just so happens that Blue is a horse, not a pony. But Red here might steal Blue's spotlight."

"What! No way!" he shrieked, and jumped forwards to peek into Red's stall. "Woah, blood bay Thoroughbred."

"Oh," Pidge interrupted, "This is Keith, and his mare Blood Oath. Allura mentioned a few days ago that he'd be showing up. And this is Sea Star's owner, Lance." she said, introducing the boys. "Anyways, I need to tack Green up, Matt said he was gonna critique my routine. Laters!" she skipped off down the isle.

"So," Lance began, turning to Keith, "'Blood Oath'? I see you're original with show names."

Keith flushed, and clenched his hands slightly. "It suits her." he snapped.

"Sure sure. You gave her an emo name, really, Keith?"

Keith huffed, and walked down the isle towards Pidge's horse's stall, ignoring the noise of disbelief Lance emitted. He stood in the isle just outside of the stall, peering in at Pidge hunched over Green's legs.

"This is Sylvan Charm, or Green." Pidge introduced, waving vaguely at her horse's barrel. "She's tiny at 13hands, but just as tough as Princess or Commander."

"But... She's white. Why do you guys call her Green?" Keith questioned, incredulously.

"Fabulous question, oh innocent youth." Pidge started, stood up, and motioned for Keith to enter the stall. She walked around to Green's far side, and pointed to her side, which was covered in grass stains. "This little shit knows when I'm in a rush, and rolls in the wet grass so it takes me even longer to get her clean."

Keith broke out laughing, smiling at the little pony in front of him. "I can totally see her doing that. So, how many horses are here?" he questioned, peering around the barn.

"Well," Pidge started, leading Keith out of Green's stall, "There are twelve horses here, with Red. Six of which are boarded, and the others are the owner's and the stable manager's. Let me introduce you to the horses still in here."

Keith followed her across the isle to a little dun pony's stall. "This is my brother's horse, Mouse." Pidge explained, and glared down the isle at Lance who was snickering at the horse's barn name. "It's your fault for calling him it, Lance, don't judge now! Anyways, his show name is Dun With That, and he's a 9yo sooty mouse dun Connemara."

"Isn't that more of a western show name?" Keith asked, stroking the pony's nose when he came to investigate the newcomer.

"He was originally a western reining pony, when Matt and Mouse were younger. But once I started competing in eventing, Matt switched and trained Mouse in english, specifically dressage." She grabbed Keith's elbow and pulled him further down the isle, back towards Red's stall.

She stopped in front of a buckskin horse, who was turned away from them, eating from the hay bag. "This is Hunk's horse, Ray Of Sunshine, a 7yo Oldenburg mare. We call her Yellow for obvious reasons."

"That's all of the horses in the barn. You already met King and Princess; Matt was taking them out to pasture when you pulled in."

"King's show name is Regal King, Alfor Altea's horse, right?" Keith asked quietly.

Pidge hunched slightly, and nodded. "Yeah... I wouldn't say anything to Allura, though, I know she still thinks about her father every day."

"And Princess... Is Allura's horse?"

"She is," Lance interrupts, coming out of Blue's stall. "Her show name's Regal Lineage, and she was sired by Regal King. Allura and Princess basically grew up together, so they're really close."

Pidge hummed an affirmation, and steered Keith out of the barn, towards the paddocks. "Over there, the black Friesian? That's Shiro's horse, Constellation. I'm assuming that you can guess her barn name. And the dark bay Thoroughbred over there? That's Coran's horse, Commander. Coran is the stable manager here, second only to Allura."

"That's only nine horses... Where are the other three?"

"Oh! Those are the lesson horses; they're in a lesson right now actually! Hunk and Allura are coaching some kids right now, wanna go see them?"

They made their way over to the other barn, which Keith found out was a large indoor arena. Inside, there were three horses trotting around the outskirts of the arena, with Allura and Hunk in the middle, correcting forms and giving encouragement. Three young teens were on the backs of the training horses, looking very excited to be there.

"Okay, Lacie, with the really long hair? She's riding Moondancer, the black Standardbred gelding. Alex is the blonde, he's riding Spike, the Arabian-Connemara cross. And over at the far edge is Eddie, and he's riding Champie, the white grey Connemara. I think their lesson is almost done, if you want to go talk to Allura and Hunk." Pidge offered a small wave, and stepped back, heading outside.

Keith waited for a break in the line, shoved his hands in his pockets and quickly walked towards the middle of the arena. Hunk noticed him first, and waved him over. He was a bigger man, with a yellow helmet tucked under his arm. He had a bright orange jacket on, with beige jodhpurs and brown boots, and a huge smile on his face. "Keith, right?" he questioned as Keith neared. Keith hummed an affirmation, and Hunk held out his hand. "Name's Hunk. But you probably already knew that."

"Alright, and that's it for today, everybody! I have someone to talk to, but Hunk will help you untack and groom the horses. I hope you had fun today!" Allura exclaimed, and turned to face the boys. "Hunk, you don't mind, do you? I need to talk to Keith for a few moments." Hunk shook his head, smiled, and walked out of the ring. "It's nice to meet you officially, Keith." she said, and extended her hand. "When we spoke on the phone, you didn't give me any indication of when you'd be bringing your mare here."

Keith flushed slightly, and stammered out an apology, "I wasn't quite sure when I'd be leaving my last barn, so I wasn't able to give you an exact date. Oh! I have the first payment back in my truck, I didn't realize I'd be seeing you so soon--"

"There's no rush for that, Keith. The horses come first here," she said with a smile. "Did your mare get settled in yet? She hasn't been waiting in her trailer all this time, has she?"

"Oh, no no." Keith assured. "Matt met me when I pulled in, and since he was putting some horses out to pasture, he had Pidge come show me to Red's stall."

"Oh, good. So I can trust them to deal with new boarders when I'm busy. Nobody bugged you, did they?"

Keith chuckled, and shook his head. "No, they were all very nice. Other than Lance made fun of Red's show name, but I'm fairly sure he was joking."

Allura tapped her jaw, lost in thought. "That's not shocking... Speaking of your mare's show name, I need you to fill out some paperwork on her, so we know veterinarian information, feeding routine, and all that jazz. Mind following me?"

Allura led Keith out of the arena, towards the mansion. The front of the white mansion was almost entirely ensnared in ivy running up the walls, and there were many different types of flowers in the front yard. From the Juniberries, to tulips, to lilies of the valley, the front of the house was a kaleidoscope of colourful flowers. Allura held the front door open for Keith, and he took a moment to inspect the entryway. The walls were painted a light lilac, with white and silver accents all through the room. Before he could inspect the room, Allura touched his elbow and pulled him into the small office just off to the side of the entry way. She motioned for him to sit in the chair across from her large desk, and slid a package towards him. Upon inspection, it was paperwork on Blood Oath; standard information such as age, breed, and pedigree, and medical and daily care information such as feed and past medical conditions. Once it was filled out, Allura smiled and thanked him.

"I should be thanking you, ma'am."

"No, no Keith. First off, Allura will do. Secondly, I meant to ask before... Do you compete?"

"I do. But it's harder to compete solo at my age. Red and I most often compete in eventing."

"Oh!" Allura exclaimed, and clapped her hands. "That's great! So does everyone else here. But... You mentioned you were not part of a team... Would you be interested in joining team Voltron?"

Chapter Text

Training

Matt peered at Pidge and Green as they trotted around the arena, watching her shoulder, hip, and ankle line to make sure it was straight. She hadn't broken yet, but she was about to steer Green into a collected canter, which they both struggled with, so that could change. She steered Green from corner H and collected her into a canter towards corner F across the arena. She kept her posture straight, and collected Green just enough to collect her stride, and smiled slightly when she reached corner F, slowing her down into a brisk walk. Turning towards centerline A, she gently urged Green to extend her strides in their best move, the extended walk. At corner K, they steered towards center X at a trot. Pidge pulled her left rein in slightly, and pressed her right leg against Green's side to urge her into a half-pass left. After pulling to a stop of center X, Pidge saluted her imaginary top hat towards the Judge's booth at centerline C.

Matt clapped from his position at centerline C, grinning broadly at his sister. "That looked great, Pidgeon! You two looked like you were the same being, working together in perfect harmony!"

Pidge huffed, and gave her brother the finger, nudging Green to amble towards him. "You always give me over-the-top compliments before you drag my ass through the dirt. So, what'd you see? What do I need to work on?" she questioned.

Matt grinned, and stepped over the bar separating the inside and outside of the dressage arena. "You tucked your shoulder into the final extended walk turn at corner K, Pidgeon. And I could see you pulling back on your left rein at the start of the half-pass just after that, too."

She groaned, pulled Green to a stop, and dramatically fell forwards onto her pony's neck. "I knew you'd notice that... I didn't have a good grip on my reins before I started, so that's why. Anything else?"

Matt tapped his chin, thinking back over the entirety of the routine. "You and Green work seamlessly between gaits, that I think is your best point. There's almost no leg movement between gaits, and you go immediately from canter to walk or walk to trot. But, you still get excited when you perform a move perfectly; I could see you smiling from corner F after your perfect collected canter." she groaned louder, but Matt ignored it. "I know, it's something you two really struggled with and you were very happy to do it flawlessly, but judges will dock marks for facial expressions at this point in the competition, you know that." he said soothingly, and stopped beside Green's shoulder, and patted Pidge's thigh. "Other than that, your routine was flawless. Do you wanna do it again, or are you gonna throw bell boots on Green and hit the jumps?"

Pidge sat up, and wiggled in her seat slightly. "I think I'm gonna go set up some jumps in the indoor arena. I think I saw Hunk with the kids a few minutes ago, so they must be done." she said, and turned Green around. "Wanna help me set up fences?"

"Can't. I should check up on Coran and Shiro, they were cleaning the tack room and all the tack there today. Maybe Lance will help you out, though!" Matt replied, stepping out of the dressage arena.

He walked back towards the main barn, that was only a few hundred yards away from the dressage arena. Opening the back door to the stable, he almost ran into Lance, who was cackling as he emerged from the tack room with Blue's saddle. "Yeah, yeah Shiro I got it!" he exclaimed, and offered a quick apology to Matt before turning back to head towards Blue's stall.

Matt entered the tack room, peering in at a flustered Shiro and a chuckling Coran. "Do I even wanna know?" Matt asked.

Shiro shook his head, and ran his clean hand through the longer white tuft of hair. "No. You really don't."

Coran perked up at Matt's entrance, and motioned for him to sit between him and Shiro on the bench in front of the saddle wall. "You coming in to help?" he questioned, while lifting up what appeared to be Princess' casual bridle.

Matt nodded, and pulled Mouse's saddle down from the wall. "I figured I may as well. I already put the horses out to pasture, cleaned out Mouse's stall, and critiqued Pidge's routine. It's looking really good, her and Green are flowing really well now, even in her collected canter."

"That's good," Coran exclaimed, with a huge smile on his face. "They've been working on that for a while now, Allura will be happy to hear that."

Suddenly, Keith came into the tack room with Red's tack. "Oh, uhh, I didn't realize you guys were all in here. I can come back later..?"

"No need," Shiro said, and offered the new boarder a smile. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Shiro, one of the other boarders here and part of team Voltron. And, you are?"

Keith blinked, and stopped moving. "Oh, I--I'm Keith. I brought my mare, Red, here this morning." Keith turned to Coran, with a small smile. "And am I correct to assume you are Coran?" he questioned.

Coran puffed, and put the bridle down. "You are! I'm sure you want a home for your horse's tack. Which stall is your mare in, Keith?"

"Red's in the stall beside Blue, and I'm not sure who's on her left side..."

"Oh, Pidge put Red beside Blue? Figures. Well, to the left of Red is Moondancer, one of the lesson horses." Matt turned and pointed to a saddle rack on the wall just behind him. "So Red's tack goes there. We organize everyday training tack in here by stall number, and since Red's in stall 3, her tack goes on rack 3."

Keith moved towards the saddle rack, and lifted his saddle above his head to rest on the rack. He placed the matching bridle just below it, on the small hook resting there. "So, if this is only for daily tack, where do we leave show tack...?"

"Those lockers over there," Shiro pointed towards the far wall, where there were purple lockers taking up the entire side wall. "Again, since Red's in 3, you have locker 3. Do you have more than two show saddles?"

Keith shook his head. "No, I only have a smaller, more form fitting dressage saddle and my jumping saddle. So I should be able to get both in there. Alright, thank you. It was nice meeting you two." Keith said, offered a small, awkward wave, and stepped out of the tack room.

"He seems nice," Shiro said softly after Keith had left. "A little shy, but nice." he resumed waxing Black's saddle, before turning to Matt. "You already met him, it seems. What do you think of him, Matt?"

Matt felt himself flush under Shiro's gaze. "You-you're right," he stuttered out. "He does seem really nice. I haven't seen his mare yet, though. But I heard Pidge say she's a beauty."

"I saw her before I came in here," Coran picked up the bridle again, and continued cleaning it. "Blood bay Thoroughbred mare; she looks very powerful. But I do have a soft spot for Thoroughbreds..." he said with a smile.

Shiro smiled at Coran, before standing up with Black's saddle to place it on rack 10. "I'm gonna go bring Black in from the paddock, should I bring any others with me while I'm out there?"

Both Matt and Coran shook their heads. "I don't think so. I don't plan to run Commander today, I took him for a long run yesterday."

Shiro nodded, and walked towards the doorway. He stopped, and turned back to face the saddle wall. "That's an english saddle," Shiro murmured, staring at the saddle Keith put up on the wall minutes ago. "Do you think Allura's gonna ask him to join team Voltron?"

Coran turned towards Keith's saddle, and hummed. "You're right. Maybe, if she hasn't already. I know she wants a fifth rider before the local competition in a few weeks... It wouldn't shock me if Keith joined your ranks. It just depends on him."

Chapter Text

Rivals

Lance stopped outside of Blue's stall, and smiled slightly. Nobody had been in the stall beside her for... Quite a while, so it was nice to see her interacting with the other mare, even if her owner was infuriatingly attractive. He clucked softly at the door, hand on the metal latch, and Blue whirled around, and nickered at her owner softly. Stepping into her stall, he placed her brown leather training saddle down in the clean hay lightly, before standing back up to stroke Blue's neck. She closed her eyes at the contact, and leaned into his touch. He ran his hand through her mane, to see if she had any tangles before taking her out for practice; luckily she had none.

Footsteps echoed down the isle, before Keith peeked into Blue's stall. "Hi, Lance right?" he questioned. When Lance nodded, he continued, "Are you taking Blue out to practice?"

"Yeah, Pidge asked if I would help her set up fences in the indoor arena, so I was gonna practice with her. Why?"

"Oh! Well... Do you mind if I join you?"

Lance smirked, and threw his arm over Blue's neck. "We've got the fences set at 5', can you keep up?"

Keith returned the competitive look, and crossed his toned arms over his chest. "I can keep up. Let me go tack up Red and I'll meet you in there." He turned and walked back towards the tack room.

Lance stepped out of Blue's stall to lay her bridle down and grab his grooming kit, before stepping back in, hoof pick in hand. He managed to clean three of Blue's four hooves before Shiro stopped in the doorway.

"Morning, Lance." Shiro says quietly, and leaned against the doorway. "Have you met the new boarder yet?"

Lance nodded, and wiped his hands on the sides of his breeches. "I did, his mare's beside Blue. And he's gonna come out to train with us. Why?"

"Just curious," Shiro replied, and ran his metal hand through his hair. "I saw he had English tack in the tack room. Think Allura's gonna ask him to join Voltron?"

He paused, and turned to Blue, lost in thought. Lance knew Allura wanted to find a fifth rider for the team to make sure nobody had to work more than another, but he hadn't even really thought about having to compete with another person. "Maybe..." Lance said slowly, "Do you think he's up to our level?"

"I guess you'll see when he practices with you, huh?" Shiro replied with a smirk. He offered a small wave, grabbed Black's lead rope from the wall, before heading outside. Lance gently pulled on Blue's final hoof, and she lifted it with ease. With care to avoid her frog, he scraped out the clumped hay from around her shoes. He stood up, and gave her back a quick pat.

Keith returned moments later, with Red's black leather training tack. He leaned the saddle up against the stall wall, before laying the bridle and pad on top of it. While he opened the door, he hummed softly, and Red immediately stepped into his space. Keith's face broke out into a huge smile, before he brought both hands up to either side of Red's neck to stroke her. She rested her forehead on his shoulder and leaned into his embrace, and Lance smiled at the sight. He could understand the bond between a horse and rider; Lance loved Blue just as much as Keith loved Red.

He turned back to his own mare, who was staring back at him with her all-knowing brown eyes. Lance scoffed, and turned away from her. He deposited his blue hoof pick back into his black grooming kit, and grabbed the light brush. He quickly brushed off any dirt she'd accumulated from the barn, and slowly brushed over her face, to make sure she was pretty before practice. He dropped the brush back in the kit, picked the kit up, and deposited it back in the isle before grabbing her sapphire blue saddle pad. He draped it over Blue's back, just behind her withers. Then he turned, hefted up her training saddle, girth and all, and plopped it on her back, adjusting it to where it should sit. He pulled the girth off of the saddle, and lifted up the saddle flap to attach the girth, three holes from the top. He moved around to her other side, pulled the hanging girth from under her belly, and adjusted it the same as the other side. He slipped his fingers beneath the girth and pulled slightly, to make sure it wasn't too tight or too loose. With a nod, he stepped back around to her near side and picked up her bridle, tossed the reins around her neck, and looped the headstall over his arm. He removed her blue personalized halter, dropped it down under the water trough, and held the bit up under Blue's muzzle. She lowered her head, and Lance placed the bit between her teeth, before looping the back of the headstall behind her ears and pulling her forelock out.

Keith and Red suddenly appeared in the doorway, Red's reins looped around Keith's elbow. "You coming?" he questioned.

Lance nodded while he fiddled with the throat latch, "I'm almost done, I can meet you over there?"

Keith shook his head, and placed his helmet on his hip. "You're almost done, we can wait." he replied, and patted Red's cheek.

"Alrighty then..." he mumbled, and finished buckling the throat latch. "Ready?" he questioned, pulled Blue's reins back over her head, and led her out of her stall, grabbing his helmet along the way.

Keith and Lance walked out side by side, in somewhat awkward silence. "So..." Keith started, and brushed his bangs back. "How long have you been riding?"

Lance kept his gaze forwards, and kept ambling along, thinking. "Well, I started riding when I was four. There was a barn not too far from my house, so whenever my parents could afford it, they bought me lessons there. I had to quit for a while, but I heard that my old coach had a big yearling sale. So, I saved enough to buy Blue as a yearling, and I moved out here a few years after that. I haven't looked back since, and she was the best purchase I ever made." he paused, and glanced over at Keith. "How about you?"

"My dad's an eventer." he began, and stroked Red's cheek absentmindedly. "I've been around horses pretty well since I was born, but never really got on a horse's back until I was ten. My dad put me on his horse's back, and during my first lesson I learned how to jump. When he saw that I really enjoyed it, he offered to buy me a horse of my own. But I wanted to have a horse sired by his horse, Vic, so he made it happen. I've been with this girl since she was born," he said with a soft smile, "and I wouldn't have had it any other way."

"That's really awesome," Lance exclaimed, and skipped for a step. "I wondered why you two seemed so in sync, but now it all makes sense. You've been her person since day one!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Keith amended, and slowed to let Lance and Blue into the arena first.

Without stopping, Lance unhooked the stirrups from the top of Blue's saddle, and threw his left foot in the stirrup and swung himself up with practiced ease. Blue threw her head excitedly and loped further into the arena.

"Stop showing off, you ass!" Pidge exclaimed from atop Green in the center of the arena. "Just because you don't need to stop for a second to mount up doesn't mean the rest of us don't!" she paused, and noticed the other horse and rider in the arena. "Keith, you joining us?"

"Yeah, I saw Lance was tacking up and I figured I'd ask. Is that okay?" he questioned, suddenly nervous.

"Totally fine!" she exclaimed, and waved him over once he was seated in Red's saddle. "You okay with what the fences are set at?"

Keith smirked, and gathered his reins. "Don't worry about me keeping up."

"Alrighty then, Mr. Proud-and-Cocky, would you like to show us how it's done?" Lance drawled, with a hand on his hip.

"Gladly," Keith retorted, and spun Red around to kick her into an immediate canter. He steered her towards the first fence, a simple vertical, barely squeezing her sides to push her to clear it easily. He continued down the straight path towards the first layered oxer, collecting her just before pushing her over the fence.

Lance whistled softly to himself. Keith wasn't kidding when he said that they didn't have to worry about him; he and Red owned the show jumping arena without even really trying. Keith turned his head towards the double combination, collected Red, and together they soared over the two widest fences in the arena.

With a gentle "good girl", Keith pulled up on the reins a bit to trot towards the center of the arena, with a huge grin on his face. "It's been so long since Red and I had fun like that. Who's next?"

"I'll go!" Pidge announced, and spurred Green into a quick trot. "I don't know if we can top that, though." she mumbled, almost too quietly for Lance to hear.

Lance turned to Keith, who'd stopped Red beside Blue. "Am I correct in assuming show jumping is your favourite of the three?" he questioned quietly.

Keith snapped his gaze over to Lance, shock written clearly on his handsome features. "No, actually. I mean, I love anything that involves jumping, but cross country is my favourite arena, and Red's." he patted Red's neck when she shook her mane out. "Thoroughbreds aren't known for their jumping ability, but their stamina sure comes in handy."

"Oh," Lance shifted his grip on the reins, "I guess I haven't seen you run cross country yet. But you just looked so... Happy jumping, so I just thought--"

"No, it's fine." Keith interrupted. "What about you? What's your favourite arena?"

"Dress--" Lance started, but snapped his gaze up when he heard a pole bounce to the ground. Pidge was frowning, but patted Green's neck and steered her towards the final double. "Dressage is my favourite arena." Lance continued. "Blue rides like a dream in there, and I love choreographing different routines."

"That doesn't shock me, actually." Keith replied, and turned to face Pidge as she and Green ambled towards the middle. "Do you wanna know how you dropped the rail?" he questioned.

"Wasn't centered?" she supplied, and dropped her reins on Green's neck.

"Nope," he shook his head. "You squeezed her a step too soon; if you'd collected her, you could've gotten another stride before the fence."

Pidge's eyes widened, and she pointed at Keith. "You are a genius, Keith!" she exclaimed.

"He's right, you know." Allura said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "You can't just let her run like that, you need to control her strides, Pidge." she chided.

Pidge grumbled an "I know, I know" before picking up her reins again.

"I believe it's your turn, Lance!" Allura exclaimed, and clapped her hands. "Show me what you've got."

Lance swallowed nervously, and mumbled a "we've got this" to Blue, before spurring her off towards the first fence. As he started counting the strides down in his head, he felt his shoulders tensing up. Keith had just had an amazing round, what if he embarrassed himself? He squeezed Blue's sides and she cleared the fence, but threw her head a bit as soon as they landed. With a quick rub to her neck, Lance collected her stride towards the oxer, and glanced over at Keith and Pidge quickly, losing count of his strides. Blue launched on her own, but knocked the top rail down. Lance cringed on landing, and turned his head to look at the center of the double combination. He collected her just before the first fence, squeezed, and let her take her usual strides for two steps between fences, before launching into the air for the final fence.

Lance steered back towards the center, fiddling with his reins in his hands. He stopped with Pidge between he and Keith, but Keith paid no mind to that. He spurred Red forwards to move closer to Lance.

"What was that?" Keith questioned, cocking his head slightly. "You looked really tense out there. Blue could feel how tense you were, and you lost focus, which is why she dropped the rail. What happened?"

"Just a bad practice," Lance mumbled, and buried his hands in Blue's mane.

Keith seemed to accept that answer. Turning around, he seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning to Allura. "I have an answer for you," he said, somewhat ominously.

Allura straightened, and her eyes seemed to sparkle a bit. "And...?"

"I want to join Voltron."

Chapter Text

Bonds

Hunk patted his pockets, listening for the telltale crinkle of the plastic bag before ambling into the main barn. He loved helping Allura out with the lesson kids, and loved seeing how much they were improving. Lacie seemed to be getting more comfortable on Moondancer, and even Eddie was able to get Champie past his usual slow trot. Hunk could see himself running lessons if Allura'd let him...

Hunk smiled as he reached Yellow's stall. She whinnied loudly when she saw him, and leaned her head out as far as she could to reach him. Hunk reached out to touch her cheeks, and rested his forehead on hers. She huffed contentedly, and stayed pressed against him. Suddenly, she lowered her head down to his right pocket, and Hunk broke out laughing. Grabbing two mints out of the bag in his pocket, he offered one peppermint to Yellow on a flat palm, while throwing one into his mouth for himself. She crunched it up easily, tongue lapping out to remove traces of it from her lips. Unlocking Yellow's stall, he pushed it wide open, and turned to walk back out of the barn. He could hear the tell-tale clop-clop down the isle that Yellow was following him, like she always did. Making their way back outside, Hunk settled down on the grass just in front of the west paddock, and watched as Yellow grazed beside him, completely at ease with each other.

Yellow ambled closer occasionally for another mint, before moving out again to find a new grazing spot. Hunk knew she liked being outside the paddock to graze because it wasn't already picked over, and he trusted her. He trusted that she wouldn't run off, just as she trusted him in training; he would never make her jump over something potentially dangerous.

Suddenly, a small red car pulled in. Yellow raised her head, before she shook her mane out and continued grazing. The red car stopped just beside the main barn, and Shay stepped out. "Hey, Hunk!" she called, and made her way over to where he was sitting.

He smiled fondly at her, and offered his hand up to her, an invitation to sit down. She grasped his hand gently, and plopped down beside him. "Hey," Hunk mumbled, and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. "I didn't know you were coming over today!"

"It was a bit of a last minute thing," she started, and twined their fingers together. "Rax offered to take my shift, so I thought I'd come surprise you!"

"I'm glad you did."

Suddenly, Yellow nosed her way between them, and rested her head on Shay's shoulder. Shay broke out in giggles, "Aww, hi girl! Did you miss me?" she cooed, and placed a kiss on her nose. "Because I missed you!"

"Oh, should I give you two a minute?" Hunk grumbled with a smile on his face. "Are you sure you just came to see me?" he asked with a quirked brow.

Shay peered around Yellow's head to give Hunk a pout. "Of course I came to see you! But you don't often come without your horse, so I came to see both of you!"

He huffed a chuckle, and brought the mints bag out of his pocket, offering it to his girlfriend. "Want one?"

"Sure!" she exclaimed, and grabbed two; one for herself and one for the horse who was trying to nose her way into the bag. "Yellow, you greedy girl!" she said, and pushed on Hunk's hand to move the sweets away from Yellow's muzzle. "Here you are, girl. One at a time!" she offered a mint to the horse on a flat palm, and placed one on her own tongue.

Yellow soon went back to her grazing, leaving the couple on their own. Hunk laid back, and Shay followed after a moment, resting her head on his chest. "What are your plans for the day?" Shay asked suddenly, peering up at him.

Hunk shrugged, and rested his arms on her lower back. "I was gonna run Yellow on the cross country course after I helped Allura with this morning's lesson, but then the new boarder showed up. But I saw Matt and Shiro head over there about half an hour ago, so maybe I'll just hit the dressage arena." he paused, and peered down at her. "Why? Did you have plans?"

"No, not particularly. I just want to spend some time with you, is all." she replied with a soft smile. "It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you. We've both been busy."

He nodded, and thought for a moment. "Why don't we just wander around here, then? You've said in the past you wanted to know more about eventing, and here's a great place to learn a bit. Wanna take a romantic stroll through the fields, my dear?"

She giggled, and sat up. "I'd love to." she turned to look back at Yellow. "Is she coming with us?"

Hunk sat up, and turned to face his mare. "She can, if you don't want to walk. But we'd need to brush her first," he said, and glanced down at Shay's black work pants. "She's probably not too dusty, but your pants would be filthy."

Shay broke out laughing, and stood up. "I think my washing machine can handle a little horse dirt." she offered a hand down to her boyfriend. "Cmon, give me a leg up? Yellow's huge."

"She's the perfect size..." Hunk grumbled, but stood up with Shay's help. Walking towards Yellow, Hunk lifted Shay up by her hips onto his horse. "Just use your legs like I showed you," he commented, and placed his hand on her thigh. "I haven't rode her bareback in a while, so this will be good practice for the both of you."

Shay nodded, and adjusted her legs. "Lead on, comrade."

Hunk walked a few steps ahead of Yellow and Shay, with his hands in his pockets. They walked in silence for a while, simply admiring the view. The path towards the small cross country course they had set up at at Altean Stables curved down the hill to a wooded area, with a small stream. The chatter of birds and other hidden creatures made the path very calming, and was one of Hunk's favourite places.

Suddenly, there was two more sets of hoofprints quickly approaching their location. Hunk whipped around in time to see a whoosh of black fly by him, before a smiling Matt stopped a few feet in front of them. Shiro spun Black around, laughing. "I thought you would've seen us sooner, Hunk!" he called, and slowed Black to a stop.

"I was lost in my head, I guess." Hunk replied, and stepped back to pat Yellow, who had started to prance in place a bit. "How's training going, guys?"

"Good!" Matt exclaimed, and patted Mouse's neck. "Shiro keeps leaving us in the dust, but that's not shocking."

Shiro chuckled, and shook his head. "Maybe if you had something bigger than a pony you wouldn't be so far behind!" he joked, and patted Black's gleaming neck. "Hey, Shay! When'd you get here?"

"Not long ago!" she chirped, and swung her legs a bit from Yellow's back. "Wasn't planning on coming today, but Rax took my shift, so here I am."

"That was nice of your brother," Matt said softly, eying Shiro. "Should we get back to it?"

Shiro nodded, and waved, before steering Black away. "It was nice seeing you, Shay!" he called, kicking Black off towards the trees again. Matt followed closely behind, with a quick wave and a smile at Shay and Hunk.

"What are they training for?" Shay questioned, running her hands through Yellow's mane absentmindedly.

"We have a competition coming up, and Matt's participating on his own. And since cross country is Shiro's strong suit, and Matt's weakest, they appear to be training together." he placed his hands on his hips, and surveyed the area around them. He pointed to the stream, where there was a simple wooden vertical sitting smack dab in the middle. "See the fence in the stream there? It's the only water jump we have on site, but it still causes a few of the horses trouble. It's a good thing that we have a water jump here at all, or else our horses wouldn't get exposure to them at all. Water jumps tend to be where most refusals and falls happen."

Shay nodded in understanding, before pointing to the right, where Matt and Shiro were just jumping up over a jump on a hill. "What about that fence? Is it supposed to be there?"

"Yup! It's just a simple brush fence at the top of a hill. It's challenging because the horse has to gallop up the hill to immediately jump over a fence, then level out." he pointed beyond the brush fence, to where there was a pole laying on the ground. "Just behind the pole is a three foot wide ditch, filled with water from all the rain we've been getting."

"And the different coloured flags on the fences? What do they mean?"

"The red and white flags? They show which way the fence is to be jumped from. I always remember it as "red on right". So the white flag needs to be on your left, and the red on your right. That's how you know you're jumping over the fence the right way. It applies to both cross country and show jumping, but show jumping usually has the numbers in front of the fence as well, so you can cheat and just look at the numbers."

"That makes sense." she mumbled, and looked at the back of Hunk's head. "You sure know a whole lot about this."

Hunk turned back to her, and smiled. "I had to, with Lance talking my ear off about it all the time. He's the one who got me into riding, you know."

"Really?" Shay questioned, eyes widening. "You never told me that!"

"Well, I guess I am now." he mumbled, and turned back to face the course. "He's been my best friend for so long, that I don't really remember a time where I wasn't involved in this world." Hunk took a deep breath, and smiled. "Not that I'd want out, not a chance."

"Why not?" she whispered, looking at his relaxed frame. "Why wouldn't you want to get out of this world?"

"Three seconds." he replied.

Shay stared at him, lost in his meaning. "What?"

"Three seconds, my old coach used to tell me. The first is counting your final stride, and squeezing your horse's sides, just before taking off for a jump. The second is euphoria, the feeling that your stomach's falling through to your lowered heels as you fly over a jump. And the third is crashing back down to reality as your horse's hooves touch the ground, and you're jolted back to the world you live in. That's the best three seconds of your life. And that's why I can't leave this world behind, because that feeling is so addictive."

Chapter Text

Little Pidgeons Sneaking

Pidge rounded the corner to the small viewing room in the indoor arena just as Shiro and Keith opened the door. Keith held it open for Pidge, and she stepped in front of him with a small smile. Allura was standing in the front, leaning back against the railing, and Lance and Coran were sitting directly in front of her. The only person missing from the impromptu meeting was Hunk.

"Has someone let Hunk know about the meeting?" Allura questioned, and pulled on the ends of her hair distractedly.

"I texted him a few minutes ago; he was just sending Shay off." Lance replied, and shoved his phone back into the inside pocket of his breeches.

The door creaked open, and Hunk peeked in. "Sorry I'm late, Allura." he said with a sheepish smile.

"It's no problem, Hunk! We haven't been waiting long." she reassured him, and motioned for everyone to take a seat. "So, you're probably wondering why I've called you all here," she started, and smoothed her long hair back over her shoulder.

There was a unanimous hum among those present, and Pidge turned her head to glance over at Keith, who seemed especially quiet. Shrugging slightly to herself, she leaned against the wall to keep her joddies clean from the assumed dirt that was lacing the benches.

"Well, I have some good news for you!" Allura boasted suddenly, and clapped her hands together. "I offered the final team slot to Keith, and he accepted!"

Hunk beamed from his spot beside Keith, and clapped him on the shoulder. "That's great, man!" he exclaimed, and turned to face the rest of the team. "What do you think, guys?"

Lance turned and smiled slightly from his seat in front of Hunk and Keith. "I'm glad you decided to take it, man." he mumbled, and twisted his hands together in front of himself slightly.

Shiro placed his hand on Keith's other shoulder, causing the younger man to look up at him. "I'm glad you decided to join the team, Keith. We could really use another rider." he paused, before adding "What's your best arena, Keith?"

Keith turned his gaze towards the floor, and pondered the question. "Anything with jumping, really. Red loves going fast and I love the feeling of jumping. But we aren't as good at dressage, I guess."

"You and Lance should work together, then!" Hunk said, turning to gauge Lance's reaction. "He's our best dressage rider, and could really get some expertise from a jumper. He hasn't seemed to gain anything from Shiro, Allura, or I."

Lance glared at Hunk, and stood up. "Oh sure, Hunk, don't tell me what you really think about my jumping skills." he snapped, hurt registering clearly on his face. He brushed past them, and quickly made his way out of the small viewing room.

Coran sighed, and shook his head. "Oh no... Well, he'll need some time to cool off. But you made a very good point, Hunk; Lance and Keith could learn from each other."

"What do you think, Pidge?" Allura questioned, turning to face the other woman in the group. "You've been awfully quiet."

"I think that this is a good idea." she answered with a shrug. "Seeing how he jumped today? If he were in competition mode, that would've won a ribbon. We could use someone like that to get Voltron back on track."

Keith flushed slightly from Pidge's words, and stood up. "Alright, well.. Thanks for the opportunity to join this team. I won't let you down." he said awkwardly, and quickly brushed out of the room, just like Lance had.

"Hopefully they can work things out..." Allura mumbled, and brought her hand up to her cheek. "We all need to work together to grow as a team, work on strengths and weaknesses. I know Keith's new, but I think he can be just as important as the rest of you are to Altean Stables."

Pidge pushed herself off of the wall she was leaning on, and turned to face Hunk. "Do you really think Lance would benefit from Keith teaching him?" she asked softly.

Hunk shrugged, and chewed at his lip nervously. "I hope he will, honestly. I think Lance and Keith could work really well together. But it could also be a really bad decision. So I guess we'll see."

Pidge hummed softly, and turned to make her way out of the room. She left the barn, and made her way back over to the main barn to turn Green out for a while so her stall could be cleaned. What she didn't expect to hear were voices coming from a stall not too far from the entrance.

It was Keith and Lance. Lance was inside Blue's stall, running a brush over her hindquarters while Keith leaned against the stall door, talking heatedly with Lance. Pidge hid her body behind the large doors of the barn's entryway, and peeked around to listen to their conversation.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Keith snapped, and pulled the hair tie out of his hair, letting it fall loose around his shoulders.

Lance spun around quickly to glare at his new teammate. "Of course you wouldn't! You don't know the first thing about me," he said dejectedly, and bit his lip, lost in his head.

Keith groaned, and ran his hand through his hair. "It's no wonder I don't know anything about you because I just met you! But I want to get to know you better."

Lance stuttered, and a soft blush coloured his cheeks. "Bu-but you... You've got a mullet!" he exclaimed, and turned back to face Blue. "What makes you think you get to know me?"

"What do you want from me?" Keith whispered, sounding defeated. "I just want to figure you out, Lance! Maybe we could help each other out. But we can't do that if you're not even willing to try!"

Lance just shrugged slightly, and brought his brush back to Blue's back, the soft hiss of the brush over her coat filling the silence. Finally Keith groaned, and pushed away from the stall door and stalked towards where Pidge was hiding.

Pidge quickly backpeddalled away from the door, and started walking towards the barn again like she wasn't already there. She nearly bumped into Keith who was making a hasty escape to his truck. "Woah, Keith, are you okay?" she grabbed his arm, so he couldn't escape her question.

Keith grunted, and stopped to stare down at her. "Just peachy, Pidge. But I just remembered I had something I need to do," he replied harshly, and pulled his arm from her grasp. "Allura has Red's feeding schedule, can someone feed her for me?" he called over his shoulder, and reefed open his truck's door. He hastily jumped in, and revved his engine to life, before shifting his truck in gear and turning out of the lot.

Pidge glared at the truck and trailer's dust, before stalking into the barn toward Blue's stall. "What was that?" she asked Lance sharply, who jumped at her arrival.

"Jeez, Pidgeon, give me a heart attack!" he shouted, and glared at her.

"What. Was. That?" she repeated, enunciating each word forcefully.

"It was nothing," Lance fiddled with the brush in his hands, before dropping it back in his grooming kit. "He was just asking me something."

"Look," Pidge started, and crossed her arms over her chest. "You two need to work out whatever," she gestured her hands vaguely towards Lance "this is. We're a team now, and we need to work together, you know that."

Lance sighed, and after a moment, nodded his head. "I know. I'll... Work on it, I promise." he offered weakly.

She huffed, and stalked towards Green's stall, wondering why the hell boys had to make things so difficult.

Chapter Text

Teamwork

Allura pulled the final buckles together on Princess' headstall before pulling her reins over her head. With a small huff, she lead her mare out of her stall towards the back exit, towards the dressage arena. A second set of hooves clopped along behind Princess', and Allura turned to peer behind her; Shiro and Black followed them closely behind.

Shiro offered a bright smile, and quickly caught up to Allura and Princess. "Morning, Allura. Ready to train?" he questioned, voice echoing slightly down the isle.

She shrugged slightly, and patted Princess' neck lightly. "I'm excited to see how you all work together, as a team." she ammended, and paused, looking out towards the dressage ring, surprised to see a rider already hard at work in there. "Is that... Keith?" she asked, surprised.

Shiro squinted, looking out to where Allura was looking. "It... Looks like it!" he agreed, and suddenly his eyes widened. "Wow, Keith wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't really good at dressage."

Keith was apparently attempting to urge Red into an extended trot, which turned into her picking up speed and Keith frantically pulling back on the reins to slow her back into a trot. Allura chuckled softly, and shook her head. "I hope Lance does decide to help him out... Hunk was right, they could really benefit each other. But worst case, you and I could try to help them separately, right?"

He nodded, and clasped her shoulder gently. "Anything you need me to do, Allura."

Pidge and Green suddenly whooshed past them, cackling, and was quickly pursued by a shrieking Lance on Blue. Shock flashed across Allura's face, before she shook her head and sighed. Keith was startled by the sudden commotion coming towards him, and quickly pulled Red to a halt.

"Guys!" Shiro called loudly, with his dad-voice. "Quit it! Keith was trying to practice, you should be a little more considerate!"

"You call that practicing?" Lance retorted, and scoffed. "More like a disaster on horseback!"

Keith's face flushed, and he grimaced, but kept his mouth shut, and tucked stray locks of hair behind his ear.

"Lance." Shiro scolded, tight lipped. "That's not for you to say. Plus, I'm sure Keith could say something about your jumping skills, if he wanted."

Hunk "ooh'd" from somewhere behind the group, and snapped his fingers from Yellow's back.

"Great, now that we're all here," Allura began, and tossed Princess' reins back over her neck. "We may as well start with dressage, and work over to the indoor arena. Coran and Matt were kind enough to set up a new course for us in there, since the cross country course is a little too wet this morning." She quickly mounted up, and settled in her saddle.

Shiro followed suit, and trotted ahead of her to approach the group. Keith spun Red out of the arena quickly, and they trotted out to stop beside Hunk and Yellow. Lance and Pidge sat side by side on horseback, while Green and Blue interacted quietly with each other.

"Pidge," Allura began, and motioned towards the arena. "I heard you were working on perfecting your collected canter! Can we see it?"

Pidge smiled widely, and nodded quickly, causing her mess of brown hair to flop around. "Sure! I think we've finally mastered it, Allura!" she spurred Green into the arena, already cantering, and quickly collected her canter to steer around the arena.

Allura closely watched Pidge's form, especially how well seated she was in the saddle. Sometimes she and Green tended to bounce off each other's energy, especially when they finally mastered something, but Pidge kept her seat well. Her hands were soft by the pommel, and her knees were tight to the saddle. Allura then turned her attention to Green; her head was pulled slightly into her chest, which was the correct placement. Her strides were tight and precise, not choppy like they were when the pair was first practicing it. They made it all the way around the arena before Pidge stopped by the entrance, and mock-bowed to Allura, a smile nearly splitting her face.

Allura clapped enthusiastically for Pidge's accomplishment. "It looks great, Pidge!! You've finally mastered it! I'm so happy for you."

Pidge trotted out, and resumed her spot beside Lance. Lance patted her leg lightly, and whispered something Allura couldn't hear, but made Pidge giggle.

Lance turned to Allura, bearing a cocky grin. "Want me to strut my stuff, princesses?"

She frowned at him, squinting slightly. "No, Lance, unless you've gotten drastically worse at your best arena since we last worked together. You need to focus on the jumping arenas, okay?" she turned to her left to peer at Hunk. "You wanna go? You were working on speeding up all of your walks. Why don't you do the first third collected, middle regular, and final extended?"

With a nod, Hunk backed Yellow out of the line and steered her towards the arena entrance.

Allura kept a close eye on Hunk's near leg, watching for noticeable movements. He was drastically improving on keeping Yellow's walk at a reasonable pace without a ton of leg movement, which meant he was using his knees to keep her moving. Allura smiled, and changed her focus to Yellow; her head was tucked up slightly, as it should be at a collected walk, easily one of the harder dressage movements. Her steps were short and deliberate, but still had enough emphasis behind them to keep judges happy. As Hunk released his reins slightly for the regular walk, Yellow stretched her neck out more comfortably, and seemed to lose interest in keeping up a polished performance. Hunk immediately squeezed with his knees, and she perked up, and started stepping a little quicker. Allura nodded to herself, and dropped her reins on Princess' neck to cross her arms over her chest, and watched the nearly seamless transition between walk and extended walk. Yellow stretched her long legs out in front of her, eating up the ground in long strides. Hunk's hands were slightly too far forward above the pommel, but it wasn't something a judge would notice from a distance.

Hunk came to a stop just in front of Princess, glancing at Allura sheepishly. "How... How was that? I know Yellow lost focus for a bit but I managed to get her back under control fairly quickly..."

"You're right, she did lose focus for a bit in the middle." Allura said softly, and smiled. "But you caught it before it would've started to dock you points, and the rest was very well done! I'm very proud of the improvement shown."

Hunk beamed, and nodded slightly to Allura before returning to his spot between Shiro and Keith.

Shiro leaned around Hunk to peer at Keith. "I know you were training before we got here, but why don't you show us what you've got so we can work on improving it?" he said softly, and motioned towards the arena.

Keith blanched a little, and swallowed nervously. But with a determined glint in his eye, he nodded, and spun Red around quickly to head into the arena. He stopped her at center X and turned his head. "What should I do, Allura?" he called back.

"Just start by trotting around the arena, counter-clockwise. I'll call out different moves, alright? And just transition at the next marker."

With a nod, Keith turned back, took a deep breath, and gently urged Red forwards, trotting along and taking a left turn at center C. He kept glancing nervously over towards where everyone was watching, and it was obvious Red was sensing his nervousness. She kept shaking her mane out, and her steps were very irregular; some strides were longer than others.

"Do a 10m circle at marker E." Allura called out once Keith rode past marker H.

Keith tensed up even more, and started pulling Red away from the 'wall' too early. His circle ended up being quite lobsided, even from Allura's angle, and she sighed. To her right, she saw Lance tense up and narrow his eyes slightly, watching Keith with rapt attention. Allura smiled softly, before calling "turn left at center A and shoulder-in left at center D. Halt and salute at center X."

Keith nodded slightly, and made his way around to center A. He pulled his left hand back slightly, and let his right hand pull forwards, trying to urge Red into a shoulder-in. She shook her head out and continued stubbornly trudging on forwards. With a resigned sigh, he let her trot to center X and brought her to a stop. He let his head fall forwards, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Allura turned to Lance, who was still watching Keith intently. "So, Lance," she began, causing Lance to jump in the saddle a bit, "What was wrong with Keith's performance?"

Lance stared at Allura, trying to see if she was joking or not. When she kept staring at him intently, he sighed and turned towards Keith. "You're too tense, Keith. It's like you're too afraid to let loose and let Red perform. You're nervous, which Red picks up on, which is why she doesn't listen to you."

Keith snapped his head up, and turned to Lance, incredulous. "You're joking." he said slowly.

Lance's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. "Uhh, actually no, I'm not joking. You were so tense out there, I could feel the tension from over here. Seriously, have you only ever focused on jumping higher? Groundwork is just as important. You can collect Red before a fence but you can't in this arena? I find that a little bit odd." he said suspiciously.

Keith glared back at Lance, then spun Red around. "Well I'm sorry if I'm not good at choreography as you are, Lance! Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses."

Allura placed her hand on Lance's arm before he could retort. "Thanks for demonstrating for us, Keith. Now we know what we can help you work on." she said with a strained smile.

Keith nodded, and trotted back to the line before Lance could say anything else.

"Should we head over to the indoor arena, Allura?" Shiro questioned, and patted Black's neck. When Allura nodded, Shiro backed Black away, and cantered ahead of the group to make sure the arena's set up.

Hunk pushed Yellow up beside Allura and Princess. "Do you think that Lance and Keith working together is a good idea?" he asked quietly.

Allura glanced back to the riders behind them; Green and Pidge were walking beside a quiet Lance on Blue, and Keith and Red were lingering at the back. Keith had his feet out of the stirrups and let his reins droop loosely around Red's neck. She turned back to Hunk and shrugged lightly. "I think it could really benefit them if they stopped working against each other." she replied just as quietly, and fiddled with Princess' mane. "But I don't know if they will ever want to work together. I don't know why they are butting heads either."

Hunk shook his head, lost in thought. "I can talk to Lance about it..." he said slowly, and ran his hand down Yellow's neck. "Maybe Pidge or Shiro can talk to Keith. We should try to nip this in the bud." Hunk quickly turned to look back at Lance, before picking up his reins more steadily and quickly steering Yellow back. "We'll meet you guys over there," he informed Allura, and cut Blue off.

Lance snapped his head up as Blue stopped dead in her tracks. "Dude, what the hell?" he snapped, gaping at Hunk.

Hunk just shook his head, reached out to grab Blue's rein under her bit, and pulled them to the side.

Keith and Pidge looked quite shocked at Hunk's action, but kept following Allura and Princess towards the indoor arena.

Shiro was dismounted from Black, and talking animately with his hands with Matt and Coran, with a huge smile on his face. Matt was blushing slightly, and Coran was nodding along quickly to whatever Shiro was saying, Allura noticed. Stopping Princess beside Black in the middle of the arena, Black let out a nicker when he saw Princess.

Shiro turned back quickly, and frowned at the number of horses and riders present. "Where are Lance and Hunk?" he asked, turning towards Allura.

She just shook her head softly, lips pursed. "They'll join up with us in a minute," she said with a hint that they would discuss it later.

With a nod, Shiro walked back over to Black, and quickly mounted up. Black pranced in place a bit, and shook her long ebony mane out excitedly. Allura giggled at Black's antics.

Coran stepped towards the riders and clapped his hands together quickly. "Alright! So Matt and I set up this course with no real plan, so jump them in any order you want! The only fence you have to approach from a specific direction is the double, starting with the vertical then the over. Who wants to go first?"

Shiro clapped Black's neck and broke out in a grin. "I think we would," he said, and gently nudged his mare forwards. "I'm excited to try what you two've cooked up for us."

Chapter Text

Confrontation

Keith patted Red's rump as she walked by him to enter the pasture, before galloping off to join Lance's mare. With a small smile, Keith watched them interact for a few moments; Red pranced around Blue excitedly, and Blue whinnied loudly at her presence. After a few moments, they settled down and staring grazing beside each other in comfortable silence. With a shake of his head, he locked the gate up, and turned back towards the barn.

On his way back to the barn, Keith pondered his position with Lance. They seemed to get along well before that first training session together the previous day, until Keith had questioned why Lance got distracted while jumping. That was when Lance had gotten distant and tried to keep Keith at arm's length with a snappy tone. So what had made him distant? What happened to Lance that made him nervous while jumping?

Allura suddenly appeared in Keith's line of sight, closely followed by Shiro. She waved at Keith, a wide smile on her face. Keith turned into the barn quickly, trying to steer them away. He ducked into Red's empty stall, and tried to look busy.

Allura was not turned away so easily; she and Shiro followed him into the barn, and stopped outside of Red's stall, effectively cutting off his escape route.

"Hi Keith!" Allura said brightly, and casually leaned against the side of the entryway. "Are you busy?"

"I was, uhh... Ju-just about to clean Red's stall." he stuttered, and ran his hand through his hair. "Why?"

"We wanted to talk to you about Lance," Shiro began, and looked to Allura for confirmation. "We noticed that you two don't seem to... Want to work together." he said softly.

Keith paused, and took a moment to look at both of his interrogators equally. Allura appeared optimistic, and Shiro looked skeptical. Keith shrugged, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Lance is the one who keeps pushing me away. I'd be more than willing to help him if he'd get over himself for five minutes."

Allura huffed, and shook her head. "You haven't been helpful either." she chided, "Calling Lance out on his obvious flaws, --"

"Well it's obvious he's hiding something!" Keith interrupted, and flung his arms out vaguely. "There's no way a rider as experienced as Lance would get that distracted without a reason. What's he hiding?"

Allura bristled, and her expression changed from optimistic to downright cold. "That's not your concern, Keith. All you need to concern yourself with is bettering your dressage skills by next month."

Keith took a step back, shocked. He had never heard Allura use that tone before, not with anyone. "Oh, uh.. O-okay." he stuttered, eyes wide. "I didn't know-"

"No, you didn't." Shiro said softly. "And there's no way he could've, Allura." he placed his hand on her shoulder lightly. "It's not his fault, he's bound to be curious."

Allura huffed, and ran her hand down her face slowly, contemplating. "You're right... I'm sorry, Keith, that was rude of me."

"I don't blame you for snapping at me..." Keith mumbled, and looked down at the straw he kicked distractedly. "Will you tell me what happened to Lance for him to get so distant while jumping?"

"That's not up to us," Allura said quickly at the same time Shiro said "That's Lance's decision".

"Oh... Kay?" he said slowly, and looked back up. "If I have to wait for Lance to tell me, I'll never hear about it."

"I doubt that," Shiro said, with a small smile. "Once Lance takes a liking to someone, he never shuts up. Like, ever. So you'll hear about it if you get him to like you."

On that note, Allura and Shiro backed away from Red's stall, leaving Keith alone with his thoughts.

Keith stalked out of Red's stall towards the feed room, where the pitchfork and wheelbarrow were kept. Even if cleaning Red's stall was a distraction to keep Allura and Shiro away, he may as well actually do it. Tossing the pitchfork in the wheelbarrow, he wheeled it back down the isle to deposit it right outside of Red's stall. Picking up the pitchfork, he started shifting through the straw.

Boots and hooves echoed down the isle, and Keith glanced up to see Lance and Blue walk back into the barn. Lance smiled slightly at him while passing, and turned into Blue's stall next door.

They were both quiet for a few moments, the silence filled with the metal ends of the pitchfork scraping lightly against the concrete floor, and Blue's louder breaths. Suddenly, Lance spoke up; "It's funny how our horses get along better than we do."

Keith stood up, and leaned on the pitchfork, facing Lance. His eyes squinted slightly in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Did you see Red and Blue out there?" he asked, and stroked Blue's neck. "When I called for Blue, Red followed her to the fence line. None of the other horses ever do that, it's like they didn't want to be separated."

"I noticed that when I let Red out," Keith mused, and smiled slightly. "Red made a beeline right for Blue, and they were both prancing around for a few moments before they settled down and just grazed beside each other."

"They've known each other for like, a day, but they're already best buds for life." he said with a huge grin, and ruffled Blue's mane enthusiastically. "Look at you, my little Star, already making friends." he cooed.

Keith coughed suddenly, feeling slightly awkward, like he was invading on something. "So..." he started, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Look, I'm... I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't know the whole story, and-"

"No, you don't." Lance said softly, and sighed. "Look, it's okay. I get it. And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier when you were trying to strut your stuff in the dressage ring. I shouldn't have said what I did, especially about how you train."

"I meant what I said, about having strengths and weaknesses. Our strengths and weaknesses seem to be fire and ice, so we should try to use that to our advantage..." Keith said slowly, waiting for Lance's immediate rejection.

Instead, Lance nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." he paused, and turned away from Keith so he couldn't see his face. "Who got to you about it?"

Keith was quiet for a moment, before he broke out laughing, causing Lance to snap around, confusion plastered all over his face. "Shiro and Allura. Who got to you?" he wheezed out between chortles.

Lance smiled at Keith, shaking his head. "Hunk. At Allura's nudge, I'd guess. Guess the whole team wants us to work together, huh?"

"Seems like it," Keith nodded, and turned to continue cleaning Red's stall.

They were quiet for another few moments, before Keith tossed the pitchfork on the accumulating pile in the wheelbarrow and turned back to Lance. "Should we try training a bit today? Just you and I?" he questioned, and felt his cheeks redden slightly.

Lance looked back at him over his shoulder, and nodded. "Sure. But if Red and Blue just ate, we should let them rest for a bit before we take them out. So..." he paused, thinking, then snapped his fingers suddenly. "How about we start with you? Dressage is easier to do groundwork on than jumping."

Keith cocked his head slightly, completely lost on where Lance was going with this. "Uhh... Don't we still need Red to practice dressage?"

"Not necessarily, teammate. All we need is a saddle stand." he said, and stepped out of Blue's stall, locking it with a quick hand motion. He waved for Keith to follow him as he made his way down the hall.

Keith followed a few steps behind Lance, partly because he was skeptical of where this was going, but mostly to stare at Lance as he sashayed in front of him. Blue is a really good colour on Lance...

Keith shook his head slightly, and brought his eyes up to the back of Lance's head. "What are we doing with a saddle stand?" he questioned.

"Your leg positions. Half of the battle is having your legs and hands in the right position!" he said with a wave of his arms. Opening the door to the tack room, he left it open for Keith to follow. He grabbed the saddle stand from the corner by the lockers and plopped it in the center of the room, away from the tack and the benches. Lance hopped over the benches towards the tack wall, standing in front of Keith's tack. "Do you mind?" he questioned, hands hovering by the saddle. When offered no objection, he pulled the heavy saddle down with ease, and walked around the benches to place the saddle over the saddle stand.

"Alright, hop up." Lance commanded, and stepped back slightly.

"Wh-what?" Keith stuttered, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?"

Lance sighed, and shook his head. "Dude, I'm trying to help you out here. It's hard for you to imagine your leg positions when you're standing around. Plus, it's a lot harder for me to help you position your body from atop Red. So," he motioned to the saddle on the saddle stand. "Sit."

Keith uncrossed his arms, and slowly made his way to the saddle rack. He quickly swung his leg over, and shifted until he was as comfortable as he was gonna get. "That's... Actually a really smart idea. But it's not quite like being on Red's back..." he mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Lance said quickly, and moved to stand in front of Keith. "Now show me the position your legs would take for a collected gait."

Keith tightened his hands closer to the pommel of his saddle, and let his legs dangle a bit.

"No, no..." Lance mumbled, and stepped right up into Keith's space to press his knees into the saddle. "Don't let your legs dangle. Keeping pressure is what keeps Red at the pace she's at, but pulling on the reins gets her to collect her strides." he said, and peered up at Keith. As soon as he did, he noticed how close he'd gotten to Keith; they were almost nose to nose, and Keith could feel Lance's breath fan over his face. Lance quickly stepped back, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nex-next uhh.. Extended." he stuttered, and a faint blush graced his cheeks.

Keith took a deep breath, and moved his hands forward above the pommel, and let his knees rest a little looser on the saddle flap. He could still feel the warmth of Lance's hands through his breeches.

Lance nodded, and turned to walk towards Blue's tack hanging on the wall. "Show me shoulder in left."

Keith frowned at the pommel, and put his body in it's 'resting' position. He and Red were never able to do a correct shoulder in, on either shoulder.

Lance noticed his hesitation, and came back around to Keith. "Need some help?"

Keith nodded, and hung his head, defeated. It was stupid, that he didn't know how to perform an intermediate move. Stupid, stupid, stu-

Lance stopped behind Keith, and looped his arms under Keith's to grasp his wrists lightly. He slowly positioned them so Keith's left hand was pulled back slightly, and his right was pushed forwards. Keith could feel Lance's breath on the back of his neck, and his chest was nearly pressed up against Keith's back. He shuddered slightly, and looked down at Lance's darker hands enveloping Keith's wrists.

"Then... Then you apply your left leg to get Red to bend a bit..." Lance whispered somewhat breathlessly.

Keith nodded slightly, and turned his head a bit to get a look at Lance's face. His chin was barely hovering above Keith's shoulder, and his dark lashes made his ocean blue eyes seem even brighter. Lance's gaze suddenly flicked over to meet Keith's, and he jerked back, blushing furiously.

Keith let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and felt himself flush as well. He ducked his head in hope that Lance wouldn't see it.

"Alright! Well," Lance practically shrieked, voice much shriller than usual. "I think that's good for right now, don't you? You looked great-- I MEAN your legs were great-- I MEAN good job you'll be fine." he bolted out of the tack room, face much redder than it was when they entered.

Keith flopped forwards in the saddle, head in his hands. His face was heating up, and he could still feel the warmth of Lance's hands on his.

Chapter Text

Leisure Time [part 1]

Shiro patted Black's rump affectionately, before turning out of her stall and locking it behind him. She stuck her head out after him, and with a warm smile, he rubbed her nose. Turning, he made his way down to the tack room. There was a loud voice coming from inside, and suddenly Lance rushed out of the tack room, nearly running Shiro over.

"Shit, I-I, sorry!" Lance stuttered, and skirted around him quickly.

Shiro immediately noticed how red he was, and squinted at Lance. "You okay there, buddy?" he asked, suspicion laced clearly in his voice.

"Fine, fine!" he squeaked, and made a quick beeline for Blue's stall.

Shiro shook his head, and turned into the tack room to find Keith hunched over his saddle on the saddle rack. He had his head buried in his hands, and the back of his neck was flushed. Shiro coughed softly, immediately catching Keith's attention. Keith sat up quickly and turned to Shiro, eyes wide.

"Oh, h-hey Shiro!" he exclaimed, and rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks were red, but he cleared his throat before asking "What's up?"

"I was just gonna grab Black's tack, but I can come back later...?" he questioned, smirking.

Keith immediately hopped off of the saddle stand, stumbling a bit before catching his footing. "No no you're fine, I was just leaving..." he mumbled, and quickly hoisted Red's saddle to his shoulder. He placed it back on rack 3, and turned to put the saddle stand away.

Shiro grabbed it before he could. "I've got it, don't worry." he said over his shoulder, while putting it back in the corner.

Keith's boots clicked heavily on the floor in quick succession as he made a hasty escape. Shiro chuckled under his breath, wondering what happened between Lance and Keith to make them so flustered.

Suddenly, a second pair of boots padded down the isle into the tack room. Allura stepped in, and smiled widely when she saw Shiro. "Hi, you!" she tucked her long white hair behind her ear, and stepped over to rack six to grab Princess's tack. "What are you up to?"

"I was just going to take Black out for a run." Shiro replied, and moved to rack 10 to loop Black's reins and headstall over his shoulder. He turned towards Allura, "What about you?"

"I'm doing the same with Princess." she reached up to grab Princess's saddle, and her pink sweater rose up a but, exposing a bit of her stomach.

Shiro turned quickly to reach up to grab Black's saddle, and rested it on his forearm. "Do you, uhh, want to join Black and I?" he asked quietly, and peeked up through his lashes at her.

Allura turned and nodded quickly. "We'd love to join you! Five minutes?"

With a nod, Shiro motioned for Allura to lead the way out of the tack room. She stepped in front of him leasurely, and Shiro peered at her back as she walked before him.

Her long white hair flowed with her clicked steps, framed by her long pink sweater and tan breeches. Princess was waiting for Allura as she approached her stall, and pranced in place at her arrival. Allura quickly placed the tack on the ground in front of Princess's stall before reaching out to scritch behind her mare's ears and run her fingers through her forelock.

Shiro smiled at the pair, before turning to his own mare who was waiting for his return. "Hello, Stella." he whispered, and stroked her cheek gently. He quickly opened her stall door and deposited her tack on the ground before patting her back. Shiro ran his hand through Black's mane to check for tangles, then stroked her neck after finding none.

Matt suddenly appeared in Black's stall entrance. "Hey!" he waved, and stroked Black's nose when she leaned towards him. "What'cha doing?"

"Allura and I are heading out on a trail ride." he answered, and threw an arm over Black, leaning on her. "Why? Do you want to join us?"

Matt perked up slightly, before hunching over and shaking his head. "I wish... No, sorry, Lance asked if I would help him train Keith how to perfect the shoulder-in. Keith seems to really struggle with it, so Lance thought a second opinion would help." he ran a hand through his hair, and scoffed lightly. "Rain check?"

Shiro nodded, and watched Matt retreat back down the isle. Turning around, he bent to grab her purple saddle pad to drop it on her back, and adjusted it to sit on her withers. He quickly tacked her up, and led her out of her stall so Allura wouldn't be waiting for them.

Allura was just adjusting Princess's girth when Black and Shiro exited the stall. "Just a second..." she mumbled, and hefted upwards to tighten the girth to the next hole. With a grunt, she pushed the buckle into place, and let the saddle flap fall back into place. "She's gained a bit of weight from not working a lot, lately." she chuckled, and patted her horse's barrel. "But there need to be more chunky girls out there, right?"

Shiro broke out laughing, head thrown back in a loud chortle. "You're totally right, Allura. And Princess looks as amazing as always."

"So," Allura began, and led Princess out of her stall. She led the way towards the back of the barn, and asked "What was the plan for today?"

"Well, I wanted to run Black down the creek. She's been a little hesitant around water lately, and I'm not sure why." he replied, and ran his hand down his mare's neck, lost in thought. "But with that competition coming up in a few weeks, I want to nip it in the bud."

Allura nodded along, and peered at Black pensively. "Did she trip in the water recently or something? I know you said you worked her on the cross country course not that long ago, so it's not like she's been underexposed to it lately."

Shiro shook his head, and ran his hand through his hair. "Not that I remember... Guess she's just going through a weird spot."

Allura pulled Princess to a stop, and dropped the stirrups from the top of the saddle. Placing her left foot in the stirrup, she hopped up into the saddle, and adjusted her seat until she was comfortable. "Guess so. But that sounds like a good plan, and I can see how fast the water's flowing."

Shiro quickly followed suit, and settled atop Black. "We haven't gone on a ride together in some time, have we?" he asked, while nudging Black into a trot towards the hill.

Allura nudged Princess into keeping pace, and shook her head. "No, we haven't! It's nice, I really enjoy spending time with you." A faint blush crept across her cheeks, and she buried her hands in Princess's mane.

Shiro stared down at Black's mane like it held all the answers to the world, blushing and smiling slightly. Little did she know how much he enjoyed her company as well.

Chapter Text

Leisure Time [part 2]

"It's nice, I really enjoy spending time with you." Allura said softly, and buried her hands in Princess's mane. She ducked her head slightly so Shiro wouldn't see her reddened cheeks.

She saw Shiro duck his head out of the corner of her eye, and found herself smiling fondly at the man beside her. He was such a kind person, always looking towards others first. Maybe one day he'd take a step back and do something for himself.

"I'm glad you agreed to come with me," Shiro said suddenly, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "It feels like we see each other every day, but don't truly get a chance to talk, don't you think?"

"You're right," she nodded, and dropped Princess's reins on the mare's neck. "What would you like to talk about?"

Shiro hummed, and stayed quiet for a few moments. Allura took the time to survey her surroundings; dew was still covering the young grass edging the path down the hill, and the trees were just staring to bud. There was a soft flutter of trees in the breeze, and the trickle of water running over the rocks from the stream. Birds sang into the current of the wind, whooshing past the small bubble that was the rider pairs. The sun was beating down on them, but the air still had a bit of a crisp chill.

Shiro broke the silence by saying "Do you think we're ready?"

"For the competition coming up?" she questioned, still looking towards the forest. When not told otherwise, she gave her answer; "I think so. Or as ready as the team will be, anyways. Keith and Lance still need work, but they're slowly coming along."

"You're right, those boys still need to improve..."

"What about you?" Allura blurted out, turning to face Shiro.

"I agree with you, I think the team is as ready as we are going to be for the competition." Shiro said slowly, contemplating.

"N- Sorry I wasn't clear..." Allura mumbled. "Do you think you're ready?"

Shiro's mouth puckered in a small 'o', and shrugged slightly. "I'd like to think so... Black and I have been working on the half pass for future competitions, and we've never been closer." He shook his head suddenly, a small frown tugging at his features. "Stella and I will never have the same bond as some of the riders who've had their horses since yearlings or younger, though..."

"No, you won't." she said slowly, and watched as Shiro's demeanor changed. "But no two bonds between horse and rider are ever the same. Keith and I had similar situations with our horses, but how we interact with our horses is vastly different. Even if you haven't been with Black as long as the rest of us have spent with our horses doesn't mean she doesn't love you."

Suddenly, Black neighed loudly and shook her mane out. Shiro grinned broadly and laughed at his mare's antics. Allura watched the display with a soft smile on her face.

They finally reached the first curve of the stream, and Shiro pulled Black to a halt. His smile changed from a sincere one to a mischievous one. "How about we race to the other side?"

Allura answered him by spurring Princess into a quick gallop. She heard Shiro's squawk of disbelief before quick steps followed them. She lowered her upper body forwards over Princess's neck, the mare's long white mane brushing against her cheeks, and pushed her hands forwards. Risking a quick glance over her shoulder, she looked towards the other pair; Shiro was almost mirroring her own position over Black's neck, but he had his reins gathered up in one hand that was pushed halfway up Black's neck. Allura often forgot that Shiro initially rode Western, since his seat was now the perfected English position. But his Western days filtered through occasionally, and this was one of those times. She turned back forwards to peer through Princess's ears, and deftly steered her around the rotting fallen tree that had fallen over the stream.

Shiro steered Black to square up with the tree, and squeezed her sides, clearing it. The shortcut brought Black and Princess neck to neck, and Shiro glanced over to Allura, before smirking and urging Black faster.

Allura pulled up on the reins slightly, slowing Princess down a bit. Seeing Shiro smile and be this carefree wasn't something she saw often anymore, and she wanted the moment to last a little longer.

Shiro reached the edge of the forest first, and reined Black into a quick stop. She pranced in place, and whinnied loudly into the clearing. Shiro turned back to see Princess and Allura slowing to a trot, and sent them a questioning look. "You slowed down!" he accused playfully, and let his head fall forwards. "I knew it was too good to be true!"

Allura giggled at his theatrics, and shrugged. "It was nice seeing you so happy; maybe I wanted to let you win to see another smile?" she said slowly, posing it as a question.

Shiro offered her a genuine smile, his eyes crinkling adorably. With a quick pat to Black's neck, he swung his right leg over her back as he dismounted, and promptly flopped back on the wet grass. Black ambled away to graze, and Shiro flung an arm over his face.

Allura broke out in giggles, and pulled Princess to a stop beside Shiro. Looking down at him from Princess's back, she asked "How's the view from down there, sugar?"

He lifted his arm and peered up at her, before an awestruck look flashed across his features. "Amazing..." he whispered, somewhat breathlessly. He shook his head, and offered a hand up vaguely to her. "Wanna join me?"

She pursed her lips, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Isn't the grass wet?"

He shrugged, and made a grabbing motion with his extended hand. "Just come down here."

With a small huff, Allura bounced down gracefully, and patted Princess's neck. She stepped around her mare, and after a moment's hesitation, grasped Shiro's extended hand gently, before plopping down beside him.

"It is wet!" she squealed, and tried to stand back up. Shiro lunged up to wrap his hands around her waist, and pulled her back down to the ground. She struggled against him for a moment before flopping back, trapping his left arm under her body.

Shiro tried to wiggle his arm out, without success. "Uhh.. Can I have this back?" he questioned, flexing his arm for good measure.

"Nope!" she exclaimed, and settled down more comfortably on his arm. "You're keeping me hostage on this wet grass, the least you can do is let me use your arm as a pillow."

They laid on the wet grass in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company. The silence was filled by the ripping of grass a few steps away, Black and Princess grazing together. Shiro's arm was warm, resting lightly behind Allura's head, and she was tucked nearly up against his side. It was still a bit chilly, but Shiro's body heat combined with the sunlight kept Allura warm.

"How's the barn holding up?" Shiro asked suddenly, glancing over at Allura.

She let out a long breath, and shrugged noncommittally. "We're holding our heads above water for now. And with Keith as a new boarder we'll be better off, but... We could really afford to win a few competitions." she said softly, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry about that," Shiro said sternly, and lifted his free hand to grasp her uncrossed wrist gently. "We'll win. Have I ever let you down?"

She smiled sadly, and shook her head. "No, you've never let me down." she admitted gently. "But now would be a really bad time to do so."

Shiro broke out laughing, his laughter echoing out over the clearing. "You-you're right!" he gasped out between chortles, "it would be a terrible time to do so. But it won't happen." Shiro said it with such certainty that Allura felt that he was right.

"C'mon," he said suddenly, and gently pried his arm back. "We should head back, make sure the stable hasn't blown up or something." he said with a smirk, and quickly stood, offering his hand down to Allura.

Grasping it, she was quickly hoisted up, and pulled into a strong set of arms. She gasped softly, before returning the hug that Shiro had enveloped her in.

"Don't worry, Allura..." Shiro murmured, rubbing her back lightly. "Everything will work out in the end, you'll see."

Chapter Text

Competition [part 1]

Keith paced in front of the trailer, hand running through his hair nervously, nearly pulling it from its roots. Today was the first day of competition; dressage. Keith cringed, and rubbed a hand over his face. He felt nauseous. He quickly sat on the wheel well, head in his hands. Keith hadn't felt this nauseous before an event since his first event. So why was he so nervous now?

"Hey," Lance said softly. He was standing in front of Keith, looking down at him with a rueful smile. "You all good there, mullet?"

Keith groaned in response, causing Lance to laugh. He knelt slowly in front of him, looking at him critically. "Nervous?"

Keith nodded. "I haven't felt this nervous since my first competition with Red," he admitted shyly. "I don't know why I'm so nervous."

Lance hummed, thinking. "Well, it's almost like your first competition all over again; you're with a brand new team, and this is all new. It's normal to be nervous." He was quiet for a few moments before narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Keith's hair. "You're not wearing it like that, are you?"

Keith tugged on the ends of his hair, "Uh... Yes...?" he said slowly, doubt laced clearly in his voice.

Lance made a soft noise of disbelief before standing up, and jogging towards his show grooming kit in the back of Keith's pickup truck. He rustled around for a moment, before murmuring a soft "aha!" and jogging back over. He was grinning, and brandished a few horse hair ties. "Your hair is long enough to braid back, Keithy. Go sit on the hatch!"

Keith eyed him dubiously, but stood up anyways. Lance ushered him over to the back of his truck, and instructed him to sit with his back against the side, so Lance could stand beside the truck and braid Keith's hair. Lance brushed his fingers slowly through Keith's hair, trying to loosen any tangles with his fingers. Keith practically melted under Lance's touch, slouching back into the unforgiving metal. Long fingers fiddled with the hair by Keith's ears, and smoothed the long strands at the base of his neck, giving Keith soothing waves of pleasure. Fingers seemed to linger before pulling out to separate a section into three strands, nimbly crossing the strands over each other in a french braid. He tied two elastic bands around the end of the braid, making sure they wouldn't snap away, and pulled loose strands of hair that were too short to braid behind Keith's ears. Keith reached back to fiddle with the end of the braid, and turned back to look at Lance.

Lance's cheeks were dusted faintly pink, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Feel better?" he whispered.

Keith felt his jaw drop, and he nodded slowly. "I... I didn't even think about how nervous I was." he smiled softly at Lance, and hung his arm out over the side of the truck. "Thank you, Lance."

Lance flushed redder, and turned, waving Keith off. "It's fine, fine... I usually do Pidge's hair anyways. Speaking of which, where-"

Pidge suddenly appeared from behind Red and Blue's shared trailer. She leaned against the side, arms crossed, smirking slightly. "Right here, Lance."

Lance huffed, and stalked over to her. "Jesus, Pidge, did you even brush this mess this morning?" he questioned, running a hand through her hair. When she yelped, Lance smirked, and shook his head. "Knew it, of course you didn't."

Pidge just glared up at him, and pulled a comb out of her back pocket. "Use this for now."

Lance went through the same motions to comb and braid her hair, just as he did with Keith's, but they bickered with each other the whole time. Keith shifted his position in the back of the truck to sit crossed legged, and watched the two of them interact. They seemed so at ease with each other, bickering and making jokes like a brother and sister would. It made Keith wonder how long they'd known each other.

"Three years," Pidge replied, and broke out laughing at Keith's shocked face. "You looked like you were thinking real hard, so I thought I'd take a guess."

"O-oh," Keith stuttered out, and waved a hand out vaguely. "You two just seem to... To understand each other so well."

Lance shrugged slightly, and pulled an elastic out from between his teeth, tying it at the end of Pidge's braid with a practiced flourish. "There ya go, Pidgeon," he said, patting her shoulder. He turned to Keith, "When your horses are a stall apart for three years, you learn a lot about a person from how they are with their horse."

"That, and he wouldn't shut up that his horse was the best in the stable," Pidge snorted, and punched Lance in the arm lightly. "Red's here now, so I don't know if that's the case anymore!" With a smirk, she turned and jogged back to Green and Mouse's shared trailer.

"Blue's still the best horse here!" Lance called over to Pidge's retreating form. With a huff, he leaned back on the trailer, shaking his head slightly.

Keith hopped out of the back of his truck, grabbed his grooming kit, and made his way towards the trailer to tie Red outside. He deposited his grooming kit at Lance's feet, and walked past him, his arm brushing his as he passed. He stopped a step onto the ramp and smiled at the two mares inside; Blue was fast asleep, leaning against Red, and Red was nibbling on Blue's braided mane. Keith chuckled to himself, and lunged for Lance's arm, trying to not disturb the two mares. "Lance!" he hissed, grinning widely. "C'mere."

Lance's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he stepped on the ramp to look where Keith was looking. As soon as he saw their two mares, his face slackened into a soft smile. "Aww," he cooed, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "We need photographic evidence of our horses being hella cute." he explained, and snapped a few quick photos.

Keith peeked over Lance's shoulder at the photos he just took; the morning light was filtering in through the window at the side of the trailer, illuminating Red and Blue's backs. Blue was hunched over, catching up on sleep from the early morning start they'd had, meanwhile Red was alert and playing with Blue's freshly braided mane. There was hardly any space between them, and they were completely at ease in each other's space. Red's coat glistened like the hot embers of a fire in the morning light, and Blue's was like the calm sea just before dusk. They were so picturesque together, the perfect reflection of their riders.

"Alright, you," Lance shoved Keith into the trailer, "You're the first one of our team up this morning, so you need to tack up."

Keith nodded, and made his way up the side towards Red's head, where her lead rope was tied to the wall. He swiftly untied it, and stroked Red's nose. Lance walked up towards Blue's head, and stroked her neck, murmuring something too soft for Keith to hear. Blue opened her eyes blearily, and lifted her head up to see Lance. He quickly ducked under her head, and poked her shoulder so she'd straighten up on her own legs. Keith pushed slightly on Red's chest so she'd start backing out of the trailer, keeping his hand close under her chin. She reared slightly on touching solid ground, but Keith stepped into her space and pulled her head to his shoulder, like he used to when they were younger. She immediately calmed down, and huffed into the material of his shirt. He stroked her ears, and ran his fingers through her forelock, before stepping back to lead her to the side of the trailer to tie her up.

"What was that?" Lance questioned, motioning to Red. "She had no trouble getting in the trailer. Why'd she lash out getting out?"

Keith shrugged, and grabbed his hoof pick. "She used to have terrible trailer freight. We never really knew why, since she'd never been in an accident, but we're working on getting out of trailers." He bent down at the waist beside Red's left leg, and clucked while running his hand down her canon bone. She lifted her hoof into Keith's palm, and he quickly picked out any sawdust or rocks from the trip. Standing back up, he turned to face Lance, "I'm the only one who can get her out of a trailer without panic." He moved to continue cleaning Red's hooves.

Lance nodded slowly. "I see... Well, if you ever need help with it, feel free to ask." he amended, and bent to grab a brush from Keith's kit. He paused, seeing a small locked compartment in the side, and ran his fingers over the lock. "What's in here?"

Keith stood back up, and flushed upon seeing what Lance was pointing to. "Th-that's, uhh.. I-I don't need that quite yet." he stuttered, and quickly stepped over to drop the hoof pick in the kit. He picked up a brush, and turned his back to Lance so he couldn't see his burning face.

"That doesn't answer my question, man." he scolded, and started plugging random numbers in. "What's in here?"

Keith huffed, and paused his brushing motions on Red's back. "Five, five, eight, one." he recited with his back still to Lance, and continued brushing. He could hear Lance turning the nobs to the numbers he recited, and heard the tell-tale 'click' when the lock opened. He stopped brushing to listen to Lance's reaction.

Lance opened the small compartment door, unsure of what he'd find. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't a ring. Resting on a small string hung to the top of the compartment was a gold ring, with a black stone setting. The band wasn't perfectly straight where it met at the stone's setting, and he could see where someone had added gold to the band. The gem itself was the colour of obsidian, very flat, but on closer observation, had many grooves cut into the stone. There was a small chip on the left side of the gem, a small triangle, right above where the band met the setting. Lance had never seen anything like it before. He gently untied the string suspending it, and held it between his thumb and forefinger. "A ring?" he questioned.

Keith's shoulders drooped, and he nodded. A breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding suddenly whooshed out of him. "It's a black Alaskan diamond ring. It was my grandmother's, and then my mother's ring. I inherited it after my grandmother died, years back."

"Alright, but that doesn't explain why you have it in your grooming kit...?" Lance asked dubiously.

Keith spun to face Lance, arms crossed in front of himself defensively. "Don't laugh, alright?" he plead, head lowered. "...I wear it during competition, under my gloves. It's sort of like a good luck charm at this point, I've never competed without it. Even if I never knew my mother or my grandmother very well, it's still a part of them, so..."

Lance stood still, taking in all of the information Keith graced him with in. Then he stepped towards Keith determinedly, and grabbed his left hand. Keith backed up into Red, shocked by Lance's forwardness, but didn't try to pull his hand away. Keith's hand was brought up closer to Lance's face, and Lance slowly slipped the ring on Keith's middle finger. Keith felt himself flush at the seemingly innocent gesture, and leaned heavily back against Red. Releasing Keith's hand, Lance turned back to the grooming kit, and picked up a brush.

"Why would I laugh at something like that?" Lance questioned, and walked to Red's far side. "It's something sentimental to you." he said seriously, and started brushing Red's shoulder. "We all have something like that..."

"Do you?" Keith questioned, looking at Lance across Red's back. "Have something sentimental like that, I mean?"

Lance nodded his head. "Not for competition specifically, but I do wear this all the time..." He unbuttoned the top two buttons on his crisp white show shirt, and pulled out a necklace with a large metal pendant. It was blue, a little smaller than Lance's palm, and was outlining the vague shape of an arrowhead. It had a large 'V' at the top, and sat on a thin strand of black cord, long enough to look like it sat low on Lance's chest. It had a hollow center, almost like it was the bigger piece of a whole. "My younger brother has a matching one, smaller, and in silver. It fits right in the center, here." he tapped the center, paused, then thumbed over it, lost in his thoughts. "He gave it to me so I'd remember him, remember to go home to him," he smiled ruefully, "as if I'd ever forget him..."

Keith felt his eyes widen at Lance's words. He had never heard Lance be anything but loud and obnoxious before, but today, he wasn't acting like himself; he was quiet, reserved, and thoughtful. Keith almost felt like he was intruding. "Well, you'll be able to go back home after this season is over, right?" he asked softly.

Lance shrugged, and started brushing over Red's back methodically, almost like he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. "Well, I just sort of packed up with Blue one day and came out here... So I haven't really kept up with my family." he let out a slow breath, and rubbed his free hand over his face. "My dad never thought riding would be any more than a hobby, but when his son started competing, and eventually bought a horse... He wanted me to do more with my life."

Keith almost dropped the brush he was holding; Lance, leaving his family out of the blue? Didn't sound like Lance at all. "I'm sure they miss you," he murmured, and smiled slightly.

He nodded slightly in response. His face read too easily, Keith thought. He could practically see all of the emotions flashing across his face, like a projector screen; regret, longing, anger, and loneliness. Suddenly, Lance seemed to shake himself of his thoughts, and grandly tossed the brush he was holding towards the grooming kit.

"Dude, we need to quit lollygagging! You're up on half an hour, and you need to be in the warm up arena!" he sing-songed, and skipped over to the back of the truck to grab Keith's dressage tack. Hoisting the black saddle and crisp white pad over his shoulder, and looping the headstall over his elbow, he came back to stand beside Keith. He placed Red's show pad on her back, then held out her saddle to Keith. "You know how tight you want the girth..." he mumbled, and moved to Red's head.

Keith went through the motions of adjusting Red's saddle on her back, before slowly pulling the girth over the saddle, and attaching it. Moving his fingers beneath the girth, he checked the tightness before pulling the silver stirrups down. He glanced over at Lance just as he was pulling Red's ears and forelock through the headstall. Pulling the throat latch into place, he pulled the reins over Red's head and looped them over his arm.

Hunk suddenly appeared from behind the trailer, bearing a tired grin. "Hey, guys!" he waved, and stopped in front of Red, giving her forehead a rub. "You ready to rock this, Keith?" he asked.

Keith froze, hand halfway to tug slightly at his shirt collar. He turned and eyed the dressage arena warily. Was he ready for the dressage routine? He knew it inside, out, and backwards, but was he ready to perform for a series of judges??

"Hey," Lance said soothingly, and passed Red's reins to Hunk. He came to Keith's side, and threw an arm over Keith's shoulders, turning him away from the ring. "Don't worry about the judges! You got this, just like we practiced, okay?"

Keith swallowed nervously, but nodded. Lance seemed satisfied, so he went to the backseat of the truck to grab Keith's show jacket. He tossed it to Keith who quickly threw it on, before offering him a leg up. Keith waved him off, toed his boot in the stirrup, and hopped up into the saddle. Pulling his black show gloves out of the jacket pocket, he slipped them on, being mindful of his ring. Hunk tossed the reins over Red's head to Keith, who gathered them up tightly.

Hunk moved to pat Keith's leg reassuringly. "Don't worry too much, man. This is just preliminary stuff, it doesn't matter how well you do here." he shrugged, and grinned up at him. "Just go have fun, alright?"

Keith nodded, and nudged Red forwards, steering her towards the warm up ring. He moved her through the gaits, getting her muscles warm and limber before moving into the real thing. He even asked her for shoulder-in left, and they performed it without a hitch. Keith grinned broadly to himself, and patted Red's neck enthusiastically.

Suddenly, a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Number thirty-three, Keith Kogane on Blood Oath, to the starting marker. Two minutes."

Keith's back straightened, and he clenched his jaw. He steered Red out of the warm up ring, and towards the dressage arena. He halted Red just outside of maker A, and waited for the team to exit the arena.

"Now exiting the arena, rider thirty-two on Witching Hour. Next, Rider thirty-three on Blood Oath." a voice over the loudspeaker spoke.

Keith took a deep breath, and nudged Red into a trot up the centerline to center X. He halted Red, and tipped his head while lowering his palm to his side in a salute. Picking up his reins tightly, he nudged Red into a quick trot, up the center, and steered her left. He took a deep breath coming out of the turn, readying himself for the extended trot at marker H. Turning Red to cross over center X, he pressed his knees into the saddle, and slackened his hold on the reins, urging Red into an extended trot. He smirked slightly when they crossed center X; Lance would be so proud that he managed to do it under pressure. At the corner he released the pressure of his legs and took a quick breather. The shoulder-in move was next, and it was what he and Red struggled with the most.

Turning down the centerline, Keith angled his body slightly, and applied pressure on his left leg to try to urge Red to bend. He could feel her back bending a bit under his gentle urge, but it wasn't enough to be considered a proper shoulder-in left by the time he got to center X. He let Red stretch out normally, and turned right in front of the judges. Just after the turn, at marker M, he urged Red into a canter, quickly collecting her strides by pulling back slightly on the reins but keeping leg pressure. At the next marker, he knew he had to steer Red into a 20 meter circle right after the collected canter. He steered Red away from the 'track' that had formed from so many hooves before into the start of the circle. He steered her too much into the circle, and had to adjust, something he knew the judge's critical eyes could see from a mile away. Mentally pushing past his mistake, he continued steering Red around the circle, until they made it back to where they started. They continued at a canter until the next marker, where they slowed into a brisk trot. Turning the corner, and approaching the centerline, he pulled Red back into a collected walk, a move they spent hours upon boring hours practicing with Lance and Matt. He felt rather than saw Red pull her head into her chest, and shorten her strides beneath him.

Keith finally saw the end in sight when he spurred Red into a canter directly from a walk towards center X. Red eagerly switched gaits to the faster, easier pace without any fuss, and stopped perfectly straight on center X on cue. Tipping his head in salute to the judges, Keith extended his hand away from his body, then patted Red's neck enthusiastically.

The event went better than Keith thought it would.

Chapter Text

Competition [part 2]

Lance shifted in his seat, and pulled at the bottom of his safety vest. He always hated wearing them, since they felt so confining, but appreciated them more now. There was only one rider in front of him, already in the starting box, before he ran the cross country course here. Blue shook her head, sending her mane flying, and nickered softly at her rider. Lance offered her a small smile and patted her neck.

He knew she'd never let anything happen to him ever again.

"Number eighty-one, riding Sea Star, please enter the starting gate. One minute to buzzer." the loudspeaker informed him.

Lance's shoulders dropped forwards, and he grabbed handfuls of Blue's mane to steady himself. Straightening his shoulders after a moment, he nudged Blue to the starting gate. Stopping her in the center, he fiddled with a piece of Blue's mane near her withers, trying to keep calm. He didn't have much time left to hyperventilate, though.

The first warning beep pulled him from his thoughts, and he waited for the buzzer to sound before spurring Blue into a quick gallop out of the starting gate. The first fence was only a few strides from the gate; a large flower box fence. Lance gently squeezed Blue's sides while bending into a jumping stance, and they soared over the box together. Collecting her back into a canter, he glanced down the hill towards the next fences; a double brush fence. Steering Blue in a wide arc down the hill, they approached them head on, Blue's back hooves brushing the second hedge slightly.

Lance released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and sat up straighter in the saddle. He could do this, just like he and Keith practiced. He knew Blue would take care of him.

A large blue picnic table loomed in front of them, almost big enough to sit basketball players easily; Blue surged over it with ease. The next fence Lance knew was the only combination fence on the course; he and Keith had walked the course this morning together. The first fence was a filled wooden fence, taller than it was wide, and everyone had to jump it. But after that there were two options; a tall and wide hedge, or a smaller hedge further away from the sixth fence, with a small water-filled ditch in front. Cantering towards the first fence, Lance collected Blue's strides before flying over the fence. With a quick decision, Lance aimed Blue towards the bigger hedge, and they cleared it.

The next fence was the fence that worried Lance the most was the dreaded ditch fence. It had a water filled ditch just before a tall wooden fence on the other side, meaning it was both a wide and tall fence. And it would also be a long way down. Urging Blue up the short hill towards the ditch, he could feel his shoulders tensing up, his hands and jaw clenching. So wrapped up in his own thoughts, he couldn't feel Blue's strides slowing.

The next thing he knew, Lance's front was pressed against Blue's neck as she slid to a stop in front of the ditch. He gasped and quickly pushed off of Blue's neck and back into the saddle, dropping the reins. He immediately gripped his head in his hands, shrinking slightly back in his seat. No, no, he thought, feeling himself start to shake. This isn't the same as last time, we just weren't going fast enough.

Blue stepped away from the fence on her own, and trotted around in a large circle to face the jump again. Turning her head, she nudged his boot, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. Lance slowly pried his hands from his face, still shaking slightly, but stroked between her ears. She huffed softly, and faced forwards again. She shook her mane and pranced in place a bit. Fighting his thoughts, he picked up the reins again. Just have to get over this jump...

Spurring Blue forwards, she immediately shot forwards into a quick canter, and Lance gathered the reins tighter in his grasp. Looking only between Blue's ears, he counted down the strides in his head, and tried to stay relaxed enough to get over the fence. Three, two, one, Squeeze!

Blue soared over the ditch and the wall easily, and sped to a gallop as soon as her hooves touched solid ground. All of the air whooshed out of Lance's body, and he shuddered in relief. That jump was the halfway marker, and none of the other fences scared him like that one did.

The next fence was a wide fence; it was a rack fence, at the top of an incline. Pulling back to a quick canter, Blue launched over it, stumbling slightly on the landing, but catching herself before either of them went down.

There was a lot of ground to cover before the next series of fences, so he spurred Blue to stretch out her strides in a gallop. Lance knew they had to bend back around towards the water, where they had to jump into the water, then bounce out and over another fence. As soon as they got closer to it, Lance pulled up on the reins to slow Blue to a canter, and rubbed her neck quickly. Launching in the air, Blue snorted loudly at the sudden drop into water, and kicked out slightly. He shushed her soothingly, rubbing her neck, and steered her towards the exiting bank on the other side. She quickly scrambled over the bank and over the small fence behind it, seemingly glad to be out of the water.

The next three fences Lance knew would be the toughest for Blue; three large jumps up an embankment, almost like a large staircase. Logs were stacked vertically at the base of the 'step', so it was clearly visible where the stair was. The steps were about four feet high, and Blue would only get two or three strides in before jumping up the next step. Squeezing Blue's side, she bounced up the first step, took two steps, hopped over the second step, three short strides, then hurtled over the third side, breathing a little heavier than usual. With some murmured reassurances, Lance steered them towards the final fence.

The course designers must've taken pity on the horses competing in this competition, and created a longer, wider saddle stand to jump over. Blue needed no push to jump the fence, and rushed towards the finish line.

Lance reined Blue into a slow walk with shaky hands. He could feel the adrenaline from the competition draining away, leaving Lance to feel anxious, exhausted, and scared all at once. Blue practically walked back to the trailers on her own, since her rider was basically useless in the saddle. He dropped his feet from the stirrups, letting them hang, and let his head hang low. He messed up, he completely lost his cool in front of that fence...

For just a moment, it felt just like he was falling again.

Keith suddenly appeared in Lance's line of sight, smiling softly. He made a grab for the side of Blue's bit, and rubbed her nose softly. "Hey, how'd it go?" he asked.

Lance threw his right leg over and hopped to the ground, immediately rushing into Keith's arms. He could vaguely feel tears slipping down his face, but was overwhelmed with feeling numb.

"Lance?!" Keith exclaimed, and looped his free arm around Lance's waist. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Lance just tightened his hold even more, a sob escaping from his throat. "N-n-no," he stuttered out, and buried his head into the junction between Keith's neck and shoulder.

"Then what's wrong?" Keith whispered, and pulled Blue's reins over her head. Looping the end over his elbow, he wrapped both arms around Lance fully. "I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong..."

Lance couldn't stop shaking, no matter how much he tried to control his breathing. He couldn't make his eyes stop tearing up either, even though he knew he must be staining Keith's shirt. All he could do was grip Keith tighter, and hold on.

Keith must've passed Blue off to someone, because when Lance looked up next, she was gone. Keith was unclipping his helmet silently, and dropped it to the ground beside him, before unclipping the clips on the side of the safety vest. He slowly pried it from Lance's body, and grabbed one arm at a time to fully remove it, before pulling Lance's arms around his own shoulders again.

"Want to talk about it?" Keith whispered, and wrapped one arm around Lance's waist, the other he brought up to run through Lance's hair. He rubbed slow circles into Lance's back, and pulled him close.

Lance shook his head slightly, and sniffled, slowly starting to gain control of his tears again.

"Alright then, we won't talk about it now." he mumbled, then turned to press a soft kiss to Lance's temple. "But I am here if you want to talk. You know that, right?"

Lance's shivers stilled as soon as Keith's lips touched his temple, and he slouched into his embrace. He nodded slightly, and grabbed fistfuls of the back of Keith's shirt, holding on tightly. Soon, he thought. I'll tell him soon. He deserves to know the truth.

Chapter Text

Competition [part 3]

"But with how things ended yesterday, I don't know if we'll be able to place--"

"We'll be fine, Pidge," Shiro interrupted, and rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "I still have to go, and Team Empire had a fault at the water fence along with time penalties, so we stand a very good chance yet."

Pidge huffed and ran a hand through her short hair. "If you say so, Shiro. Team Empire is only a few points behind us right now, unless you can get a clear round."

Shiro smirked, and turned to hop up onto Black's back. "I think we can manage it." he replied slyly, and nudged Black forwards.

Black practically skipped to the warm-up arena, head high and tail fanning out behind her. Shiro chuckled at her enthusiasm, and pushed his hand slightly up her neck to urge her into a trot. After a few circles around the arena, he steered her towards some warm up verticals. They soared over them easily, and Shiro patted his mare's neck comfortingly. "We can do this, girl. We can bring Voltron to the top." he murmured.

"Number fifty-one, riding Constellation, please move to the starting line." a man from the sidelines called.

Shiro's head snapped over to the man speaking, and nodded at him. Spinning Black in a quick turn, she loped over to the arena's exit towards the ring. Gathering up his reins in two hands, letting his thumb rest on the inside of the reins, he took a moment to collect his thoughts. He knew that he and Black had to cross the finish line in less than seventy seconds, and he was confident that they could achieve that. The only fence he was worried about was the double combination 'wall' fences, where Black wouldn't be able to see the ground behind the fence until they were in the air.

He let Black pace in front of the starting like, like she always needs to. When the pair ahead of him flew over the last jump, he urged Black into a slow trot around the arena, allowing plenty of time for the previous rider to cool her horse before exiting.

"Up next, rider fifty-one, Takashi Shirogane, riding Constellation!" a woman over the loudspeaker called.

Shiro steered Black towards the first fence, a red and white striped vertical, and spurred her into a canter. Squeezing Black's sides, they vaulted over the fence together, and Shiro started counting up the seconds in his head. They continued down the line towards a large oxer with two castle themed towers on the side, with thick grey poles. After clearing the jump, he steered her to the right, towards the stark blue and white cloudy spread. Gathering her strides, Shiro hunched forwards slightly in the saddle and pushed his hands up Black's neck. She kicked out slightly on the landing for being held back so much, but Shiro stroked her neck soothingly.

Pointing Black down the straight line, the next set of fences was the first combination fence on the course; the double. The first fence was the standard tall vertical, but the second fence was the second widest fence on the course, another oxer. The fences themselves were freshly painted white, easy to see. Collecting Black's strides, and counting down in his head, he squeezed her sides just before taking off. Three strides in the middle, and Shiro squeezed Black's sides again to launch over the huge oxer.

Pulling harshly on the right rein, Shiro steered Black towards the center of the arena, and pushed her into a slow gallop towards the sixth fence. It was a big imposing wall, the one that Black wouldn't be able to see past until she was in the air. Grasping a bit of her mane, Shiro hunkered down into a jumping stance in the saddle and felt Black's back coil up under the saddle as she launched over the fence. She shook her mane out when she landed, causing Shiro to lose his grip on her mane.

He pulled her out into a wide circle, and let her stretch out into a full gallop towards the next fence; the water. It was a five foot wide piece of tarp covered in water, and they had to completely clear it. Black took off just before the tarp started, and cleared the end of the tarp by quite a bit, easily visible to the judge's eye.

Steering towards the final line, Shiro collected Black back into a canter for the final combination, the triple. It had two entry verticals, before ending in a large oxer. Shiro knew Black would only be able to get two strides in between fences, and that the third fence would be the hardest for her. Aiming her down the center, he squeezed her sides before the first fence, let her jump the second fence on her own, and squeezed over the third fence. Her back hooves clipped the top rail, but it stayed put.

The final fence was the largest fence on the course, a large and wide tan coloured oxer. It was only eight strides from the end of the seventh combination fence, putting the pressure on to jump it cleanly and quickly, before time ran out. Shiro stretched Black out into a gallop towards the final fence, and smiled widely when nothing thudded to the ground when Black landed.

He quickly glanced to the large clock on the side; sixty-four seconds! That was a whole six seconds above the time limit!!

Black whinnied shrilly, and lifted her head up high, showing off to the small crowd. He patted her neck, chuckling at his spunky mare's antics. He steered her out of the arena, towards the exit, and quickly noticed white hair bouncing through the crowd towards the exit. His grin widened as Allura sought out his gaze, and she waved wildly when she saw that he saw her.

"That was amazing, Shiro!" she exclaimed as soon as she was close enough to his side. "You and Black were like one being, flying over all of those fences like they were nothing!"

Shiro felt his cheeks redden at her praise, and he swiftly waved her off. "It was all Black's doing, she was the one working hard out there..." he mumbled bashfully.

She shook her head at his words, frowning slightly. "But it wasn't! You two working together is what made us-" realization suddenly dawned upon her face, "win. ...Your perfect score moved us up to first place, Shiro!" she exclaimed, a huge grin taking over her lovely features.

Shiro quickly hopped off of Black, pulling her reins over her ears. "We've already won!" he said slowly, realization dawning on him as well. "Voltron won its first eventing series in years!" he exclaimed.

Allura peered up at him somewhat breathlessly, her cerulean eyes gleaming in the sunlight. Shiro glanced down at her rosy coloured lips, and licked his own lips subconsciously.

Shiro leaned down suddenly, and captured Allura's lips with his own. She gasped softly against him, before leaning into it, and closing her eyes. She lifted herself up on her tip-toes to wrap her arms around his shoulders. He wrapped his free arm around her waist to pull her body tighter into his own, teasing his fingers on the sliver of skin that became exposed. She hummed softly against his lips, and gripped the fabric of his show jacket tighter.

They both pulled back slightly to catch their breaths, peering into each others eyes. Shiro was the first to smile slightly, and Allura broke out into soft giggles that he found so endearing.

Shiro's smile suddenly dropped, and he stepped back quickly, embarrassed. They couldn't do this, she was his boss. It would never work.

Allura's face broke into a hurt expression when Shiro turned away. He made a hasty escape back to where the trailers were he could hide. He licked his lips slowly, trying to retain the lingering taste of Allura's minty lip chap.

Allura opened her mouth to call out to Shiro's retreating form, but hesitated. Did he regret what he did?

Chapter Text

New Experiences

"So what did you want to do today?" Hunk questioned, and reached over to grasp Shay's hand lightly, keeping one hand on the wheel.

She hummed, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me, I just want to spend time with you." she replied, and rubbed the top of Hunk's hand with her free one.

He nodded slightly, and asked "Is it okay if I feed and groom Yellow before we go into town?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, then a slow smile spread across her face. "I have an idea... If you're down for it..." she said slyly.

Hunk glanced over at Shay, before throwing on his turning signal to turn into Altean Stables. "I might be..." he said slowly, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"

"Well..." she said slowly, smiling slightly, "I've been riding Yellow bareback for a while... Why don't I actually learn how to ride?"

Hunk practically slammed on the brakes, turning to look at his girlfriend with a huge smile on his face. "Really?" he questioned incredulously, "Do you really want to?"

"Well, of course I do, silly!" she giggled, and brought their intertwined hands up to her head to kiss Hunk's knuckles. "It's a huge part of your life, something I don't fully understand yet. I would like to, if you'd let me."

He blinked, shocked at his girlfriend's utter honesty and understanding, and reached across the center console to kiss her. She giggled, and returned the quick kiss, smiling. "I'm so glad that you're willing to try this, Shay." he whispered.

He lifted his foot off the brakes, and let the truck idle up the rest of the driveway. Putting it in park beside the main barn, he shut the truck off, pulled the keys out, and dropped them in the cup holder in case anyone needed to move it. Hopping out, he quickly crossed to the passenger side and opened Shay's door. She hopped out, and linked her arm around Hunk's elbow, and together, they walked into the barn.

"So, I'm assuming I'm riding one of the lesson ponies?" she asked, peering into Moondancer's stall as they walked by.

Hunk peered over at his girlfriend, and squawked slightly. "Uh, nope, nuh uh." he said quickly, and pulled Shay towards Yellow's stall. "I'm not trusting any of the lesson horses with my girlfriend. You're riding Yellow."

She smirked slightly, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Aren't the lesson horses here to train new riders how to ride?"

He scoffed, and unlatched Yellow's stall door with a flick of his wrist. "They are, but riding Yellow would be more beneficial for both of you."

"It'll just put your mind at ease, won't it?" she chuckled.

Hunk stayed silent, giving Shay the answer she needed. He stepped into Yellow's stall, and beckoned Shay inside. "So to learn about how to ride a horse, you first have to start with tacking your horse up. I know you've seen me do it a million times, but I've never stopped to take the time to explain everything to you. Should I?"

Shay nodded enthusiastically, grinning widely. "I think so!"

Hunk walked right into Yellow's space, stopping right by her shoulder. She immediately nickered and thrust her head into his chest, leaning into him. He ran his fingers through her mane slowly, just as he knew she liked, and played with the ends of her mane. He'd have to give it a trim soon, since it was starting to get long and will soon be impossible to work with.

Shay stepped around Hunk to stroke Yellow's forehead, and smooched her muzzle softly. Looking up at Hunk, she asked "Where do we start?"

"First," he began, and stepped away from Yellow to grab his grooming kit from just outside the stall. "We brush her." Hunk passed Shay a light brush, and laid a hand on her hip to gently guide her towards Yellow's shoulder. "Brush the way the hair goes; she's not too dirty but we don't want her to get any saddle sores."

Shay nodded, and started brushing along Yellow's shoulder, moving towards her back and barrel. She didn't say anything about Hunk's hand remaining on her hip as she moved. She made quick work of her far side, and went to walk behind Yellow before Hunk pulled her to a stop.

"Wait-wait-wait," he said quickly, still holding onto her elbow. "This may not be the case with Yellow, because she trusts you, but you should always run your hand along a horse's rump, just so they know where you are."

Shay's eyes widened, and quickly stepped back to where Yellow could see her. "Ohmygod really?" She thought for a moment, before looking up at her boyfriend, confusion plastered across her face. "Why's that the case?"

"Well," he began, and stepped around Shay to stop directly behind Yellow. "She can't see me here. Yellow knows by my voice that I'm here, and trusts me enough to not do anything back here that she wouldn't like. But, what if she didn't know what was happening back here? Or if you stood behind another horse? You'd get kicked." Hunk stepped back beside Shay, smiling sadly. "It's not fun being kicked, and I learned real fast to run your hand across a horse's rump so it doesn't happen."

She nodded, and reached her free hand out to touch Yellow's rump while making her way to Yellow's far side. She quickly wrapped up brushing Yellow, before coming back around to drop the brush in the grooming kit. "What now?" she questioned.

Hunk bent down and grabbed his silver, uncoloured hoof pick. "Next is cleaning Yellow's hooves. I'll show you how to do the first one, then I'll watch you do the other ones. Is that okay?"

She nodded, and followed him over to Yellow's near leg. Hunk bent and ran his free hand down Yellow's leg, facing her rear, and gently grasped the bit just above her hoof, causing Yellow to shift her weight and lift that leg. Hunk held under his mare's leg, and pointed the tip of the pick at the triangle at the center of the hoof, closest to the back of a horse. "See this triangle here? It's known as the frog, and is very important. It's full of blood vessels and such, and it's always touching the ground. It's sensitive to the pick, so there's no reason to ever touch it with the hoof pick. Just scrape the stuff out from around it, like this." he demonstrated, working the pick around the outer parts of the triangle to pull the sawdust and mud out from the sole of the hoof. He lowered Yellow's leg to the ground, and stood up. Passing the pick to Shay, he brushed his hands off on his pants. "Your turn!"

Shay grasped the pick, nodded, and made her way to Yellow's rear leg. Bending down, she ran her hand down Yellow's leg, just as Hunk did, but paused upon reaching the bottom of the mare's leg. "Uhm..." she paused, and glanced up at her boyfriend. "How'd you get Yellow to lift her leg?"

Hunk smiled, and kneeled down beside Shay, pointing to the small bump just above Yellow's hoof. "This is the fetlock. If you pull upwards lightly here, Yellow here will lift her foot for you."

Shay barely touched Yellow's fetlock before the hoof was lifted and presented to her. With a giggle, she bent over the hoof and slowly started working around the triangle Hunk mentioned to clean out the grime. Lowering the hoof, she made her way around to the other side and did the same thing.

"So!" Shay exclaimed, and dropped the hoof pick back in the kit. "Now what?"

"Now," Hunk exited the stall, and motioned for Shay to follow. He closed the stall door with a flick of his wrist, locking it easily, and grasped Shay's hand, "We find Allura. You need a helmet, and..." he glanced down to Shay's feet, "Boots. Can't ride in sneakers. I think you two wear similar shoe sizes."

"Why can't I ride sneakers?" she inquired, glancing down at her own feet. "I mean, I've noticed that I've almost always seen you in boots here, but I just thought it was for doing stall work."

He hummed for a moment, seeming to ponder his answer. "Well, boots have heels on them, so the stirrup, the metal part your feet sit in, doesn't slip through and get stuck. There have been many accidents all over the world where a rider's foot gets stuck in the stirrup in a fall, and gets dragged. So, obviously, I don't want that to happen to you. Not that it will!" he added quickly, and gave Shay's hand a quick squeeze. "Yellow will take good care of you."

Shay nodded slowly, and chewed on her bottom lip lightly.

Suddenly Allura walked into the barn, nearly walking right into Shay and Hunk. "Oh, goodness!" she exclaimed, hand over her heart. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you two there!"

Hunk squinted at Allura, gazing at her. Her hair was back in a messy bun, there was dirt all over her hands up towards her elbows, and she had light bags under her eyes. "Hey, Allura? Are you okay?" he murmured, concerned for her.

Allura stood up straighter, and tucked some flyaways back away from her face. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" she said hurriedly, and stepped around Hunk and Shay.

Shay quickly turned and reached out to grasp Allura's elbow, stopping her. "You don't look fine, Allura. Want to talk about it?" she asked gently.

Allura stopped, and huffed, shoulders drooping. "Well, something happened between Shiro and I, and now he seems to be avoiding me... Have either of you seen him?" she questioned, looking at both of them in turn.

Both Hunk and Shay shook their heads. "No, sorry Allura," Hunk apologized, "I haven't seen Shiro here since... The competition a few days ago, I think. He's asked Lance to feed Black every day since then, I think."

Allura sighed, and ran her thumb over her bottom lip. "I see... Well, thanks anyways." she turned, and continued down the hallway.

"Oh, Allura?" Hunk called after her, and jogged down the isle towards her. "I plan to teach Shay how to ride today. Do you have a helmet and boots she could borrow for a little while?"

Allura's face lit up, and she nodded. "Of course I do!" she exclaimed, and looked past Hunk towards Shay, who was making her way towards them. "That's exciting, Shay! I'm glad you want to learn. Maybe Hunk can bring Yellow's tack to her stall while you and I find you some equipment?"

With a nod, Shay linked arms with Allura, and they made their way towards the house, while Hunk went towards the tack room.

Stopping in front of rack 11, he pulled Yellow's large tan leather saddle down, cream saddle pad and all, and looped the matching bridle over his elbow before walking out of the tack room. Shay and Allura weren't back yet, so Hunk dropped the tack just outside of Yellow's stall. Yellow popped her head over her stall door, nickering softly at her owner.

"Hey, sunshine." he murmured, and stroked her cheeks lovingly. "Be careful with my other girl today, alright?" he pleaded softly, and smiled. "She'd never get back on if she fell off today."

"I happen to think I would." Shay chided, suddenly appearing beside Hunk. He jerked at her words, causing both females to laugh at him.

"You got boots?" Hunk asked, peering down at Shay's footwear.

She was wearing a short pair of black laced boots, not spurred, that came up to an inch or so above her ankle. She had a matching black helmet propped against her hip, and she saluted him lazily. "What now, coach?"

"Now you need to tack up your horse. Do you know what to start with?"

Shay nodded, and placed her helmet on the ground beside the saddle. Lifting the pad, she unlocked Yellow's stall and stepped in, putting the pad on her back.

Hunk stepped in beside her, and moved the saddle pad further up. "You're very close, but her pad needs to be up more on her neck. Do you know why?" When Shay shook her head, he continued; "Well, the front of the saddle, the pommel, sits only an inch or so behind the front of the pad. So if you look at where the girth would be..." he ran a finger downwards towards the back of Yellow's front leg, "It would be too far backwards. You want the girth to sit close to Yellow's elbow, here." Hunk tapped Yellow's elbow, which was the first point on her leg, tucked up close to her body and her belly.

Shay "oh'd", and stepped around Hunk to heft the saddle up onto her forearm with a grunt. She waddled back towards Yellow, and tried to lift the saddle above her head. After a moment, she lowered the saddle back down to her forearms, and turned to Hunk. "I can't do this." she admitted with a small pout.

Hunk breathed out a chuckle, and lifted the saddle from her waiting arms. He quickly hefted it over his head and onto his mare's back.

Shay glared at her boyfriend playfully, still pouting. "You make that look a lot easier than it is, you know."

He smirked, and shrugged nonchalantly. "I've been doing this a lot longer than you, hon." Adjusting the saddle slightly on Yellow's back, he stepped back to let Shay into the space. "Do you know what to do now?"

Stepping towards the saddle, she grabbed the girth hanging from the seat and pulled it down. Lifting the saddle flap up, she stared at the the three sets of straps glaring back at her. She turned back to Hunk, eyes wide.

He pointed to the two outer buckles, then to the stretched holes that sat four holes from the top. "Yellow hasn't gained any weight, so her girth's sat at the same spot for a while now."

With a nod, Shay started thumbing the buckles into place, and let the girth hang down. Bustling to the other side of Yellow, she reached down under Yellow's belly to grab the hanging end of the girth. She reefed up on the leather strips to get the buckles on the highest hole she could manage, and matched both buckles up.

Hunk stuck two fingers under Yellow's girth once Shay dropped the saddle flap, checking the tightness. It was a little too loose for his liking, so he stepped around to Shay's side, lifted the saddle flap, and tightened the girth another notch.

"Not tight enough?" she questioned, peeking over Hunk's shoulder.

He shrugged slightly, and dropped the flap. "It would've been fine any other time, but since this is your first time, I don't want any chance of the saddle sliding around." he said simply.

She rolled her eyes playfully, and gave him a quick peck before moving around Yellow to step out of the stall to grab the bridle laying on the ground. She held the headstall upwards, and had the reins looped over her free hand a little tightly. "Uhh... I know I've seen you do this a million times, but..." she said, unsure, and held it out to Hunk.

He took the bridle from her, adjusting it in his hands so the reins weren't twisted, then threw the reins over Yellow's head. "First, we loop the reins over the horse's neck. Then we bring the bit up..." he mumbled, lifting his hand, with the bit resting in his palm. He brought it to Yellow's lips, and she opened her mouth willingly for him. He moved her ears to loop the headstall into place, and started latching up the buckles on autopilot, until Lance came in.

"Hey, man! Hey Shay!" he exclaimed, and leaned casually against the side of the entryway. "What's happenin'?"

"Hunk's teaching me how to ride today!" Shay exclaimed, and clapped her hands together. "Allura let me borrow boots and a helmet."

"Woah! That's exciting," he laughed, and smirked at Hunk. "Moving a little fast, aren't we, big guy? Already teaching your girl to ride?"

Hunk flushed, and shoved a cackling Lance out of the doorway. "It's not like that!" he complained, frowning.

"Sure, sure, buddy!" Lance called over his shoulder as he made his way down to the tack room.

"Oh, Lance?" Shay called after him, and stepped into the isle. "Have you seen Shiro lately?"

Lance turned, and shook his head. "No, haven't seen him since we came back on Thursday. But he keeps asking me to feed Black, so I do. Why?"

"Allura's been looking for him," Hunk answered, and rubbed a hand over his face. "You don't know anything about that, do you?"

The brunette shook his head, and pursed his lips slightly. "No, sorry. I've tried asking Shiro about it, even called him, but... He shut me down. He'll tell us when he's ready, I guess."

"Ready for what?" Matt questioned, entering the barn. "Is this about Shiro?"

Shay turned towards Matt, and nodded. "We haven't seen him around here the past few days, and Allura's been looking for him."

"She seems off, haven't you guys noticed?" Hunk wondered.

Matt nodded slowly, and clenched his hands, lost in thought. "I wonder if he's alright... It's not like him to stay away from Black for this long..." he mused.

"He'll come back when he's ready," Lance finally said, and turned on his heel. "Have fun, guys!" he called back towards Shay and Hunk, and disappeared into the tack room at the end of the hall.

Matt continued down the isle towards Mouse's stall, and opened the door, disappearing inside.

Shay turned back into Yellow's stall, and eyed Yellow's bridle. "What happened to me learning?" she smirked.

Hunk glanced at Yellow's head, and smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend. "Sorry, old habits die hard." He pulled the reins over Yellow's head and passed them to Shay. "Grab your helmet, then we'll head out."

She gathered the reins in her right hand, and led Yellow out of the stall, grabbing the helmet along the way. "Where are we going?" she asked, with a spring in her step.

"The indoor arena," he responded, and gently rested his hand on her lower back. "It's unlikely that we'll get disrupted in there, and it's a contained area, so it'll be easier to help you."

"That's fair," she nodded, and turned towards the indoor arena. "Am I going to learn to jump today?"

Hunk broke out into surprised chuckles, and shook his head. "Oh, no no. Not today. But there are a lot of other fun things other than jumping when it comes to riding a horse."

"But what about that... Three seconds thing you talked about?"

He slowed to a stop, gaping at the woman in front of him. "Y-you... Remembered that?" he whispered.

Shay stopped, and turned to face him. "Of course," she affirmed quietly, and smiled slightly. "I try to remember all of the little details about you."

Hunk flushed, and rubbed a hand over his face to try to hide the blush. Shay broke out laughing at his bashfulness.

Suddenly, Keith and Red appeared from the entrance to the indoor arena. "Oh, hey Hunk!" he called, and stopped a few feet in front of Shay and Yellow. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced! I'm Keith, and this is my mare, Red." he offered a gloved hand to Shay.

She shook it lightly, and tipped her head slightly. "Shay, so-far significant other to Hunkules back there." she avowed with a smirk.

Hunk quite literally squeaked from his position behind Shay, causing both Shay and Keith to break out in howling laughter, nearly falling down to the ground. Keith was leaning heavily back into Red, tears practically streaming down his face. "Alright alright that's enough of that..." Hunk muttered, and kicked some stones away from his feet.

Keith stood up after a moment, and wiped the back of his gloves under his eyes, still chuckling slightly. "Hunk, it's official, your girlfriend is my new favourite person here."

"Are you sure about that? I've heard that Lance took that spot pretty quickly," Shay pressed with a smirk.

Crimson rapidly washed Keith's pale cheeks. "Th-that's not - Not - What were you t-two talking about before I barged in?" he stuttered.

"Three seconds." Hunk supplied, letting Keith change the subject.

Keith squinted slightly at Hunk, then turned to Shay for clarification.

"It's something his and Lance's old riding instructor used to talk about; it's the feeling of jumping." Shay explained, with a light shrug. "I only learned about this about a month ago."

His eyebrows raised, and he turned to Hunk, looking very interested. "Can you explain what three seconds is?" Keith asked, feigning nonchalance.

Hunk smiled, and nodded. "I think Lance remembers exactly how Al used to say it, but... Jumping can best be described in a short span of time; the first second is squeezing your horse's sides as they launch into the air, pushing your body deeper into the saddle. The second second is where you feel weightless, hovering over your horse's back as they clear over the rails. And the third second is when your horse's hooves crash back into the dirt, suddenly grounding you again."

Keith smiled slightly, and nodded towards Red. "That makes perfect sense... I'd never thought to put it into so many words, but... That's exactly how I feel when Red and I jump." He patted Red's neck lovingly, and glanced over at Hunk. "I didn't realize you and Lance've known each other for so long?"

He nodded, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Lance and I grew up on the same block, and he got me into riding. When he left, I followed him out here. We made a promise when we were younger, that we'd always be there for each other. I... I couldn't leave him alone when he needed me the most." Hunk shrugged slightly, and smiled ruefully. "What kind of bro would I be then?"

Keith nodded slightly, and shuffled in place a bit. "Well, arena's all yours; I'm heading down to the dressage ring. There are fences set up in the middle, but I'm sure you guys can work around them." He said, and pulled Red forwards. "I'll see you two around?"

"It was nice meeting you, Keith!" Shay called after him, then continued towards where Keith had come out of. "At least the jumps are out of our way." she commented to Hunk.

Hunk nodded, and pulled the sliding door open ahead of Yellow and Shay. Peering in, he noticed that Keith did indeed set the fences up in the center of the arena, so Yellow and Shay could work around the outskirts. Ambling towards the center of the arena, Hunk noticed that the fences were set at Olympic heights and widths, and shook his head slightly. Lance would panic if he ever had to jump these heights...

He turned back to Shay, who was fiddling with the helmet in her hands. He made his way over to her, and covered her shaking hands with his. "Relax, hon." he mumbled, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "It's nothing you haven't done before. If anything, it's easier, since you don't have to work as hard to stay on her back."

She nodded slightly, and with a determined glint in her eye, she placed the helmet on her head, clipping it up beneath her chin. Turning towards the saddle, she gripped the reins in her left hand, and turned back to Hunk. He lifted her easily up into the saddle, and placed the ball of her foot in the stirrup. "Remember, heels down." Hunk said with a smile.

Shay nodded, and adjusted her far foot to match her near. Gathering up the reins in both hands, she peered down at Hunk, looking eager. "What first, coach?"

Hunk left her side to go stand in the middle of the arena. "Just start at a walk, and do what feels right." he cocked his hip slightly, and pocketed his hands again. "I'll help you as we go along, but you're already looking confident in the saddle, so that's a start."

Chapter Text

Concealed Agony

Matt stood up, and brushed his hands off on the tops of his jeans, pocketing his hoof pick. He'd heard Keith and Red walk back into the barn a few minutes ago, a light sheen of sweat covering them both, and knew the dressage arena would be empty. Giving Mouse's shoulder a quick pat, he stepped out of the stall, locking it behind him. He glanced further down the isle, surveying who was there; Keith was rubbing a damp towel down Red's legs in the middle of the isle, and Lance was leaning against Blue's stall door, talking quietly with Keith. Pidge was trimming Green's mane, painstakingly slowly, as the small mare hated the trimmer Pidge used. Matt made a mental note to buy Pidge new trimmers for her birthday, see if a new pair would make the job easier. Hunk was preparing Yellow's lunch in the feed room at the other end of the barn, Matt recognized Hunk's humming coming from the end of the isle. Shay's brother had picked her up a little while back since orders had flood in at work, and she'd been needed. Smiling slightly to himself, he turned and made his way down to the tack room, whistling softly as he went.

As Matt stepped into the tack room and turned the light on, he was shocked to see Shiro reaching up to grab Black's saddle. He squawked slightly, and paused in the doorway. Shiro whipped around at hearing Matt's surprise, and immediately motioned for him to be quiet. He quickly stepped over to Matt's side, grabbed his elbow, and pulled him outside of the barn.

"Shiro!" Matt hissed, and stared at the other man questioningly. "What are you doing?"

Shiro released Matt's arm, and let his arms hang limply by his sides. He looked absolutely exhausted; his hair was in an unusual disarray, there was stubble littering his jawline, and an unhealthy pallor to his skin. He gestured vaguely into the barn, and shook his head. "I-I couldn't... I couldn't come back after..." he trailed off quietly.

"After what?" Matt exclaimed, and balled his fists. "What was so bad that you couldn't even tell me about it?" Pointing vaguely into the barn, he narrowed his eyes up at Shiro. "But Lance could take care of Black while you skipped out." he accused.

Shiro's eyes widened, and he ran a hand over his face tiredly. "Please, Matt, I... I don't want to argue with you too..." he said softly, dejectedly.

Matt immediately felt his shoulders droop, and he stepped closer to Shiro, and wrapped his arms around the taller man. Shiro was stiff for a moment, before practically melting into Matt's arms, gripping the material on Matt's back savagely. Matt knew he'd been too snappish with Shiro when he was obviously battling conflicting emotions, but he couldn't help it. He'd been worried about Shiro, and... He'd missed him.

"Alright, tell me all about it, then. Why haven't you been showing up the past few days?" Matt questioned softly, and rubbed a hand over Shiro's shoulder.

Shiro took a deep breath, before stepping out of Matt's embrace. Rubbing a hand down the side of his face, he murmured "I kissed Allura after the show jumping final."

Matt took a startled step back. He what...? His heart felt as though it was falling through his heels to the ground below, to be soaked up by the loveless earth. He wanted to yell, cry, or hit something really hard. But he could do none of those things, so he heard himself asking "Why?"

"I could tell you that it just happened, but I don't think you'd be satisfied with that answer." Shiro said slowly, and turned his gaze down to the gravel beneath their feet. Toeing a random piece of gravel, he sighed, seeming to collect his thoughts. "I... It's not that I've never thought of Allura that way before. She's an amazing woman, and she's been through so much... And she's stayed so strong through everything life's thrown at her. I admire her for that, and she always manages to bring a smile to my face, even when she's struggling herself. I-I guess I've always been fascinated by her, but never stopped to consider if she'd want something with me."

"So, you kissed her?" Matt whispered, still dazed with the information.

"Yeah... I kissed her." he nodded, paused, then clenched his fist. "But then I walked away from her, and have been avoiding her ever since."

Matt glanced up, shocked. "You kissed her, then just up and left?" he asked incredulously. When Shiro nodded, Matt's eyebrows rose. "How could you do that to her? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Allura is basically my boss and that she wouldn't want this?" Shiro murmured softly, and gestured vaguely into the barn again. "That I make a living from competing, working under her father's team? That I might've forced myself upon her?" Shiro let out a slow breath, and shook his head. "How could I face her after that?"

Matt shifted his weight on his heels, debating. Should he tell Shiro what he needs to hear, or what he needed to tell Shiro... After a moment's hesitation, he lifted his head to stare straight at Shiro, before calmly stating "You need to go talk to her. Tell her how you feel, and apologize."

"Do you really think so?" Shiro asked, somewhat incredulously.

Matt nodded, and ducked his head again, hiding from Shiro's gaze. "I do. Go on, I think she's in the house."

Shiro stood still for a moment, before reaching out to pat Matt's shoulder. "Thanks, Matt. I knew I could trust you with this." Shiro let his hand linger on Matt's shoulder for a moment, before making his way into the barn.

Matt waited until Shiro's footsteps finally receded before crouching to the ground and finally letting the tears fall. He quickly pulled his glasses off of his face, clutching them almost savagely in his hand. How could Shiro do this? Is he so oblivious to the fact that I'm in love with him? He could vaguely feel sobs wracking his body, but was too lost in his grief to care. He raked his free hand down the side of his face, only vaguely feeling the pain it caused.

"Oh, Mattie..." he heard someone coo softly, and the light weight of an arm circling his body.

Matt peeked up with a watery gaze to see his sister crouching down beside him. She looked so sad seeing him in pain, and rubbed a soothing hand over his arm. "Pidgeon..." he whimpered, and closed his eyes tightly again. "H-he's in love with 'Lura."

She shushed him softly, and pulled him up to his feet, before wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug. She rubbed the back of his head as he sobbed, uncaring of the tear stains he would leave on the shoulder of her shirt. He slowly lifted his arms and wrapped them around his sister just as tightly, holding onto her for dear life. "It's gonna be fine, Mattie..." she whispered, and pressed a kiss to his temple. "He's not the only boy out there, I promise..."

Matt sniffed, before shaking his head and murmuring "But he's practically perfect."

"'Practically perfect' does not mean perfect. He's an idiot for not seeing what he had in front of him, Matt. Don't waste anymore time over him, okay?" When he nodded slightly, she pushed him back to arms' length to get a good look at him. Shrugging slightly, she grabbed Matt's elbow, and pulled him back into the barn. She stopped only briefly in front of Green's stall to unlock the door, before pushing Matt in ahead of her. Turning back, she grabbed two brushes from her grooming kit, and tossed one to Matt. "Now, tell me everything. Groom as you talk, just like we did when we were younger."

And talk he did; he told her all of his feelings, all of the times he thought Shiro had felt the same way, and what just happened outside before Pidge found him. She brushed over Green's back slowly, and listened intently to everything he said, nodding at the correct times, and inputting small pieces of advice where she could. Just as Matt was explaining in vivid detail how he felt, Lance suddenly peeked over the stall divide.

"Man, I knew you had a crush on Shiro, but I had no idea how deep it ran." he said sadly, and shook his head.

Both Matt and Pidge jumped at their sudden audience, and Matt squeaked embarrassingly when Keith peeked up beside Lance. "I dunno, Lance, I've only been here for a month and even I knew it was fairly obvious." Keith smirked, and hip bumped Lance.

Matt groaned, threw an arm over Green's back, and flopped on her dramatically. "How long have you two been listening in?" he demanded, his cheeks flushed crimson.

Keith and Lance shrugged in unison, before they said "The whole time" together. Matt groaned again, causing Lance and Keith to break out laughing together, and for Pidge to chuckle softly at her brother's theatrics.

"Feel a little better, Mattie?" Pidge whispered to her brother, who smiled slightly and nodded. She knew that he'd get over his crush on Shiro, as soon as he found someone else to shower with affection. She wasn't expecting Lance and Keith to come in and help out, but she was glad they did; Matt deserved to be happy, no matter what.

Chapter Text

Reconciliation

"Thanks, Matt. I knew I could trust you with this." Shiro let his hand linger on Matt's shoulder for a moment, before turning and making his way into the barn. He walked quickly down the isle, waving briefly to Lance and Keith, who were sitting in Blue's stall together. Stepping back outside into the sunlight, he paused just outside of the barn, facing the mansion. What could he even say to Allura? He'd walked away from her, after making the first move, like he regretted what he did. Which he didn't. All he regretted was the way he handled the situation. He cursed softly under his breath, and ran a hand through the short white tuft of hair by his forehead. What did he feel?

What he'd said to Matt was true; he did admire Allura, for being as strong as she is with the hand she's been given in life. She's kind, beautiful, talented, and just an amazing person inside and out. But Shiro knew she had flaws; she let her temper get the better of her sometimes, and she was too impulsive. Being impulsive was good in the horse business, but could just as easily break you. He knew he liked her...

So did he regret what he did?

No.

He knew what he had to do.

Inhaling deeply, Shiro quickly strode forwards, before he could change his mind, towards the mansion. He thought about cutting towards the back of the house, like he usually would, but decided against it, aiming towards the front. He stopped in front of the large ivory door, hand hovering over the doorbell. Taking a deep, calming breath, Shiro closed his eyes and pressed his finger to the buzzer. He heard the soft tinkle of bells echo through the house, and footsteps approaching the door. He took a step back, and opened his eyes to watch the door intently.

Allura opened the door, peeking around to see who was there. At seeing Shiro, her face fell slightly, before she put on her 'business woman' smile. "Hello, Takashi." she said formally, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Shiro glanced down at her feet, shuddering slightly at the coldness in her tone. "Hi, Allura." he said somewhat awkwardly, and shifted his weight. "Uhm, c-can we... Talk?"

Allura glanced up and down his person, chewing her lip slightly, before nodding slowly. Turning on her socked heel, she left the door propped open, and walked further into the mansion.

Shiro stepped into the mansion cautiously, closing the door with a soft 'click' behind him. He followed her further into the house, towards the kitchen. Walking past the large white island in the middle, she made her way over to the stainless steel stove, where she had a pink kettle coming to a boil on the stove. "Tea?" she questioned, with her back turned.

Shiro nodded, and murmured a soft "Sure".

Allura nodded, and pulled the kettle off the burner, silencing the low whistle that was starting to emit. She sidestepped over to the cupboard beside the range, opened it, and pulled out two types of teas. She placed them on the island in the middle, before turning back to open another cupboard, with mugs. Placing two white mugs on the counter, she passed one to Shiro, and kept one for herself, grabbing the tin of spearmint tea.

Shiro reached for the other box of tea, noticing that she'd grabbed his favourite type of tea; earl grey. He smiled slightly to himself, shocked that she remembered it; he was sure he'd only mentioned it once or twice. He opened the carton, and dropped a small bag of leaves into the bottom of his mug.

Allura poured hot water from the kettle into Shiro's cup first, then her own, before placing it back on the stove to cool. Grabbing two spoons, she pushed one across the island to Shiro, and stirred her bag of spearmint leaves around for half a minute, before pulling it out and placing it and the spoon on the counter. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she questioned suddenly, looking down intently into her tea cup.

Shiro stirred his spoon in his mug, watching the water turn slowly darker. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he began; "Well, I... I wanted to apologize for the other day. It was very rude of me, and I shouldn't have done it."

Allura flicked her gaze up to meet his, icy blue gaze narrowing on Shiro's face. "What exactly shouldn't you've done?"

Flushing slightly, Shiro clarified his previous statement, "I shouldn't've walked away from you after... I kissed you." he ducked his head, and pulled his teabag out of his mug, letting it rest on the counter top. "It was rude of me to impose without permission, then just... Walk away."

"You're right, it was." she said curtly. Her words were cutting, but her tone sounded... Exhausted. "Did you ever stop to think about how I would feel about it?"

"Yes!" he blurted, lifting his head up to look at her again. "That's why I left in the first place; I thought that you would think it unprofessional, and that you wouldn't want me."

Allura blinked, and her jaw dropped open slightly. "You thought that I wouldn't want you?"

"Uh..." Shiro paused, dumbfounded. "Yes?"

Allura smacked her open palm to her forehead, grumbling unintelligibly under her breath. "I can't believe you would think that. After all the signals I've been giving you for months now."

Shiro's eyes widened, and he say up straighter in his seat. Allura has had a crush on me all this time? "What?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, disbelief clear in her irises. "Seriously?" Standing up, she started pacing back and forth across the length of the space in front of the island. "Was I not forthcoming enough in my advances? I knew it, I should have gone out of my way more to do little things, like make..." Shiro didn't hear the rest of what she said, standing up, and walking up behind her while she paced.

"-can't believe-- Shiro?" she turned quickly, bumping into him, startled.

Shiro dropped his hands to her waist, smiling softly. "You have a habit of rambling, Allura." he chided, and ducked his head down, only a couple of centimetres between them. "Guess we were both idiots, huh?"

A smile slowly crossed Allura's face, until she was beaming up at him. "Maybe," she shrugged, and surged up on her socked toes to kiss him soundly. "But you were the bigger idiot."

Chapter Text

Serenity

Keith stepped out of the tack room, Red's tack slung over his arm, humming to himself quietly when Lance suddenly ambushed him, nearly tackling him.

"Keith!" he exclaimed, and started bouncing in place. "Any plans for the day?" Keith only stared at Lance with wide eyes, and shook his head. "Great! C'mon, tack up Red, we're going out on a trail ride!" Lance latched himself onto Keith's arm, and practically dragged him down the isle.

"Wait, Lance!" he called out as soon as he came to his senses, but Lance was already rushing away without another word. With a sigh, Keith opened Red's stall, and hummed to her. She quickly turned around and stepped over to him, nudging his shoulder with her nose. Keith chuckled softly, and reached out to grab the side of her halter, leading her into the isle to the cross-ties. He started going through the motions of grooming and tacking her up, basically on autopilot.

Why is Lance so eager for this trail ride? He's never mentioned wanting to go on one before this, so... Why now? Keith was trying to think of a reason behind the sudden trail ride, when Lance bounded up beside him, loosely holding onto Blue's reins. "Ready to go, partner?" he drawled, grinning widely.

Keith glanced at Blue's back, donning her usual brown leather training saddle, but also a small leather saddle bag sitting behind it. "We having a picnic or something?" Keith questioned, eying the saddle bag dubiously.

Lance lowered his gaze, and shifted his weight uncertainly. "Uhh, i-is that okay? O-only if we get hungry, though." When Keith didn't answer right away, Lance started getting nervous; "Shit, man, I-I-I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought it'd be nice to take a break, a-and I know you and Red have been workin--"

Keith launched himself forwards and wrapped his arms around Lance, grinning like a fool. "Lance, I'd love that. Sorry, I just... Nobody's ever done this for me before." he grinned more broadly when he felt Lance wrap his arms around his body in turn. "I didn't know what to think, I didn't mean to make you think I didn't want to go."

"Don't scare me like that, mullet..." Lance whispered, and huffed slightly. "You could've just said you've never been on a fun trail ride before."

"Fine," Keith said, releasing his grasp on Lance and stepped back a step. "I've never been on a fun trail ride before."

Lance's jaw dropped, and he stared at Keith like he'd grown a second head. "How have you never?!" he gasped, clutching his chest like he was in physical pain. "Oh I am so happy I thought of this, the famous Keith Kogane, never been on a trail ride? Scandalous!"

Keith chuckled at Lance's antics, and stepped away from Red's side to grab the small instrument sitting in his helmet, before making his way over to Blue's saddle bag. "Do you mind?" he asked, opening the bag.

"What is that?" Lance questioned, and tried to peek over Keith's shoulder to see what he was putting in the bag, only to be shooed away by Keith.

"I'll show you when we get there. C'mon, you're the one who wanted to go on this damn trail ride." he huffed, before untying Red from the isle. Lance moved to walk in step beside him out of the barn. "Oh, but, before we go... Why did you want to go on a trail ride with me?" Keith questioned, pulling Red to a stop a few steps outside the barn. He threw her reins over her neck, placed one foot into the stirrup, and hoisted himself up onto Red's back.

Lance had beaten him into the saddle, and was already urging Blue onwards, pointing her towards the south paddock. "Guess you'll have to catch me to find out!" he called, before spurring Blue into a quick gallop.

Keith grinned, and spurred Red to move after them. She threw her mane out wildly, prancing slightly before launching after Blue and her ecstatic rider. Blue and Lance had gotten a fair bit of a head start; Keith often forgot that Appendix Quarter Horses were known to be just quick as Thoroughbreds. Keith tapped his middle finger twice on the top of Red's shoulder, in his own exchange of a crop, urging her into her next gear. She extended her neck out even further, and stretched out her long strides, eating up more ground in front of her. The invisible target Keith painted on Lance's back was coming closer and closer as Red made true of her breed's speed.

Lance peeked over his shoulder for his trailing teammate, squeaking slightly when Keith was a lot closer to him than he thought. Snapping back around, he lowered himself further down Blue's neck, and pushed his hands forwards. Keith could hear Blue starting to breathe heavy, but chose not to comment on it.

Red finally reached the space beside Blue, and she whinnied loudly. Keith reached over and tapped Lance's arm lightly, grinning widely, then reined Red in a bit, to slow down from a flat out gallop to a canter.

"Dude," Lance whined, reining in Blue as well, "No fair! Blue and I even had a head start!"

Keith scoffed, and gathered his reins in one neck, before patting Red's sweat-dampened neck. "You forget Red is a Thoroughbred, sired by a winning racehorse. She was born to run, but just happens to love jumping."

Lance hummed slightly, and pulled Blue back even more into an easy trot. "I knew she was a Thoroughbred, but, sired by a 'winning racehorse'?" he questioned, visibly confused.

Keith pulled Red back to keep pace with Blue, and nodded slowly. "Well, before my father owned Vic, Vic won all of his races as a yearling. He won all of his races up until his big debut when he was four. But apparently his owner pulled him at the last minute, and sold him to my dad. So, technically he never lost any of his races."

"I didn't realize that Vic was a racehorse before an eventer, that's so cool!" Lance exclaimed, before his expression turned pensive. "Did you ever think about racing Red?"

The raven hair boy shook his head, pursing his lips slightly. "No, it's... Not something I ever thought of, to be honest. Racing was never my thing, it wasn't what I was raised to love. My dad's passion has and always will be eventing, and it rubbed off on me, obviously." Keith smiled wryly. He took a moment to survey their surroundings; he had just blindly been following Lance's lead up until this point, and he wasn't quite sure where they were anymore. The white paddock fences were far behind them, and they were in the crest of some sort of valley. Keith could hear the viridescent green grass whisper softly in the gentle breeze, almost as though it was sharing Keith's secrets amongst the individual strands. There was barely a cloud in the bright blue sky; a lovely day for a relaxing trail ride. He was quiet for a moment before adding "Where are we headed?"

Lance merely smiled ominously, before cantering ahead of Keith, avoiding the question entirely.

Lance had practically disappeared ahead of Keith, running up and over the large hill in front of them. Nudging Red up the hill after Lance and Blue, Keith stood up straight in the saddle, trying to see where Lance was leading him.

Lance had his feet planted on the ground beside Blue, and was rifling around in the saddle bag when they breached the crest of the hill. Keith sat down dazedly in the saddle when he realized that Lance had brought him to a large pond. It almost seemed out of place, like it was plopped out of the sky in that spot, but it also seemed so right at the same time. The surface of the admiral blue water was as smooth as glass in the midday sun, appearing depthless in it's small vastness. Stopping beside Blue, Keith hopped out of Red's saddle and immediately made his way to the edge of the pond, peering down into it. He could see his face reflected on the surface, smiling softly back at him. His hair was in a windblown disarray, and his dark eyes were practically the same colour as the sheer surface. Even standing right beside the edge, peering down into the depths, Keith couldn't really see the bottom.

"Would've thought you'd never seen a large body of water before, with how fast you ran to the edge," Lance teased softly, practically gliding to Keith's side. He stood close enough that they were practically shoulder to shoulder.

Keith shrugged lightly, before murmuring "You're not far off." Turning back to the horses, he noticed they hadn't even started grazing yet. He knew Red wouldn't, since she hated eating around her bit, but Blue had her head lifted up towards the sky, almost as though she was enjoying the breeze coming off the water. "Why don't we untack the horses?" Keith asked, turning to Lance.

Lance shrugged slightly, before making his way over to Blue. "Aren't you worried about them getting too far away?" he asked as he lifted his stirrup irons over the saddle seat.

Keith shook his head, pulling the reins and headstall over Red's head, before opening his hand underneath her mouth for the bit. "Not really. Red will come back when I call, and Blue tends to stick by her side, so they'll be fine."

Lance nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Keith's answer. He placed Blue's saddle on the ground, pad and saddle bag resting on top, before working on her bridle. "Thanks for coming out here with me today, by the way. I know I sorta just, sprung this on you, but I was really hoping you'd come."

"Course I would," Keith replied, untying Red's girth. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, you've been training a lot lately. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but, I haven't really seen you a lot." Lance admitted shyly. He sounded a little wistful, his eyes downcast as he fiddled with the straps on Blue's bridle. "I usually see you from a distance, like when you're working in the dressage arena, or sitting in your truck checking your phone before you go home for the night. So, I thought we could take a day and just... Spend some time together." his cheeks were tinged pink at the end of the confession, and he ducked his head to hide behind Blue's face.

Keith stilled at Lance's words, hand hovering just above Red's shoulder. I didn't know he missed me, Keith thought. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I never thought about how you'd feel."

Lance dropped the bridle beside the saddle on the ground, before nudging Blue away to graze. "Don't worry about it. We're here now, right?" he smiled, before bending down and reaching into the saddle bag, pulling out a folded up blanket. He unfolded it a couple times, before flicking it outwards, and laying it on the grass.

Keith lifted Red's saddle and pad off her back, and stepped around her, dropping it down beside Blue's saddle in front of the blanket. He hopped over the saddle, onto the blanket, and flopped back, resting his back against the saddle. He felt the blanket shift slightly beside him, and saw Lance plop down on the blanket beside him.

Lance fiddled with his hands for a moment, seeming to be contemplating saying something or not. Steeling himself, he blurted "There's a reason I invited you out here with me today."

Keith eyed Lance up and down, as if Lance's posture would give the answer. "....Oh?" he asked slowly.

Blue eyes glanced into violet for a second, before glancing back to the space between them. Lance shifted so he was sitting cross-legged, facing Keith. "Yeah, I... Do you r-remember the day of the cross country run?"

"Yeah, I remember it vividly." Keith said softly, easily recalling Lance breaking down in his arms.

"Well, remember how I had said I didn't want to talk about it?" Lance prompted, waiting for Keith's nod. "Well, I'm ready to talk about it."

"This was a couple years ago, now, a little less than a year after I moved out here... One of our first competitions as a newly reformed team. It was cross country day, and Blue and I were one of the first ones to run the course. The first few fences went fine, simple log fences or the odd small water fence, I don't really remember anymore... But, one of the fences was a large imposing ditch fence, with an impressive 6 foot deep ditch, with a three foot tall wooden straight bearing over it. I don't really know what happened, one second I was crouched over Blue's saddle, and the next, I was laying in the bottom of the ditch, looking up at Blue." Lance paused for a second, taking a deep, calming breath. "You know what they say about getting right back on? I wish I had."

"Why didn't you?" Keith whispered.

"A broken arm and a mild concussion will deter you from getting back on." Lance murmured sadly, chewing on his bottom lip. "I was removed from the event, and taken straight to hospital. I didn't see Blue for about a week. Hunk and Pidge made sure she was comfortable while I was away from the barn, but... I had a lot of trouble bringing myself back to the stable. Hunk, bless him, brought me out one day, since I couldn't drive with my arm in a sling." he smiled ruefully to himself, and shifted on the blanket. "Blue was sooo excited to see me, but I just... Couldn't stop seeing myself in the bottom of that ditch again, and I-I... I shied away from her." he croaked out, bringing his knees up to his chest, balling up as tightly as he could.

Keith could practically feel his stomach dropping at Lance's words. Bad falls were always hard to get back up from, but Lance... He didn't even have the chance to try until it was too late. Keith shimmied across the blanket until there was barely an inch between their bodies, facing each other. He desperately wanted to wrap Lance up in a hug, but decided against it when Lance flinched back slightly. "So... What happened after that?"

Lance's biceps flexed as he tightened his grip around his knees, and he turned to stare intently at the blanket beside them. "I avoided the barn, and Blue. I was just so ashamed of how I handled it, that I just ran away. I stayed away for months, even after my arm was fully healed. I couldn't bring myself to go back to Blue, back to the reality of my accident. So, like the coward I was, I hid. Hunk tried to get me to go back, to see Blue, just to spend some time with her. He said she was depressed, and was losing weight, but I couldn't do it. After a while, Pidge dragged my sorry ass to the barn and locked me in Blue's stall until I was able to touch her again."

"Did you hate her for that?" Keith questioned seriously. "Her approach was maybe a little drastic, but, did it work?"

"I hated her at the time, yeah." Lance shrugged, and faced Keith again. "I had a really hard time letting Blue get close to me, but when Pidge first locked me in, Blue was so ecstatic to see me that she nearly barrelled me over. She must've been so confused when I backed into the far corner of her stall, and curled up as tightly as I could. I remember feeling homesick for the place; the smell of the fresh straw, the warm smell of Blue, and the warm feeling the barn always gave me, but I couldn't get over the crippling fear of thinking I was going to get hurt again, and I-" Lance cut off suddenly, and wiped tears from his cheeks.

Keith cracked when Lance's composure broke, and he reached out to tackle Lance in a fierce hug. "She would never hurt you, you know that, right?"

"But she did!" Lance wailed, and clutched tightly at Keith's back, burying his face in the crook of Keith's neck. "I mean, I d-don't blame her anymore, b-but it still happened."

Keith rubbed soft circles into Lance's back, letting the tears dry before asking "But did it make you two stronger, in the end?"

Rubbing a hand over his face, Lance nodded. "It has... It took me a couple of months to get back on her again, but jumping still scares me sometimes..." he mumbled, and peered around, looking for Blue. "Where'd they go?"

Keith leaned further into Lance's space, leaning around him, reaching for the abandoned saddle bag. Rifling around inside it for a moment, he pulled out a red ocarina. Pulling it to his lips, he adjusted his fingers over a couple holes before playing a short tune. It had two lower notes, before bursting into a higher note, then repeated, before he played notes in the middle. Lance thought he sort of recognized it, but paid it no thought when Red came rushing back, with Blue in tow.

"Woah, dude, that was awesome! What was that?" Lance questioned, and stood up. He motioned for Blue to come to him, and she did, stopping only a foot away from his outstretched hands. Lance closed the final step, stroking her face reverently.

"Just my ocarina," Keith shrugged, and stood up as well, patting Red's back as she came up. "The pastures at our old stable are all really long, and my dad would get really mad if I used to quad to go fetch Red, so, I taught her to come when I played that song."

Lance was quiet for a few moments, lost in Blue's chocolate-coloured eyes. "You have such a special bond with your mare, Keith. Maybe one day you'll open up to people the same way."

Chapter Text

Inebriated

Pidge grabbed Green's lead rope off the bale of hay just outside her stall on her way out of the barn. She'd put Green out to pasture a few hours ago when she decided to take a day from training, to give Green a break, and to give her time to thoroughly clean the entirety of the stall. Her hands were red from the hot water she'd used to scrub the metal hay net, and further irritated from trying to pry the old salt block out of its holder on the wall. She'd given up on the salt block fairly quickly, and asked Keith for help. Lance had come to the stall door to chat idly with Keith while he'd pried the still-sticky block from the wall [making it look a lot easier than she thought it ought've been]. She'd even taken the time to clean all of her tack; Green's dressage saddle never gleamed so brightly. Hopping over the various ruts from the front-end loader, she stopped at the edge of the fence of the west pasture, looking for her little white mare. She spotted her by the far corner near the everlasting muddy water puddle that never really goes away. As soon as Pidge opened the gate, Green's head whipped around, and they both froze in place.

Pidge's hand gripped the top of the gate. Staring down her mare, she muttered "Don't you do it..."

Green lurched sideways, right into the puddle, and dropped onto her side, rolling in the muddy water.

Pidge groaned loudly, and cursed under her breath. "Why do you always do that?!" she called out to Green, before making her way over to the now brown mare. Green was almost completely encased in mud, except for the bridge of her nose; she was nothing if not efficient. With a sigh, Pidge grabbed for her muddy halter, and clipped the lead rope to the underside. "C'mon, girl, let's get you all cleaned up..."

Making their way back to the stable, they ran into Hunk and Yellow exiting the stable in full tack. Hunk stopped at the sight of Green, mouth agape, before breaking out into full-blown laughter, nearly doubled over. Pidge glared at him all the while he tried to catch his breath to say something. He couldn't stop laughing, whenever he looked up to Pidge to say something, he caught sight of Green, causing him to chuckle harder. With a wave of his hand, he and Yellow left without saying anything, Hunk's roaring laughter fading with Yellow and Green's shoes clicking against the gravel.

Pidge knew Allura would have her head of Green got any mud in here, but she needed to get Lance's good shampoo to get Green nice and clean. Peeking in the tack room to see if Allura was there, she stepped quickly down the isle towards Blue's stall. "Lance!" she hissed, peering inside. She jumped slightly when she found Keith bent over Blue's hooves with Lance's blue hoof pick.

Keith jumped back, dropping Blue's hoof suddenly, causing Blue to snort loudly. He patted Blue's neck, and turned to face Pidge, a slight blush gracing his features. "Sorry, Pidge, not Lance. What's up?"

"Where is he?" she questioned, and crossed her arms over her chest. "I need his good shampoo."

Keith motioned vaguely out of the barn. "Allura wanted to talk to him about some stuff, so he's in the house with her. I figured I'd finish grooming Blue for him." he tapped his chin a couple times, thinking. "The good shampoo is the black bottle, right? It should be..." he unlocked Blue's stall, stepped out, and started rummaging around in the grooming kit. "Aha!" he exclaimed, and pulled out a familiar looking bottle, offering it to Pidge. "This it?"

"Yes!" she snatched the bottle from his hands, and kissed the bottle's cap. Turning, she grabbed her sponge, comb, and brush, before pulling Green after her at a brisk pace to head back outside. "Thanks, Keith!" she called back over her shoulder. She saw him wave a hand at her vaguely, before stepping back into Blue's stall.

Pidge found it a little odd that Keith would take the time to take care of Lance's horse... But didn't think too much of it, since she did get the shampoo she needed.

She lead Green over to the far side of the indoor arena, to the outside far wall that faced the mansion. There was a small washing station there; a slightly raised concrete platform, fenced on two connecting sides, with a metal trough and hose. She tied Green's lead rope to the fence against the wall, and dropped the materials she grabbed from the barn in the trough. She pondered for a moment if today she'd turn the hot water on for Green's bath, but quickly decided against it. Little shit can suffer with me for this, she thought to herself with a small smirk. Grabbing the end of the hose, and un-looping a couple of coils, she brought it towards Green's flank and turned it on, aiming it between Green's hooves so she knew it was there. Working her way up Green's hind legs, she aimed the spray of cool water up her legs, over her hindquarters, barrel, shoulders, and down her front legs to get her near side wet. She knew Green wasn't a fan of water directly from the hose aimed above her shoulder, so she'd have to get the brush good and wet before she scrubbed down her neck. She did the same on Green's far side, and was just reaching into the trough to grab the shampoo when Lance came rushing over.

"Pidge!" he gasped out, leaning against the fence for support. "You better head into the barn."

She snapped her head over towards him, eyes narrowed. "What'd you do?" she questioned, suspicion laced clearly.

Lance shook his head, blue eyes wide. "Not me, Matt."

Pidge's eyes widened, and she dropped the hose, water still spewing out of it. Chewing on her lip slightly, she glanced back over at Green, who was still unbathed.

Lance noticed her hesitation, and stepped into the washing area. "I got Green, just because I don't know how to deal with your brother in this situation. Go on, go take him home. I'll take care of Green and Mouse for the rest of today."

Pidge clapped him on the shoulder, and jumped over the fence, back towards the barn. "Thanks, Lance, I owe you one!"

Once she made it halfway to the barn, she heard Lance's squawk of disbelief. "You stole my shampoo?!" he shrieked.

She chuckled slightly, and called over her shoulder "Keith gave it to me!"

Running into the barn, doing the second thing she knew Allura'd kill her for, she immediately heard garbled singing coming from further down the isle. Keith was standing just outside of Mouse's stall, peering inside warily. Skidding to a stop in front of Mouse's stall, she stepped up to the stall door to see Matt and Mouse curled up together on the straw in the corner. Matt had a bottle of Forty Creek held in his grasp, and it appeared to be half empty. He was swaying back and forth slightly, almost as though he was about to fall asleep or fall over. Mouse was curled around his owner, laying as still as he could to not disturb Matt.

"Oh, Mattie..." Pidge murmured, and stepped into Mouse's stall. "What's gotten into you?" she questioned, and crouched down in front of him.

Matt looked up at her through a hazy gaze. "Piiiiiiiidgeon!" he exclaimed, and lurched forwards, throwing his arms around her, bottle and all. "Wher've you been?"

She patted her older brother on the back softly. "I've been cleaning," she droned, with a shake of her head.

Matt groaned, and slumped back against Mouse's shoulder again. "You hate cleaning, Pidgeon." he slurred, and stirred the liquor slowly in the bottle, before bringing the bottle up to his lips and taking a swig of it.

Pidge reached forwards and gently pried the bottle from his grasp. He muttered incoherent protests, but didn't try to take the bottle back from her. She found the cap under some straw a few inches from his leg, and blew any debris away before screwing the lid back on. She passed it behind her to Keith, who held it tightly in his hand. "C'mon, Mattie, time to get you home." she soothed, and grabbed for Matt's arms, attempting to pull him up.

Matt didn't budge, practically falling asleep against Mouse. Keith put the bottle on the bale of hay outside the stall, and stepped in to hoist Matt up and over his shoulder. "To your car, Pidge?"

"Yeah, thanks Keith." she stepped out of the stall first, and let Keith and Matt out before closing and locking it. Making their way out of the barn, Matt was quiet the whole way, even when Keith placed him as gently as he could into the backseat of Pidge's car.

"Thanks for your help, Keith. If you don't mind, maybe don't mention this to Allura or Shiro?" she pleaded as she made her way over to the driver's side. "We don't need Shiro worrying about his best friend."

Keith nodded, and chewed on his bottom lip slightly. "Should I pass that on to Lance?"

"If you want, but Lance will probably know not to." she opened the driver's side door, and paused, glancing back up at Keith. "Oh, by the way, Lance knows you let me use his special shampoo, so I'd watch out if I were you." she said with a smirk, before quickly hopping into her car and starting it up. She vaguely heard Keith's shocked outburst, but ignored it to peer back at her brother. Matt was attempting to buckle up his seatbelt, but was leaning into the window too much to pull it out.

She waited for him to get it buckled in before she asked "Well?"

Matt was quiet for a while, making Pidge wonder if he'd fallen asleep. Suddenly, he whispered "Shiro and Allura are together."

Pidge drew her lips into a thin line, finally taking a real good look at her brother. His eyes were red underneath his dirty glasses, and his hair was a dishevelled mess, like he'd tugged at his hair frequently.

"I'm sorry, Mattie." she whispered, and reached back to place a hand on his knee soothingly. "I know how much he means to you. But there are other, better guys out there."

"I guess," he conceded, and turned to face out the window. "I'm sorry, by the way. I shouldn't have done this to you here, in front of our friends. Poor Keith is probably traumatized by seeing me like this."

She turned back to the front, and put the car in gear, letting it idle down the driveway. "I think Keith'll be fine. He hangs out so much with Lance that he's probably seen worse. But... Drinking here, Matt, that's a new low."

"I know..."

Chapter Text

Small Packages

"Why must you cover my eyes?" Shay questioned, reaching out blindly in front of her. "It's not like I haven't seen the stables before, Hunk."

Hunk chuckled softly from behind his girlfriend, still covering her eyes with his large hands. "Because something is a little different today. And I want it to be a surprise, so, your eyes are covered!"

He continued to lead her into the barn, straight down the isle, until he stopped at stall 11. Lance was waiting for him, holding onto the end of a lead rope loosely in his fist. Hunk had texted him from Shay's house, telling him to get ready. Pidge and Keith were waiting together in Green's stall, curious to see Shay's reaction.

"Ready?" Hunk whispered, waiting for Shay's affirmation. Once she nodded, he lifted his hands away from her eyes, and stepped up beside her to gauge her reaction to his 'mini' surprise.

At the end of the lead rope Lance was holding, was a tiny pony, barely reaching Lance's knees. It had a white body, covered with black spots of varying sizes, with black legs and a black face. Shay squealed, and immediately rushed forwards to drop to her knees and stroke the small pony. "Hunk!" she exclaimed, while running her hands through the long multicoloured strands of the pony's mane. "You bought this little one... For me?!"

Hunk grinned widely, and nodded. "I did. She's a little Shetland Pony, to keep you and Yellow company. Do you like her?"

Shay hopped back up, and threw herself into Hunk's arms, kissing him soundly. "Like her?" she questioned incredulously. "I love her!" She pressed one more kiss to his lips before stepping out of his embrace slightly, but not far enough for his hands to leave her hips. "What's her name?"

"You get to name her!" Pidge exclaimed from Green's stall. "Hunk never put a new name on her adoption papers, so you get to choose."

Shay stepped back over to the little pony, with Hunk in tow. She crouched down to look the tiny mare in the face, and brushed the long forelock aside to peer into her eyes. "Hmm... She seems like, a... Sofia. I'm gonna name her Sofia." she declared.

"Sofia is a great name." Hunk agreed, and crouched down beside Shay. He reached out and grasped her hand, pulling it towards his lips in a chaste kiss. "I hoped you'd like her."

"He couldn't decide between this little mare and another bay mare," Lance smirked, and passed the lead rope to Shay. "I got dragged along to help choose, and I think every mini pony we saw had equal consideration, no matter their age, colouring, or personalities."

"Lance!" Hunk whined, exasperated. "It wasn't that bad."

"Lance was texting me the whole time complaining how you couldn't even narrow it down." Keith supplied from Green's stall. "So, I think it's safe to say that he had a little trouble choosing which pony to buy for you."

Hunk's face immediately brightened up into a devious grin. "So you're who Lance was texting? By how much he was blushing I was convinced it was a girl."

Both Keith and Lance flushed. Once Lance found his tongue again, he immediately tried to defend himself. "It could've just as likely been a cute boy, Hunk, I can't deny guys a chance to get at this hot body."

Keith choked on his own spit, leaning heavily on Green's stall door. Pidge broke out in wild laughter as Keith tried to hide himself behind Green unsuccessfully. Keith missed the soft smile Lance sent his way, but Hunk and Shay caught it, and shared a small smile. They both knew Lance well enough to know when he was truly falling in love.

Suddenly, Shiro and Allura walked into the barn hand in hand. "What's all the commotion down her- Is that a Shetland?" Allura's head whipped towards the tiny pony, and clutched her hands to her face.

"It is!" Shay confirmed, turning back to Allura. "Hunk bought her for me! Her name's Sofia."

"Sofia's a lovely name," Shiro said softly, and clapped Hunk on the shoulder. "What's the occasion?"

Hunk shrugged, and patted Shiro's hand on his shoulder. "Does a man need a reason to get his girlfriend a gift?"

"Every girl wants a pony." Allura murmured, crouching down beside the little mare. "Hunk just took it literally."

Lance moved over towards Green's stall, making way for Shiro and Allura to crowd around the mini pony. He tried to be casual leaning in to check on Keith, but failed when Keith straightened up and came nearly nose to nose with Lance. They both jumped apart, blushing furiously.

"Jeez, just kiss already." Pidge muttered under her breath.

Shay stepped back over to Hunk's side, and wrapped her arms around his waist, securing herself into his side. "Thank you so much for her, Hunk. She was a complete surprise." she whispered just loudly enough for him to hear. "What came over you, though? Did I mention that I wanted a pony or something offhand, and you took it literally?"

"Well, I couldn't buy you a big horse of your own, now, could I?" he whispered back, sharing a soft smile with her. "But a mini pony is a good way to start. Plus, I thought Yellow could use a small friend."

Shay was quiet for a moment as she watched Sofia trot around Shiro, lead rope tangling up around his feet, making him nearly fall over. "She does seem like quite the prankster, she'll definitely keep Yellow on her toes."

Hunk chuckled softly, and pressed a kiss to Shay's forehead. "Definitely."

Chapter Text

Distant Memories

Keith secured the final strap on Red's bridle, before pulling the reins back over her ears. Stepping over to the side of the isle, he grabbed his phone, shoving it into the small pocket on the inside of his beige joddies. He knew he'd really have to focus on dressage for the next few days before the next competition; he and Red still hadn't mastered the shoulder-ins, and it infuriated him to no end. No matter how much practice they put in, they just couldn't get it right. Lance had suggested working on stretching out Red's bending, to see if that would help, and Keith was just desperate enough to try it.

He stopped with Red just outside the barn, off to the side a bit so they wouldn't be in everybody's view. Lance had come into the barn with Hunk a few minutes ago, while Keith was still tacking Red up, and Allura was wrapping cooling wraps over Princess' front legs. They'd seemed a little warmer than usual lately, so Allura was giving Princess a break from any sort of strenuous work to prevent any injuries. Tossing Red's reins back over her neck, he peeked down his mare's line, making sure she was straight, before grabbing the side of her bit lightly. Red jerked her head back a bit at the contact, but Keith stroked her neck soothingly for a few moments, then pressed his palm against her shoulder. He pushed outwards on her shoulder, keeping a steady hold on her bit until she side-stepped slightly, bending her back. She didn't make too much of a fuss bending like he asked her to, other than snorting a little more harshly than usual.

"Hey Kei-- Are you stretching Red like I suggested?" Lance said suddenly, emerging from the barn with Blue in tow.

Keith jumped back, completely removing his hands from Red. Red reared up, whinnying loudly, and Keith jumped up to grab at her swinging reins. As soon as Red's hooves touched the ground, Keith situated himself underneath Red's neck, in front of her chest, rubbing her neck with his free hand. "Jeez, Lance." he murmured, narrowing his eyes at the other man. "You scared us!"

"Sorry, Keith." he apologized, not truly sounding apologetic. He came closer, Blue following behind, until they were right beside the other pair. Blue immediately stepped around Lance to situate herself beside Red, and bumped her friend with her nose. "But seriously, were you trying to stretch Red out like I recommended?"

Keith nodded slightly, watching the two mares interact. Normally Red never let other horses get so close to her; she'd run off before they got too close, yet Blue could easily step into her space with no fuss. "Yeah, trying to, anyways. Red's not a huge fan of it."

"She wouldn't be, when you're starting out." Lance hummed, seemingly thinking something over. With a snap of his fingers, he shoved the end of Blue's lead rope into Keith's chest, and reached out for the side of Red's bit. "Mind if I try with Red?"

Keith scrambled to grab Blue's lead rope, and nodded. "Uh, s-sure." he stuttered out, and stepped away from Red's side to give Lance room. He stopped beside Blue's shoulder, watching Lance intently. Blue turned her head back towards Keith, peering over at him with her big brown eyes, and he stroked down her cheek with a small smile.

Lance reached for Red's reins, rather than her bit, and moved to stand right beside her face so she could see him clearly. He stroked her cheek slowly, one quick stroke, before stepping back to her shoulder. He did the same think Keith did, pressed his palm against her shoulder and pushed lightly, urging Red to bend, and she complied after a terse second. She threw her head back at Lance's ministrations, but still curved outwards. Lance kept the same amount of pressure for a few moments, before releasing the pressure, letting her straighten out. He repeated it a few times, and each time, Red was able to bend a little more. Turning back towards Keith, Lance asked "Have you stretched her on both sides, or just one?"

"Just one," Keith said with a slight grimace. "I hadn't been stretching her long before you came out."

Lance hummed noncommittally, and switched to Red's other side. "While I stretch Red out, mind stretching Blue? I'm assuming you're headed to the dressage ring, with the competition coming up in a few days, and Blue and I can join you."

Keith nodded, and mirrored Lance's stance, but with Blue. As soon as Keith's palm touched Blue's shoulder, she immediately bent, no pressure necessary. She was able to bend a lot more than Red could, presumably due to the Appendix Quarter Horse's knack for barrel racing; Blue was nearly bent in half, her tail on the same line as her eyes. Keith whistled softly at Blue's flexibility, and quickly switched to her opposite side to stretch her out. "Do you need time to tack Blue up?" Keith questioned after a moment.

"Naw," Lance supplied, and let Red rest from her stretching. "I'll just go bareback. It'll be good practice anyways, for Blue and I." he pulled Red's reins from over her neck, and came around her head to pass them back to Keith. "Ready to head over to the ring?"

Keith offered Lance the lead rope, and grasped Red's reins tightly in his fist. "Yeah, I... I'm ready."

"Was that hesitation from Keith Kogane I just heard?" Lance smirked, and elbowed Keith in the side playfully. "C'mon, Keith, lighten up! It's just me. I've seen you fail enough times to know that you're totally improving." he stepped over to Blue's side, and placed his hands on her back. He attempted to jump up onto her bare back by himself, but failed. Glancing over at Keith, he flushed, before asking "Can I get a leg up?"

Keith smirked, and came up behind Lance. Leaning forwards, he hovered just over Lance's shoulder. "What, the great Lance McClain can't mount his horse on his own?" he whispered into Lance's ear, causing him to shiver.

Lance offered Keith his left ankle, chewing on his bottom lip and blushing furiously. Keith grabbed it, and hoisted Lance up and onto Blue's back without much trouble. Lance shifted on Blue's back until he got comfortable, and watched Keith swing his leg up and over Red's saddled back with practiced ease. Keith fiddled with his fingerless gloves for a moment, before picking up Red's reins and steering her back towards Lance and Blue.

Lance quickly ducked his head, hiding his face from Keith's gaze. Watching a man climb onto his horse's back shouldn't be seen as sexy as it was...

"Ready to head over?" Keith questioned, mauve eyes flicking over Lance's features.

Lance quickly nodded, and steered Blue around to head over to the dressage arena with one hand on the lead rope. He'd forgotten to tie the lead rope's end under Blue's halter, so he'd have to do that once they got to the ring. Luckily, Blue knew where he wanted to go, and they could just follow Red and Keith.

"So, I was thinking of mainly working on shoulder-in's today, do you mind helping us?" Keith questioned suddenly, glancing over at Lance. "I know it seems like it's all we do, but... We haven't perfected it."

"It's a good thing you're cute, or else I wouldn't continue to help you out with this." Lance immediately retorted, without thinking his answer through. His cheeks immediately flushed red, all the way across to his ears. "Uhh, th-that's not... Wow, I, uh, I don't even have a good excuse for that, I'm so sorry..." he gritted out, extremely flustered.

"Don't apologize," Keith replied smoothly, and glanced over at Lance with a satisfied smirk. "I thought you were willing to give guys a chance at your 'hot body', too?"

Lance doubled over on Blue's back, breath caught in his throat. Keith broke out laughing, a wide grin taking over his features. If he knew it was this easy to fluster Lance, he would've started throwing back his flirting ages ago.

Keith nudged Red to go faster, to give Lance a chance to gather his thoughts before facing him again. As soon as he entered the arena, he steered Red to go track left at a steady trot. Lance stopped Blue in the centre just as Red and Keith were passing the judge's area.

Lance hopped off Blue's back, and moved to her head to loosely loop the end of the lead rope through the ring to create makeshift reins. He realized his mistake as soon as he turned back towards Blue's back.

Keith chuckled from Red's back, and shook his head, before adjusting his position to urge Red into a shoulder-in left. Red snorted, but started bending her shoulder inwards, before straightening out again. Keith growled softly under his breath, before steering Red into the middle, towards Lance and Blue.

"Already quitting, mullet?" Lance goaded, grinning devilishly, until he glanced at Keith's face, which was pinched into a pained expression. "Woah, dude, you okay?"

Keith quickly hopped down off of Red, and started furiously pacing a few steps away from her. "What are we doing wrong?" he questioned, clearly distressed. "Is it me? Are we just not ready? Are we not practicing enou--"

Lance dropped his hands on Keith's shoulders, effectively pausing Keith's ramble-train. "Dude, if anything, you're overworking. You guys did much better with shoulder-in's during the last competition..." Lance paused, before bringing his right hand up to cup Keith's chin softly. "What's eating you?"

Keith stepped back quickly, out of Lance's grasp as if he'd been burned. He threw his hand up, and turned away from Lance's prying gaze. "Nothing's eating me, we just aren't doing as well. We just need to work harder, to perfect it, or he's--" Keith cut off suddenly, glancing back to Lance. Shaking his head, he made his way back to Red's side, and put his foot in the stirrup, only to be stopped again by Lance.

"Keith," he plead, and gripped Keith's arm. "I'm here to listen if you wanna talk about anything, you know that, right?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Keith growled, and wrenched his arm out of Lance's grasp. He wouldn't get it. "I'm fine, okay?" he assured, and bounced in place, one foot still in Red's stirrup.

"Wait," Lance cut in again. "How about I try on Red?" he offered, gesturing to Red's saddle. "See what's the root of the problem, then work from there. That sound good?"

"I feel like you're trying to say I'm the root of the problem..." Keith muttered, but stepped back nonetheless to let Lance mount his mare.

Lance adjusted his seat, but quickly noticed the stirrups were too short; it made sense, he was taller than Keith. Rather than changing the length of the stirrups, Lance just let his long breeches-clad legs hang long. Steering Red out of the middle, he gently nudged her into a trot, going track right.

Keith was mildly surprised that Red hadn't offered up much a fight against her current rider; she usually never let his dad near her saddle, let alone strangers. But this wasn't a stranger, this was Lance. Lance, who had become such a staple in his life, that it was weird going a day without seeing him anymore. He was always there, like an anchor in a tide; in Blue's stall, hanging out in the feed room with Hunk, lingering by Red's stall door... Lance was anything but a stranger in Red and Keith's lives.

Lance was just letting Red run her own speed around the course, obviously feeling how agitated she was. Sweat was quickly dampening her glossy coat, and the whites of her eyes were visible from Keith's spot at the center. Lance was trying to gently soothe her, let her do her own thing until she calmed down, but as soon as he touched her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her, she spooked and bolted out of the arena.

"Lance!" Keith shrieked, shocked. He quickly hopped up onto Blue's bare back, and spurred her after Lance and Red.

Blue was able to catch up to Red and Lance pretty quickly, but once Keith got a look at his mare, he knew she wouldn't be slowing down soon. "Lance, just let her run." he called over the wind rushing by their ears. "She'll tire out sooner or later."

Lance nodded tersely, knuckles visibly white from his tight grip on Red's reins. He was using his knees to keep him seated on Red's back, since the stirrups were swinging wildly around Lance's calves.

Keith knew that Lance wasn't used to feeling the 1200 pounds of wound-up muscle under his seat, considering Blue was pretty laid back compared to Red. He also knew that Red could quite possibly run until she was breathing hard and coated in sweat, which could take a while. And he wasn't sure if Blue could keep up with her for that long, or if Lance could keep his wits about him for that long. After a long moment deliberating the pros and cons, he thought 'Fuck it', and urged Blue up a gear. "Lance! Try to rein Red in a bit!"

"What?" Lance exclaimed, eyes wide. "Didn't you just tell me to do the exact opposite?!"

"Shut up and trust me!" Keith snapped, bent low over Blue's neck, slowly starting to gain ground in front of Red. He smirked when he saw Lance pull back harshly on Red's reins, causing Red to throw her head back. Keith saw the opportunity he needed to pull Blue back into a sliding stop in front of Red.

Just as he'd hoped, it pulled Red into a stop, Lance thrown against her neck. Lance's faced paled, and he swiftly jumped off of Red's back onto solid ground. He hunched over, one hand loosely gripping Red's reins, the other braced on his knee.

Keith hopped off Blue, and quickly ran to Lance's side. "What were you doing back there?" he snapped, lowering his head to get a glance of Lance's face.

Lance straightened up, disbelief clearly painted on his features. "Why would Red do that? Why is she so stressed with a different rider? Why can't you two just train like a normal team in the dressage ring?!"

Keith stiffened, and turned away. "Don't worry about it. We're working on it." he assured softly, resignedly.

The brunette scoffed, and made his way back over to Blue, stroking her nose. She was breathing a little harder than usual from Keith pushing her harder than Lance would. "Trailer troubles, spooking in the dressage arena under another rider, only comfortable around you...?" he mused, before staring at Keith critically. "Makes one wonder what made you leave your last stable."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Keith and Lance made their way back to the barn after, once Lance could release Red's reins and get a leg up on Blue. Lance was silent the whole way back to the barn, and it worried Keith to no end; was he too harsh with Lance? He deserved to know the truth, but... Things were just too recent, and Keith thought he deserved some time to himself to heal before drudging up those memories.

They had made it back to the barn a little while ago, and Keith was just brushing off Red's rump when Lance came to the stall door, tack in hand. "Hey Keith? I know you're done, and probably gonna head home for the day, but... I was wondering if you'd help Blue and I a bit in the indoor arena?" he questioned bashfully, shifting back and forth.

Keith nodded slowly, flicking the brush over Red's back once more before exiting the stall. "Sure, as long as I can stay on the ground. Red had a good run today, are you sure you don't want to rest Blue as well?" he questioned seriously. He glanced at Lance's posture, seeing how tense he seemed. "With the competition coming up in a few days-"

"That's exactly why Blue and I need to practice; the competition's in barely a few days." Lance snapped, his blue eyes boring into Keith's. He immediately took a deep breath, and slouched slightly, appearing defeated. "Sorry, it's just... I'm still not as comfortable jumping as I used to be, and it's not fair to Blue. I just..."

"Need to overcome it, right?" Keith interrupted softly. At Lance's nod, he continued, "I think I know how to help. C'mon, I'll help you tack up."

Keith took Blue's saddle from Lance, and set off ahead of him into Blue's stall. They worked quickly to get Blue tacked up, working seamlessly beside each other doing something mundane. Lance pulled Blue's stirrups down to let them hang down her sides, turning to Keith. "You sure you don't mind helping us?"

"No, not at all." Keith replied, and pulled Blue's reins back over her ears, offering them to Lance. "Actually, I think I have a good method to help you..."

Lance grabbed the offered reins, squinting at Keith suspiciously. "Gonna share your plans, or?"

Keith smirked at Lance, and stepped out of Blue's stall ahead of him, not offering any answers. Lance shook his head, before leading Blue out after Keith.

Lance noticed that Keith kept opening his mouth to say something, before seemingly thinking better of it and shutting his mouth again. Lance knew better than to push Keith for answers; Keith rarely spoke without having full intent behind it. So the walk from the barn to the indoor arena was silent except for their footsteps, and Blue's shoes clicking along the gravel.

As soon as the boys reached the indoor arena, Keith started setting up two fences in the center of the arena, while Lance mounted up. Keith set the fences at embarrassingly low heights, causing Lance to pause from shortening his stirrups. "Uh, Keith? You do know the fences we'll be jumping over on Monday will be higher than that?" he questioned incredulously.

Keith nodded without looking over at Keith. "I'm aware."

When Keith didn't elaborate further, Lance huffed loudly, causing Keith's head to snap towards him. "It's just," Lance began, and rubbed a piece of Blue's mane between his fingers, "I need to be comfortable with the height of jumps we'll be jumping in competition, which isn't this."

"It's not this height, you're right. But when I tell you what I want you to do, you won't want it much higher than this to start out with." Keith countered, and laid two poles on each fence, creating an 'x'. He double checked the spacing, walking between the fences while taking giant steps. Nodding to himself, he turned back to Lance, with his hands on his hips. "Alright, drop your stirrups Lance."

Lance blanched at Keith's words. "N-no, you can't seriously mean--"

"That's exactly what I mean, Lance. Now, drop your stirrups or I'll tie them up behind your saddle." he threatened playfully. He kept his gaze trained on Lance until he relented, and dropped his feet out of his stirrups. "Alright, now let's just do a nice steady trot. Trot around the arena until you feel like you're comfortable to take the fences."

With a shaky nod, Lance clucked to Blue softly, gripping the saddle tightly with his knees when Blue immediately bounced forwards into a trot. "Isn't this supposed to help technique, and not confidence?" he pouted, and adjusted his grip on Blue's reins. He didn't immediately steer Blue towards the center, but Keith had figured he wouldn't. Lance was trying to adjust to not having the support of the balls of his feet in the stirrups for posting trot, but swiftly gave up to do a sitting trot along with Blue's movements.

"What are you afraid of?" Keith called out, spinning slowly in place to keep an eye on Lance's progress.

Lance's head whipped towards Keith, eyes wide, before turning back to stare at the space between Blue's ears. "Falling." he called back, a slight wobble piercing his voice.

"Alright, but every rider falls. Allura, Shiro, Hunk, me... Everyone falls off of horses. And as you know, we just need to get back on." Keith paused, before questioning, "What makes you get back on, Lance?"

The brunette was silent for a good portion of a lap around the arena, thinking. "Well... I love the feeling of Blue moving under me. I love the freedom it gives."

"And what about the feeling of jumping? Does that scare you?"

"You know it does, Keith, that's why we're here." Lance snapped, his blue eyes flicking over to mauve angrily, before coming back to their resting position on horseback.

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath before responding. "Well, what about that 'three seconds' concept? Isn't that something worth jumping for?"

Lance abruptly steered Blue towards Keith, stopping her just beside Keith so he could look down at the raven-haired man beside him. "How do you know about that?" he questioned, clearly shocked, and Keith hoped secretly impressed.

"Hunk told me about it. Your instructor, Al, taught you both it when you started riding?"

Lance scoffed lightly, and shook his head, smiling at the thought. "Yeah, Allison taught us about it after a couple of jumping lessons. Jumping used to scare the shit out of Hunk, and he hated it. But Al brought us aside one day and explained how she felt while jumping, and... It just stuck with us."

Keith watched the emotions flicker across Lance's face; longing, nostalgia, and regret. "So, when's the last time you felt that way?" he prodded softly, pulling Lance from his reveries.

"Far too long." Lance tapped his heels against Blue's sides, and steered her away from Keith, towards the low fences. A grim determination was obvious in the crease between his brows as he stared down the two small fences in front of him. Dropping down into a jumping stance, he pressed down closer to Blue's neck as her front hooves left the ground.

As soon as Blue landed on the other side of the fence, Keith's face broke out in a huge grin, and he fought the urge to clap. I knew that information would come in handy! Keith thought as he watched Lance and Blue launch over the second fence.

Lance steered Blue back towards Keith, and launched off of her as soon as she was close enough. Keith quickly found himself with an armful of Lance. "That was amazing!" Lance shrieked, clutching tightly onto the back of Keith's shirt. "I haven't felt like that in a really long time!"

Keith looped his arms around Lance's waist, and rested his chin on Lance's shoulder. "I knew it. You just, needed a little push backwards before you could go forwards again."

Keith almost melted when Lance buried his nose into the material on his shoulder. "Thanks, Keith." Lance murmured almost too softly to hear. "I was skeptical, but it really worked out."

Chapter Text

Tensions Rise

As soon as the tires hit dirt, Pidge's head snapped up, and she blinked blearily at her surroundings. Hunk must've let her sleep on the drive over, since they just entered the fairgrounds.

She reached her arms up above her head, stretching as best she could in the confines of the truck. Arching her back, she grinned slightly as her back cracked comfortably, making Hunk shudder. "How long'd it take us to get here?" she mumbled, and rubbed a hand over her tired eyes.

"About three hours. Traffic really built up on the 400, due to an accident. But apparently," Hunk picked up his phone from its spot on the center console, "Lance and Keith managed to get ahead of the accident, and have been here for an hour."

"Bastards," she muttered softly under her breath, and opened her door just as Hunk pulled his truck to a stop. As soon as her boots hit the ground, she bent at the waist to stretch the back of her legs. "Wait a second," she suddenly exclaimed, turning to peer back at Hunk, "How'd they get so far ahead of us?"

"Apparently Keith drives like a bat out of hell." Hunk smirked, not glancing up from his phone. "And apparently Lance is never letting him drive again."

"Huh, somehow, I don't find that shocking?" she quipped, rubbing her hands together. With a slight shrug to herself, she turned to make her way to the back of the large horse trailer, opening the latch slowly.

Hunk appeared beside her after a few moments, unlocking the other side of the ramp. Dropping it, he motioned Pidge to step in first, towards her own smaller mare, before stepping into the trailer after her.

Pidge stopped by Green's nose, between the mare's side and the trailer wall. Green immediately nickered and nosed over at her owner, causing Pidge to smile widely. She untied the lead rope from it's hook, and poked Green's shoulder so she'd start backing down the ramp. Green only offered a small huff while backing out of the trailer.

Hunk and Yellow followed behind quietly, the only noise coming from them being Yellow's shoes clopping along the metal ramp.

Pidge briefly thought that Hunk was being unusually quiet, before Shiro suddenly appeared on the ramp, appearing more exhausted than he had any right to be. "Guys," he called lowly, causing both Hunk and Pidge to whip around to face him, "Empire's here."

"Empire? Well, yeah, we saw them at the last competition..." Hunk said slowly, doubt clear in his voice.

"No, you don't understand," Shiro said quickly, exasperation clear in his brisk tone. "Haggar cornered Allura."

Pidge's eyes widened, and she quickly tied Green's lead rope to the side of the trailer, before moving to follow Shiro's retreating form. She could hear Hunk on her heels, worry practically moving off of him in waves.

Shiro led them away from the trailers, towards the large registration tent set up at the far edge of the grounds, facing inwards. The large bright yellow tent was hard to miss, being surrounded by green, brown, and white horses trailers. It wasn't too large, only covering a long table sitting three people. There were a few people lined up in front of the individuals who were signing them in, but Pidge's eyes immediately drew to the small group forming.

On approaching, Pidge noticed that Allura, and the crazy lady Haggar were standing off. Lance was hovering to Allura's left, and Shiro took up her right. Across from them, Haggar looked just as pinched as always, her long nose drawn up in a sneer. Her long white hair was pinned back savagely into a low bun at the base of her neck, no stray tendrils daring to escape. Her crisp white show shirt was expertly tucked into her breeches, and her tan breeches were utterly spotless. She looked every part of team Empire's leading rider. She was flanked by the two members of her team, Prorok and Sendak, both of whom were hovering just by her shoulders. Sendak was the bigger of the two men, his arms straining against the white shirt in front of his chest. His usually shaggy brown hair was slicked back, exposing his forehead and the multitude of freckles there. Meanwhile Prorok stood a few inches shorter than his teammate, he was just as imposing in his silhouette. His nearly black hair was messily tousled over to the side, exposing his haste to come out to the fair grounds on time. He wasn't as muscled as Sendak, but his rolled up sleeves exposed lean muscles in his forearms. Together, they made Haggar appear important, more so than she truly was.

Allura's posture was tense, even though her arms were crossed loosely over her chest. Pidge could practically feel the severe dislike emanating off both women as they stood off. Pidge kept a few steps back from them, but still close enough to hear what was being said, and step in if need be. She absently felt Hunk pat her arm reassuringly, and hummed her thanks, before immersing herself in the discussion before them.

"Why would you even bother?" Haggar hissed, hands balling into fists at her side. "You know your new team could never measure up, girl."

"Oh, they obviously couldn't measure up, and they obviously didn't beat your team at the last competition." Allura drawled, twirling a trand of hair around her finger idly. She smirked upon seeing Haggar's eyebrow twitch, a sure sign she was irritated with Allura's statement.

"It was intentional, girl." Haggar snapped, narrowing her pale brown, almost yellow eyes at the woman across from her. "Why would we show off at the first competition of the season?"

Allura tapped the toe of her boot impatiently against the gravel beneath her feet. "People always show their stripes early on, Haggar. That's why dad left your team all those years ago."

Haggar's face flushed angrily as she was stunned speechless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, before she spun on her heel and walked away. Sendak and Prorok flustered at her sudden escape, and jerked around to follow after her like whipped dogs.

Allura's shoulders drooped at their exit, and she breathed out slowly, sounding tired. "Wow, I sometimes forget how tiring it is talking to her." she said softly with a shake of her head.

Shiro immediately stepped closer to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know. We'll have to keep our distance from them."

Lance slowly made his way around Allura and Shiro towards Pidge and Hunk. His hands were being wrung tightly in his hands, worry plain on his face. "Have either of you seen Keith? One minute we were in the back of the trailer, and the next he was gone. He hasn't even untied Red yet."

"No, sorry man." Hunk apologized with a frown. "Haven't seen him since we left this morning."

Pidge chewed on her bottom lip lightly, and turned away from the boys, back towards their trailer. Making her way back, she thought about how she'd hardly seen Keith at all the past few days, with all the training he and Red were putting in before the competition. He'd even shown up a few hours early to the barn to train more before the competition, against Allura's recommendations. Poor Red was going to be exhausted over the next few days...

"What if I just can't do it?!"

Pidge whipped around, towards the sound of the voice. It sounded an awful lot like Keith...

"Shh!!" another voice exclaimed, shocked at the outburst.

Pidge shifted her weight so she stepped on the balls of her booted feet, trying to reduce the crunch sounds her boots made on the cobbled ground. She crept over to where she thought the sound had come from, as the voices dipped down too quietly for her to hear.

Peeking around the edge of the trailer in front of her, she got a good view of Keith's back as he was talking to someone. The man across from him was easily twice his age, and had slightly long raven-black hair. Pidge couldn't get a good look at his face from this distance to identify him. She also couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. She could only catch an odd word here and there, totally out of context. From what she could gather, Keith was obviously agitated with the other man, for whatever reason, and the other man was taking the criticism quite calmly, almost appearing bored.

"Well, this is exactly why I left Galran Stables in the first place! I can't deal with him anymore, and neither can you!" Keith exclaimed, and placed his hands on his hips. "You should come too, there's still-"

"You know I can't," the other main interrupted, and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Season's already started, and I can't bail out now--"

Pidge backed away from the trailer, hand covering her mouth. Keith was talking with Thace, team Empire's previous leading rider. It was no wonder Pidge hardly recognized him; she hadn't seen him on the circuit in nearly a year. What was Keith talking about? Did he board Red at Galran Stables for a while?

But the real question was...

Why was Keith so familiar with a member of the opposing team?

Chapter Text

Onlooking Beliefs

As soon as Coran entered the barn, he could hear a heated argument carrying down the aisle.

Pidge was standing in the doorway of Red’s stall, while Keith had his back turned to her, trying his damndest to avoid her accusing gaze. He was standing in front of Red, who had her head turned back to eye up the smaller rider in curiosity.

“Who were you talking to on dressage day? Before the event?” Pidge asked loudly, clearly irritated with the boy in front of her.

“Why does it matter, Pidge?” Keith snapped, and turned back to face her. “You haven’t been able to let that go for days now, why does it even matter?”

“Because!”

“Because why?” he groaned, obviously exasperated, before turning back towards Red’s shoulder. “Can I not talk to whoever I please?!”

“Not when it’s Thace you’re talking to!” she exploded, glaring up at her taller teammate.

Keith froze, eyes almost comically wide in shock when what she said registered. He shook his head once he gathered his bearings, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” he denied softly, almost too quietly for Coran to hear.

“Don’t do this to me, Kogane.” Pidge threatened softly, gazing up at him with murder in her eyes. “Don’t do this to us. You hear me?”

Keith huffed, before quickly walking past her and out of the barn.

Coran twisted the end of his moustache between his index finger and thumb idly, thinking about what their argument could’ve been about. If Keith was talking to Thace, so what? Thace was a good guy, from what he could remember of Alfor’s days with Team Empire…

Shaking his head slightly, Coran turned back towards his original destination; the tack room. He planned to grab Commander’s tack to take him out for a run before giving the dark brown tack a good polish.

Hunk was sitting on the bench quietly when Coran turned the lights on.

“Oh!” Coran exclaimed, jumping slightly. “Sorry, Hunk, didn’t see you there.”

“It’s fine, Coran.” Hunk replied softly, avoiding Coran’s gaze.

Coran immediately noticed something was off about Hunk. He never acted like the weight of the world was sitting on his shoulders; he always bore it without question. Crossing the room in quick steps, Coran sat down beside the boy, and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Hunk? What’s wrong?”

Hunk was quiet for a few moments, wringing his hands in his lap, before responding, “I hate whatever’s happening between Pidge and Keith. And Lance, for that matter.”

“I did notice that Pidge seems to be at Keith’s throat lately… Know anything about that?”

Hunk shook his head, shoulders slumping in defeat. “No… They were fine before the dressage event, but something must’ve happened before she went out. As soon as she got back to the trailer she was fuming, didn’t say a word to me or Green… Which we both know is really weird, since she can’t seem to shut up before an event… And when we got back to the hotel that night, she cornered Keith, but I couldn’t hear what was going on, and Lance has been sulking since Keith ditched him not long after we got to the fairgrounds on dressage day and that was four days ago--”

“Hunk,” Coran interrupted softly, and squeezed Hunk’s shoulder. “Breathe.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Hunk continued, “Lance won’t tell me anything either, not about Keith and Pidge, not about why he’s distant, although I’m guessing it has something to do with his jumping scores and how they fucking skyrocketed… I just, I don’t know what’s happening here, Coran.” he finished, sounding utterly defeated. “I just want everything to go back to normal.”

“I’m sure things will work out, Hunk. You know Pidge, she burns hot at first, but once she cools down, everything will be fine. And Lance will come around! He’s your best friend, he’ll always come to you.” Coran soothed, and smiled slightly at the bigger man.

“I hope you’re right…” Hunk mumbled. Suddenly, his head snapped up, and he looked at Coran with wide eyes. “Wait, you were coming in here to get tack. Are you going to take Commander out for a ride??”

Coran leaned back at the sudden change in Hunk’s demeanor, and nodded slightly.

Hunk squealed and jumped upright. “That’s awesome, Coran! What are you doing listening to me sulk for?? Go fetch him!! I’ll grab your tack for you,” he quickly hopped over the bench, and grabbed the tack sitting above the number 8. “Go, go!” he shooed.

Chuckling to himself, Coran stood up and made his way to Commander’s empty stall. He grabbed the lead rope that sat innocently on top of the bale of straw, and the carrot sitting beside it.

It was getting late in the day, so most of the horses were back in the barn already, but not Commander and King. They were sharing the smaller north pasture together, furthest away from the barn and the road. Alfor picked the pasture specifically for King so his stallion could see nearly the entire property from the top of the small hill in the middle.

As soon as he reached the pasture, Coran leaned against the fence, peering out onto the field in front of him. His gelding Commander was grazing nearby, his dark coat glistening warmly in the fading sunlight. The small white marking in the center of his forehead peeked out through his long forelock. Coran knew it was time to trim his mane again; he loved seeing Commander’s star on his forehead. The two males were sharing a paddock together quietly, just like they've done a thousand times before. King was further away, his head held high as he surveyed the land around him.

Sometimes, Coran could practically see Alfor sitting atop the noble steed.

With a shake of his head, he reached into his pocket for the carrot he packed from the barn. With a flourish that caught both horses' attention, he brandished the large carrot in his right hand. He took a bite off the end of the carrot, making sure to crunch through it loudly enough for King and Commander to hear. With a whinny, both horses rushed towards Coran, a twinkle visible in their eyes at the sight of the treat.

Coran broke it in half as equally as he could, before offering the pieces to both males, who crunched the vegetable loudly. With a small smile, he made his way over to the gate, both horses following him nearly soundlessly in the grass.

Commander stuck his head out towards his owner, seeming to expect the lead rope. He pranced in place when the lead rope clicked home, and practically sprinted out the gate as soon as he was able to squeeze through.

Coran patted his horse’s cheek before locking the gate behind them, and turning back to the barn. He knew it’d been a while since he rode Commander, but with everything that’d been on his plate.. Hopefully Commander understood.

It’s not that he’d had more chores to do, and Coran certainly wasn’t complaining. There was just so much more work that could be done; the tack room needed painting, there were some boards on the west pasture that could be fixed, the faucet in the feed area was leaking, a new feed order needed to be placed… It was just a lot of little things that were slowly adding up. And with competition season hovering, all of the boarders were too busy with training to help out. Coran knew he could always rely on Hunk for help if he needed it, but he hated asking for it.

Coran was pulled from his thoughts when Commander’s shoes echoed down the aisle. He’d been walking on autopilot, didn’t really notice his surroundings until they overwhelmed his senses.

Hunk greeted him from Commander’s stall, with his gelding’s tack, as promised. He didn’t say anything, just offered a small, knowing smile, and deposited the tack on top of the bale of straw outside of the stall.

Leading Commander back into his stall, Coran unclipped the lead rope from his halter to let him step in on his own. He dropped the lead rope back onto the bale, and picked up the large orange dandy brush. Stepping back in, he stopped by his horse’s shoulder, and let the brush run softly over Commander’s coat. It was something he’d done a million times, and would easily do a million times more. He spent a little extra time running the soft bristles down Commander’s long neck, since he knew how much the bay gelding loved that.

The tall gelding was still and quiet the whole time Coran groomed and tacked him up, only offering small sighs of contentment when Coran brushed over a good spot. He didn’t even offer any objections to the cold bit being placed in his mouth, or the girth being tightened around his steadily growing hay-belly. It made Coran smile slightly at his boy. Even after all the time he spent caring for others, Commander understood. Maybe that’s why they clicked all that time ago at the auction; Commander understood Coran in a way nobody else could.

As Coran lead Commander out by his reins, he noticed that almost all of the horses were in the barn. Spike, Champie, and Moondancer were in their respective stalls, chewing on hay quietly in the light of the setting sun, and someone, probably Hunk, brought King in from the pasture. Green had her small head out over the stall door, peering down the aisle towards the feed room where Pidge was preparing her dinner. Mouse was making quick work of the new salt block in the corner of his stall. Yellow was already fast asleep, head down and weight shifted comfortably over three hooves. Black was casually looking around the barn, simply surveying what everyone was up to. Allura was in Princess’ stall, braiding back her mane while humming softly to herself. Red was leaning against the side of her stall, the side she and Blue share. Only Blue’s stall was unoccupied.

Actually, Coran hadn’t seen Lance or Blue in a few hours… And daylight was fading.

Where are they?

Mounting up as soon as they exited the stable, Coran steered Commander towards the dressage arena, figuring that was a good place to start. Lance often lost track of time while working on dressage with Blue, so it was the most likely place he’d be.

But as soon as they got there, the arena was empty. In fact, it was still inlaid with the pattern the rake left when Matt broke up the dirt in the arena this morning.

Coran pulled Commander to a stop, and thought about his next destination. Where else would Lance go? It’s not like he’d told anyone where he was going… He glanced over to the indoor arena, expecting to see lights on, to indicate that Lance was practicing jumps in there. But the windows were dark, and nobody would ever jump in the dark, so Lance was not in there.

Where else could they be?

Unless…

Spurring Commander forwards suddenly, Commander broke out into a brisk gallop towards the river. If Lance was as predictable as usual, Coran’s next best guess was that he’d be at the end of the river.

He couldn’t help but notice how dark it got around them as the galloped along the side of the riverbed. It seemed to get darkest in the water, first, then spread outwards like inky tendrils spilling onto blank paper. It was easy to forget how dark it got in the forest at night, when it seemed so bright and lively in the day.

Reining his steed in, Coran surveyed the land in front of him as they reached the forest’s edge. He could see the end of the river in the distance, the small pond that Lance and Blue often swam in during the summer, but it was empty. No sign of Lance or Blue. Not even in the surrounding rolling hills and meadow.

Coran was starting to get worried. It was unlike Lance to just disappear suddenly. Coran supposed he could text Lance’s phone, but it wouldn’t be as ideal as to just speak to him in person.

The only other place he could think that Lance would be was the cross country course. It was unlikely, but it was possible. If Coran’s final hunch was right, he’d be by the bank fence.

As they neared the bank fence, he could see a dark pair of figures in the dying light. Lance was off of Blue, pacing in front of her as Blue watched her rider calmly. His arms were waving almost wildly, but to himself. He must’ve been talking to Blue, voicing his thoughts like he did when he was nervous or excited or mad. As they neared, Lance’s voice slowly came over their senses.

“...and when we finally start gaining confidence again, he just backs away!! How cruel is that, girl?” Lance exclaimed, before huffing and continuing. “And Hunk, bless his soul, is worried about us, but what can I say? ‘Hey man, sorry for spacing lately, it’s just the guy I have a huge crush on, who I thought liked me back, and made himself scarce as soon as his techniques start helping me?’ No, I can’t tell him that, now can I, gorgeous?” He paused, and ran a hand through his hair shakily. “No, and with Pidge pestering Keith every possible second, I can’t catch his attention long enough to just talk to him. And what’s worse is Shiro and Allura parading around all happy and stuff, which, I mean, is absolutely great for them, and I am so happy for them, but can’t they just, I dunno, tone it back a bit, while I figure shit out? Is that too much to ask??”

As soon as Lance paused for a few moments, Coran spoke up. “Seems like you have a lot on your mind, m’boy.”

Lance nearly jumped clear over his mare. “Jesus, Coran! I-I-I didn’t hear yo-- How long have you been there?” he stuttered out, and leaned against Blue faux-casually.

With a light chuckle, Coran shook his head. “I think I just caught the tail end of it.” At Lance’s soft phew, he continued. “I came looking for you when Blue was the only horse unaccounted for. It’s getting late.”

Lance glanced up towards the sky, and blinked stupidly at the lack of light. “Shit, I, wow, I lost track of time. Uh, thanks for coming out to find me, Coran.”

He smiled down at Lance, a smile on his lips. “Of course, Lance.” Pondering for a moment, he continued, “I’m always here if you want to talk, Lance, you know that.”

Toeing into the stirrup, Lance hopped back up into Blue’s saddle with ease. “I know, Coran. I’ll… I’ll keep it in mind.” he replied softly, and tilted his head back to look up at the twilight sky. “I just, I guess I just need some time, you know?”

Coran just nodded in response. He knew exactly what that felt like.

“Wait, you-you’re riding! I haven’t seen you on horseback in months, how does it feel, man?” Lance exclaimed, a sincere smile on his face once again.

Coran couldn’t stop the wide grin from spreading if his life depended on it. “It feels amazing.”

Chapter Text

Recollection

Allura knew that everyone in the barn was worried about Keith. Pidge had been pestering him for days now, and with each ‘conversation’ they had, he’d detach himself more and more from their everyday lives.

Now, Allura hardly ever saw him.

It’d only been about a week since Pidge saw Keith talking with Thace, and he still wasn’t ‘fessing up why he talked to him in the first place. Allura thought it didn’t really matter, but Pidge was persistent. She was hell-bent on knowing all of his motives.

And it might be tearing them apart.

It pained Allura to see this. They’d grown so close over the few short months. When Allura first saw Keith, he was quiet, and shy. But since joining team Voltron, he’d opened up, started smiling and laughing more. And now he was clawing himself back into his desolate hole, putting up walls nobody could ever hope to climb. But Lance was determined to climb them nonetheless.

Allura immediately noticed the change in Lance, as soon as he and Keith started hanging out more. It wasn’t even that the flirting had stopped, although she was happy about that. It was hidden, almost, in soft smiles and lingering looks that were aimed in the smaller boy’s direction, or the dazed-loving look Lance gave Keith when he finally mastered something. It wasn’t loud and obvious, like Lance usually was. It was soft and hesitant, completely unlike the man.

Almost as though he was falling in love.

On the rare occasions that Allura saw Keith, his back was usually turned as he made his way out of the barn, with or without Red. Red was the only being Keith could be seen with willingly nowadays, although she supposed it made sense. Keith and Red were as close as she and Princess were, having created a bond over the entirety of an animal’s life.

This was one of the lucky times she saw him.

As soon as she entered the barn at 5:30, to do her usual morning routine of feeding, she immediately noticed that the lights were already on. Which was strange, since, she lived here, and she was always the first one in here. She hadn’t even heard a vehicle pull in, so whoever was here must’ve been here for a while already.

It was Keith. He had Red tied to the cross ties in the middle of the aisle, and was bent over her back hoof with a hoof pick. He didn’t immediately notice Allura, until she stepped into the barn. As soon as the sole of her boot hit the concrete, he whipped upright, dropping Red’s hoof, causing the mare to snort loudly in protest.

“Good morning, Keith,” Allura said softly, trying not to startle him more. “I didn’t expect to see you here so early.”

Keith nodded briefly, chewing on his bottom lip. “Yeah, well, I-I… Uh, just wanted to get an early start, you know?”

“You wanted to avoid Pidge.” Allura said bluntly. At Keith’s bashful look, she continued, “I do understand why. She can be quite persistent.”

Keith chuckled dryly at her comment.

“But do her questions have merit?” she questioned, stopping beside him.

“I dunno, you tell me.” he replied slowly, avoiding her gaze.

Allura crossed her arms over her chest. “Keith, if her questions weren’t spot on, you would have no reason to avoid her.”

Keith lifted his head, about to protest, but Allura raised a hand. “Keith, you don’t have to say anything to me. But, the least you could do is talk to Pidge. She won’t be satisfied with no answer.”

He opened his mouth to say something, before closing it slowly, and nodding quickly instead. Placing the hoof pick in the back pocket of his jeans, he unclipped Red from the crossties, and grabbed her by her halter to lead her out of the barn.

Allura was watching them leave quietly, when an odd sense of deja-vu struck her. It was almost as though she’d seen this before.

Although, of course she’d seen something like this before. Keith had been boarding Red here for months now, and taking her out to pasture was nothing new. But this sense of familiarity came from a time she was trying hard to forget.

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“But father, I’m sure of it! My girl isn’t really like this, it’s just because of Z-”

“Shh,” Alfor hushed, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Not here, Allura.”

Giving a big huff, Allura stomped her small foot impatiently, but kept her mouth shut. She knew that her father was right, that they shouldn’t talk here, but it didn’t stop Allura from wanting to walk up to Zarkon and stomp on his foot.

As she slammed the truck door behind her, she glanced over at the long pastures that covered most of Galran Stables. They were unusual, longer than they were wide, which Allura was sure she’d never get used to. As soon as she heard her father’s boots crunch over concrete, she turned to follow him into the main barn.

Galran Stables’ main barn was made of a dark brown, appearing almost black in the midday sun, and was huge and imposing. It was unlike any other barn in the country, since it had stalls backing onto each other, and three aisles set up in a rough ‘u’ shape. The stalls themselves were large, almost easily fitting two horses each, and were painted ebony, with silver and violet accents throughout.

Alfor and Allura kept walking down the aisle, towards where King and Princess were located. She hadn’t seen her freshly weaned filly in a few days, and was eager to see her. Princess finally had her own stall, right between her father and Vic’s stalls. Allura hoped she was faring well on her own.

Allura could see Princess’ pink nose peeking over the shiny black stall door. Princess was still growing into her height, and as she was only 6 months old, the filly still had a lot of growing to do. Allura hoped that Princess’ coat would turn into a lovely dapple, like her sire’s, but was still unsure of the end result. The filly’s coat of the month was nearly white, taking more after her dam’s coat. Rushing up to the stall to unlatch it, Allura stepped into Princess’ stall with a wide smile on her face. “Hey, girl!” she exclaimed, and ran her fingers through the filly’s forelock. “How are you? I’ve missed you!”

Alfor chuckled from his spot in King’s stall. “I’m sure she missed you, darling. But remember, we’re only here to feed and groom. Do you remember Princess’ new diet?”

“I do!” she exclaimed, and rushed out of Princess’ stall again, latching it up. “Are you coming with me?”

“I’ll follow you there, Allura. I just need to speak with Thace.” he replied.

Allura nodded, and turned to make her way to the nearest feed room. Luckily, it was only about four stalls down from Princess’ stall, so she’d be able to make the mash quickly, and get it to Princess while it was still warm.

As soon as she opened the door to the feed room, a small body ran into her, knocking her to the ground. “Hey,” she exclaimed, glaring up at the other person. “Watch where you’re going!”

“S-sorry,” he stuttered out quietly, and offered a hand down to her. The boy was pale, with long gangly limbs and a mess of long raven coloured hair. She could hardly even see his eyes under his long bangs.

Reaching up for his extended hand, she pulled herself up. As soon as she was standing, she got a better look at the boy. He was smaller than her, and younger, maybe five years younger. His raven coloured hair was unkempt, but likely untamed rather than uncared for. He had two red bandaids on his forearm, and his grey shirt appeared to be a size too big for his small frame. He wouldn’t meet her gaze, but she could swear that his eyes were peering up at her through his hair.

“I’ve never seen you around here before. What’s your name?” Allura questioned, and bent down a bit, trying to get a better look at his face.

He turned away slightly, and glanced down the aisle. As soon as a stall door opened near Princess’ stall, he rushed off down the aisle towards it, practically like a shot.

With a shake of her head, she stepped into the feed room to do what she came here for. She took her time to prepare warm mash of grain, a little bit of honey and brown sugar to give to her filly, knowing she’d appreciate it.

As she exited the feed room, bucket of warm mash in hand, she glanced around for the boy. When she finally got a glimpse of him, he was already leaving the stable. He was walking Vic, Thace’s horse, out of the barn with a strong grip on the side of his leather halter.

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Allura couldn’t help but remember that seemingly unimportant memory from her early teenage years, not long after Princess was born. A couple months after that, Alfor announced his resignation from team Empire, and built Altean Stables on their house’s land. Princess and King were moved here before the stable was built, to the small shelter in the north field, until the barn was completed.

She never did find out that boy’s name, from Thace or her father, and never saw him again. She hadn’t thought about him in years, and why he was so quiet in the midst of the chaos of the stable. So why was she thinking about him now?

And why did she see him in Keith?

Chapter Text

Heteronormativity

The second Lance finally tightened the final strap on Blue’s saddle, Hunk stepped over to Lance’s side. “Hey man, you ready to head over to the indoor arena?” 

Hunk had cornered Lance as soon as he’d stepped foot into the barn that morning, a wide smile on his face and a skip in his step. It’d made Lance slightly suspicious, but he smiled at his best friend nonetheless. As soon as Hunk asked Lance if he was free that afternoon, he’d skipped off towards the indoor arena, to assumingly set up fences for later that afternoon.

“Dude, relax, I’m finally ready.” Lance replied with a soft chuckle and a shake of his head. “Why are you so eager to train, anyways? You and Yellow did fantastically at the last competition, and I think Yellow hardly broke a sweat on that final course.” 

Hunk shrugged one shoulder up non-committedly, a slight smirk on his face.

Doubtful, Lance pulled Blue’s reins back over her neck to clutch them tightly in his hands. He had no idea why Hunk was suddenly so insistent on training together; they hadn’t really done that since Lance’s accident. Once Lance finally got back in the saddle, it took him forever to finally consider working on jumps again, let alone train with jumps at Hunk’s heights. He knew it was stupid, that Hunk was more than willing to work on heights that Lance was comfortable with, but he couldn’t do that to him. That’s why he threw himself into working wholeheartedly on dressage and groundwork with Blue, since at least one of her hooves was on the ground at all times.

Maybe Hunk just missed training with him? Lance wasn’t really sure.

Hunk quickly grabbed an already tacked up Yellow, and waited for Lance and Blue to exit their stall, before walking side by side with them towards the indoor arena. Lance noticed that Red’s stall was empty, but that wasn’t a surprise anymore. Lance hardly saw Keith, except when he and Pidge were arguing over something or other, which gave him no time to ever talk to Keith. He just wanted to know what was going on, and see if they were still okay. He felt a little bad for calling Keith a ‘fucking bat outta hell’, but he didn’t think it would push Keith away from him. He was sure they’d said worse things to each other than that since they’ve met.

Lance hadn’t thought much of it until now, but usually Hunk set up fences once they were already in the arena together, so they could discuss what they’d want to work on together. But, Hunk hadn’t done that this morning, he’d just run straight to the indoor arena. Why would he do that?

As soon as they entered the side door to the indoor arena, Lance got his answer.

Shiro and Keith were sitting atop their horses, talking quietly to one another, while Allura and Coran stood in the center, waiting for everyone to arrive.

“Hunk,” Lance hissed, shooting a look over at his best friend, “Why are they in here?”

“It’s a much needed group training session.” Allura called from the center, with her hands on her hips. “Nobody here has been very connected lately, and to stay on top of the leaderboard to get us to regionals, we need to work as a team.”

“That’s right, and with all the arguing going on around here, it’s time we bond.” Coran added, glancing over at Keith meaningfully.

Keith simply slouched over in his saddle, appearing to want to be anywhere but here. Shiro and Allura must’ve cornered him again, like the last time when he and I needed an intervention, Lance thought.

Lance hopped up into Blue’s saddle without pausing, and nudged Blue forwards to take the spot beside Keith and Red. Maybe this could be the chance they finally got to talk, without Pidge interfering.

“We’re just waiting on Pidge, then.” Coran stated, with a twirl of his moustache. “So we may as well warm up while we’re waiting for her.”

Lance fought the urge to groan loudly. And just when he’d about to talk to Keith, too!!

Lance quickly spurred Blue into a brisk trot away from the group to move around the arena. Blue offered a loud snort at the harsh kick, and shook her mane out. Lance grimaced and patted Blue’s neck in a silent apology. Even if he was upset with the situation, he should never take it out on his girl, and he knew that. He’d have to make her a nice warm mash for dinner to make up for it.

He could hear other sets of hoofbeats behind Blue’s, presumably Hunk’s directly behind him. So when he glanced back, he was shocked to see Red on Blue’s tail. He turned back to face Blue’s ears quickly, to hide the flush surely flaring on his cheeks.

Suddenly, Red was edging up beside Blue, Keith practically within arm’s reach. He offered Lance a small, timid smile, before uttering a simple “Hey.”

“Hi.” Lance replied softly. He quickly glanced back between Blue’s ears, so Keith couldn’t see how eager Lance was to finally speak to him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I mean, Allura dragged me here after I’ve avoided everybody for the past two weeks… So I’m assuming it’s for the same reason that you’re here, Lance.”

Lance flushed at his own stupid question. Of course Keith would be here, stupid. He’s a vital part of this team, more so than you are. “Y-yeah, right, sorry. I just—“

“Didn’t think I’d show up to a team practice?” Keith interrupted, with a tiny rueful smile. “You normally wouldn’t be wrong, but Allura and Shiro teamed up against me again.”

“Oh, they did, huh?” Lance replied absently, and fiddled a bit of Blue’s mane between his fingers. “And that’s, y’know, the only reason you came out here?”

Keith’s head whipped over to face Lance, shock apparent on his features. “Wh-“

“Alright, I just got word that Pidge is tacking up, so everybody in.” Allura called, interrupting whatever Keith was going to say. “We may as well start by tying our stirrups up.”

Hunk groaned loudly, eying Allura dubiously. “Seriously, Allura?” he whined, steering Yellow back towards the centre of the arena.

“Yes, seriously, Hunk. We need to keep up on our form, so nothing gets sloppy this early in the game.” Allura explained as the rest of the riders came back to the centre of the arena. She rubbed her hands together with a slight sparkle in her eye. “So, who wants to go first?”

“I will.” Lance called, surprising everyone in there.

“R-really, Lance? Are you sure?” Shiro questioned, glancing at Lance worriedly. “You aren’t obligated to do this-“

“No, Shiro, I’m ready.” He affirmed, and pulled his stirrups up over the pommel. He tied them loosely enough that the leather wouldn’t get stretched, but tight enough that they’d stay in place over the fences. Lance clucked softly to urge Blue forwards into a brisk trot, and tightened his knees against Blue’s sides to keep himself from bouncing too much in the saddle.

There were four fences set up at ascending heights, ranging from a foot to three feet in height. They were simple straight fences, so the riders weren’t jostled around too much. The three lowered fences were set up in a line, and the fourth one was set up adjacent to it, where the horses would end running through the space between the first and second fence.

Clucking again, Blue sped up into a smooth canter towards the fences. Lance took a deep breath before settling into a jumping position as Blue’s front legs pushed up from the ground. He managed to keep his centre of balance low as Blue surged over the fence, and felt the weight of five pairs of eyes on his back as soon as they landed. Blue practically bounced over the other two fences, before Lance steered her back towards the final fence.

He was shocked to find Keith’s violet eyes trained on his face, and a soft smile curling his lips beautifully.

With a mental shake of his head, Lance glanced back to the last fence a couple of strides before it, and got a good grip on Blue’s mane as she launched into the air over the final fence.

Allura and Coran started frantically clapping as soon as Blue’s hooves touched the ground. “Lance, oh my goodness, that was amazing!” Allura exclaimed, a wide smile taking over her features. “I didn’t realize you’d grown more comfortable with jumping!”

“Yeah, I, uh, I have Keith to thank for that.” Lance blushed, glancing over at the boy in question.

Keith still had the same soft smile on his face, but didn’t say anything.

“Well, m’boy, I’m glad you’re back to your old self.” Coran said, practically beaming he was smiling so wide. “I haven’t seen you that confident in the saddle for a long time.”

With a soft “thank you” in Coran’s direction, Lance made his way back to the spot beside Keith. As he turned Blue around to face the jumps again, Keith was staring up at him through the long raven hair hanging over his forehead. “What?” Lance whispered.

“I just, I can’t believe I missed your jumping round at the last competition.” Keith whispered back, just as quietly. He bit his bottom lip briefly before continuing, “It would’ve been amazing to see you doing the real thing.”

Lance couldn’t cover the laugh that bubbled up inside him at Keith’s honesty. Sometimes, it still shocked him that the reserved, quiet boy they all knew could be so eloquent, and, damn he say it, romantic.

Suddenly, another pair of hoofbeats entered the arena; it was Pidge and Green. “‘Sup, heteros.” she called out.

Lance jerked back at her words. “Pidge, that’s rude to the non-heteros in the room.” he exclaimed, at the same time Keith shrieked “Pidge, the fuck did you just say to me?”

Lance couldn’t help but whip around to face Keith, who looked just as shocked as Lance did.

Does that mean…

I have a chance?

Pidge snickered at the boy’s reactions, a wide grin on her face. “Oh no, that’s just some information for you two.” she said ominously.

“Pidge, you’re late.” Allura chastised, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.”

She grimaced and ran a shaky hand through her hair. “Yeah, sorry about that. Matt called me and needed an extraction from the lunch date he was on.”

Allura’s mouth opened in a small ‘o’, before she nodded in understanding. “Of course, I understand, Pidge. Well, you’re here now, so go warm up while another rider goes.”

With a nod, Pidge steered Green towards the outskirts of the arena to warm up with a brisk trot.

“I’ll go next, love.” Shiro said, and gently tapped his heels against Black’s sides.

Lance couldn’t even focus on what was in front of him long enough to see any of Shiro, Pidge, or Hunk’s performances. He couldn’t get over the fact that Keith was offended at Pidge’s comment on the assumed heteronormativity in the room. Did that mean that he was… Gay?

No, Lance, don’t be stupid, he thought bitterly. With your luck, he’s like, asexual and is only humouring you with platonic affection. Who even needs you?

Keith’s voice pulled Lance from his head with a practically audible snap. “I-I dunno, Allura, maybe today’s not the best—“

“Nope, Keith. C’mon, you’re here, Red’s warm, you may as well participate.” Shiro interrupted, eying Keith purposefully.

Keith didn’t shrink down this time. “Look, I came to the ‘team bonding exercise’, guys. What more do you want from me?”

“To actually participate, Keith.” Allura snapped, and made her way over to stand at Red’s shoulder so she could glare up at the rider. “You’ve been avoiding us for too long, it’s time to suck it up and—“

“Fine!” Keith snapped, and kicked Red forwards into a brisk canter towards the first fence. Red shook her head and snorted loudly at her rider, but he made no move to soothe her or apologize.

Lance couldn’t help but cringe watching Keith’s poor execution over the first fence. Keith’s scowl seemed to deepen in the short few strides between the first and second fence, and Red just got more frazzled each step she took. As Keith turned his mare towards the final fence, she decided she finally had enough; she threw her head up and slid to a stop in front of the fence.

Keith obviously wasn’t prepared for that, and was thrown from the saddle to come crashing down into the dirt.

Lance didn’t realize he was out of Blue’s saddle until his feet were already carrying him to Keith’s side. “Shit, Keith, are you okay?” he asked breathlessly, kneeling down in the dirt beside Keith’s shaking form.

“I’m fine, Lance! Can’t a guy fall into the dirt every once in a while?!” Keith roared, and shoved Lance’s shoulder back roughly.

“Keith, c’mon, don’t be like that.” Hunk plead from his spot behind Lance. He offered a hand down to Lance blindly, his eyes still on Keith. “He was just trying to help.”

“Yeah, well, I never asked for it, did I?” Keith snapped, and stood, brushing off his dusty joddies half-heartedly.

“That’s not fair, Keith.” Pidge said calmly from beside Green.

With a huff, Keith snatched Red’s reins and pulled her hastily out of the arena, not glancing back once.

Lance blinked owlishly at Keith’s previous spot for a moment, before taking Hunk’s offered hand. As soon as he was standing, he made his way back over to Blue. “I should go talk to him.” he announced vaguely to the group.

“After what he just did?” Pidge exclaimed.

“She’s right, Lance.” Shiro conceded, a slight frown marring his features. “Maybe we should give him a bit of space.”

“More space?” Lance snapped, and peered back over his shoulder at Shiro. “Look at where that’s gotten us these past few days.” Without another word, he quickly hopped back up onto Blue’s back, and spurred her after Keith.

Lance somehow always forgot that Keith and Red were a fast combination, when he didn’t immediately spot them as he exited the arena. With a quick scan, he could tell that they weren’t in the barn, or heading back towards the cross country course.

He saw a flash of red booking it towards the creek, and spurred Blue forwards into a fast gallop to follow them.

Keith didn’t seem to notice, or maybe not care, that he was being followed. Lance kept Blue back at a decent distance, close enough to still see Keith, but far enough back to not be immediately spotted. So Lance was shocked when he figured out where Keith was headed.

Keith didn’t even pull Red to a stop when they reached the pond Lance had shown him what seemed like forever ago, just hopped off her mid stride like it was something he did all the time. He ran a hand down his face dazedly, the other through his windblown hair, before he kicked harshly at the ground.

Lance pulled Blue to a stop, and hopped off her. He started approaching Keith slowly and as quietly as he could, so he wouldn’t startle the other man. “Wanna talk about it?” he questioned soothingly.

Keith whipped around to face Lance, shocked that he had an audience. He quickly wiped at his eyes before glaring at Lance. “What are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

“Yes.” Lance replied truthfully, glancing up at Keith’s red-rimmed eyes. Had he been crying on the ride over? “We’re all worried about you, Keith.”

“Why bother?” he snapped, and stepped towards Lance angrily. “None of you know me, or even care to know me. I’m just another teammate, expected to hold the team up when you guys fuck up, that I don’t even get the breathing room to do the same—“

“Woah, Keith, where is this coming from?” Lance interjects, searching Keith’s face for answers. “We all care about you, and none of us expect that of you. Sure, Allura can be a hard-ass sometimes, but she just wants us to be the best—“

“The best, Lance. But what if we aren’t good enough?”

Lance couldn’t help but chuckle dryly at that. Keith obviously had no idea that Lance worried about the same thing every day; that his team was holding him up, that he wasn’t pulling his own weight, that they didn’t even need him. A seventh wheel, if you will. But that was Lance’s problem, not Keith’s.

“Keith, you are good enough. Your show jumping and cross country scores are amazing. Red adores you, no matter what crap you put her through, and your team appreciates you for what you bring forward. Life wasn’t the same before you came here, Keith. It…” he hesitated. “It wasn’t the same before I met you.”

Keith laughed once, bitterly, fixing his watery gaze on Lance’s again. “Oh, great, so I changed your life so chaotically that it changed everything here. That makes me feel so much better, Lance!”

“N-no, Keith, that’s not—“

“Oh, what does it even matter anyways? I didn’t even affect anyone important.”

Lance felt the weight of Keith’s words hit him like a ton of frosted nettles, stinging all the way to his core and freezing his insides. Didn’t affect anyone important, he’d said.

At least now Lance knew what Keith thought of him. Someone unimportant, a waste of space, and not someone that he should ever consider to be more than a friend.

And Lance hated him for that.

He spun quickly on his heel, and hopped back up on Blue without a single utterance to Keith. If Keith didn’t think he was worth it, he was sure to live up to the title. He spun Blue around blindly, and spurred her forwards, praying that she’d take him back on her own.

“Wait, Lance!” Keith called out frantically.

Lance ignored him, and bent forward on Blue’s neck to hide his tears into her mane. He’d heard enough from Keith for one day.

Chapter Text

The Angry Teddy Bear

Hunk’s footsteps were soft and calculated on the ground, the gravel barely crunching beneath the worn soles of his boots. He knew he’d have to get a new pair soon, but, money was a little tight between general care of Yellow and Sofia, admission fees, and gas, and it wasn’t like his current pair were worn out… They still had some life to them.

Shay had called earlier, and asked what he was up to for the day. He’d been on his way to work at the time, and hadn’t been able to talk to her for long, but she managed to sneak in that she’d meet him at Altea later.

Hunk rubbed a tired hand over his face as soon as he stepped into the cool shade the barn cast over the driveway. Covering a yawn with his palm, he finally stepped into the barn with a quick survey of who was there; Commander, King, and Princess were out of the barn, assumingly in the pasture, and Spike, Champie, and Moondancer were also absent. Hunk briefly recalled there being a lesson for some newcomers around this time, but was unsure of who the new riders were. Blue was snoozing in her stall, appearing quite comfortable to be left alone. Red had her head over the divide towards Blue, simply watching over the other mare as she slept. Green was licking her salt block boredly, but Hunk knew what kind of terror she could conjure in Pidge’s absence, so he was happy to have put a new salt block in her stall recently. Black was content to watch everything going on in the barn from the confines of her stall, and Mouse was munching on some stray hay that fell from his hay rack. He couldn’t see any of the riders in the barn, but figured Coran was off doing odd-and-end chores, while Allura was teaching the lesson with Shiro. He had no idea where Keith, Matt, or Pidge were, and Lance was presumably right where he left him this morning...

When Hunk finally glanced over to Yellow’s stall, he was only slightly surprised to see her stall door already open. As he approached, he could hear Shay’s voice murmuring softly, too quietly to hear exactly what she was saying.

Shay was crouched down so she was eye level with her small pony, Sofia. Sofia had certainly been keeping both Hunk and Yellow on their toes as of late; between escaping from her pasture, escaping the tack room, and somehow houdini-ing herself on top of the hay pile in the feed area, it was getting to the point that everyone just kept an eye out for her at any given time. The only person Sofia seemed to be on her best behaviour for, was Shay.

And Shay didn’t even believe any of the stories the others have shared.

Like Lance, for example, when he found her sitting on the bed of Keith’s truck. Or Allura, who found her munching on the Juniberries in the front garden. Or Pidge, who found her in Green’s stall, which Hunk was still confused about. The pony wasn’t even 3 feet tall! How could she even manage to sneak into Green’s stall?

“How’s the little terror?” Hunk asked with a small smile, leaning on the stall door leisurely.

“This little angel was happy to see me when I showed up,” Shay corrected absently, still stroking the little mare’s face. “I gave her a small bowl of mash, just like you showed me, and I was just about to brush her.” She stood up, and turned around to face Hunk. “What are your plans?”

“Pretty well the same for Yellow, then I was juggling around the idea of taking her out for a ride.” he replied softly, lost in thought. “Do you plan to stay long?”

“As long as you’ll have me, sweet-cheeks.” she grinned cheekily, and planted a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth as she walked out of the stall. “You’re not trying to get rid of me, are you?”

Huffing softly, Hunk shook his head. “Never, love. I just need to head back to my apartment soon.”

“Oh?” she questioned with a dandy brush in her hand. “What for? Did you forget something?”

“Not exactly,” he said slowly, and chewed on his lip for a moment. “Well, I mean, I’m sure he’ll be fine, but I just want to check up on Lance.”

“Lance? Why is he at your apartment? What happened?”

No sooner did the words come out of Shay’s mouth did Keith round the corner into the barn. He immediately singled out Hunk, and started making his way towards Yellow’s stall.

Hunk swore he saw red as soon as he saw Keith making his way over to him. “You have some nerve coming over here after the stunt you pulled yesterday.” he snapped, and stood up straighter.

“Hunk, what are you--” Shay exclaimed, shocked at her boyfriend’s sudden anger.

Keith stopped dead in his tracks, gaping openly at his teammate. “I--”

“No, Keith, listen up.” Hunk interrupted loudly, and stalked over to him, stopping only once they were practically chest-to-chest. “If you ever, and I mean ever talk to Lance like that again, I will be the first person to put you back in your place, do you understand me? ”

Keith paled at Hunk’s words, but nodded slightly.

“What were you thinking, man?!” Hunk exclaimed, and waved his arms out widely. “You know that Lance has been struggling lately, and you have the audacity to go and call him nothing, basically worthless?!”

Hunk briefly noticed the tears forming in Keith’s eyes, but carried on. “Do you know what he did? He rode Blue back here like a madman, and drove to my apartment crying. He could’ve died! He’s lucky he didn’t hit anyone in his emotional state! And he waited for me to get home before he bawled his eyes out about every. Single. Word. You said to him.” he sucked in a deep breath before continuing, “He was just trying to help you, and what do you do? Spit it back in his face, that’s what.”

A sob finally broke out of Keith, and a single tear dripped down his cheek. “Do you think I wanted to hurt Lance?” he choked out, and curled inwards on himself, arms tucked into his chest.

“It sure seems like you did!” Hunk roared, and took another step towards Keith.

“Woah, Hunk.” Shay softly soothed, coming to stand beside him. She placed a firm hand on his upper arm. “What’s going on here?”

It was almost like a curtain had been pulled from Hunk’s vision. As soon as Shay’s soothing voice filtered in, all of the anger Hunk felt vanished. He knew he was still upset with Keith’s actions, but the least he could do was hear the guy out first. He owed that to both Keith and Lance.

With a deep sigh, he answered her; “Keith said some things to Lance, and Lance went down a pretty dark hole. He spent the night at my apartment, but I admit, I don’t think I know the whole story.” He paused, and turned back to Keith. “Mind sharing?”

Keith rubbed a hand over the tear track, wiping it away, and took a deep breath before standing up straight and beginning; “Well, I guess everything Pidge has been saying to me lately, combined with seeing all you guys just work so well as a team without me made me stress. A-and I took it out on Lance. Because, I dunno, i-in the moment I thought t-that he didn’t actually care.”

“You should know by now that that’s not true, Keith.” Shay interjected softly, a slight frown on her lips. “Lance cares for you so much, maybe more than you know.”

Keith bit his lip harshly, and closed his eyes tightly, as if making himself smaller will alter the truth. “God, I wish things were different. I know I hurt him, and fuck, I never meant to. I just, I lash out sometimes, and it just happened to be on L-Lance. Lance, w-who is one of the m-most caring, gentle, heartf-felt people I know and, g-god, he deserves the w-world laid down at his f-feet--” He paused suddenly, and reached up to touch his face, shocked that his fingertips came back damp. His breath caught in his throat, and more tears streamed down their already established trails. It was almost as though his tears caught him off guard, like he was too busy trying to finish his thought that the tears were unnoticeable. Pitching forwards slightly, he buried his face in his hands, and soft whimpers could be heard through the barrier his hands created.

“Oh, Keith…” Shay cooed, and jumped forwards, wrapping her arms around the emotionally compromised Keith. He instinctively burrowed into her embrace, and Shay simply pulled his head into her shoulder. She looked over at Hunk meaningfully, as if to say ‘We all both know he screwed up, but forgive him’.

Hunk couldn’t help but see a scene a different scene play out in front of him; not between Keith and Shay, but between Lance and himself the night before.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As soon as Hunk stepped into his apartment, he kicked his boots off, hoping they landed on the mat. He was pretty sure they weren’t too muddy, but one could never be too careful where carpet was involved. Flicking the light on, he surveyed the apartment. Everything was where he’d left it; the dishes drying on the counter in the kitchen, the tray of cookies sitting on the cooling rack, the blanket bunched up on the couch, all the chairs pushed in at the--

The blanket bunched up on the couch?

Whipping back around towards the couch, he noticed a head of brown hair curled up under the blanket at the end of the couch. With a shake of his head and a smirk on his lips, he crept over to the couch to whip back the blanket. “You still suck at hiding, La--”

As soon as Hunk saw Lance’s red puffy eyes and trembling lip, he wedged his way between Lance and the arm of the couch and pulled Lance into his chest. “What happened, Lance?” he whispered incredulously.

“K-K-Keith happened.” Lance stuttered out, burrowing his nose into the fabric on Hunk’s chest.

Hunk could feel Lance’s shoulders trembling, and his hands were shaking violently, telling Hunk exactly how upset Lance was. He was practically curled up into a ball on Hunk’s chest, as if making himself as small as possible would protect him from the world. As he ran a soothing hand down Lance’s back, Hunk asked “Do you want to talk about it?”

And talk Lance did. He told Hunk about all of their moments together, ever since starting to actually get along. He talked reverently about how Keith’s lips felt on his temple that day after Blue refused a jump on the cross country course, and how he couldn’t help but fall in love with jumping all over again just from watching Keith jump. He sobbed through the story of how Keith handled Lance telling him about his accident, and how Keith thought he was strong. It just made how Keith treated him today so much worse, when Lance was finally starting to get better, only to be pushed back down. As if Lance didn’t already feel worthless, without Keith’s added support.

Hunk rested his chin on top of Lance’s head, letting him talk and cry it all out. He knew Lance would quiet soon enough, and then Hunk could offer his own words of condolence and support.

As soon as Lance’s sobs quieted to soft sniffles and the occasional cough, Hunk spoke up. “I’m sure there’s an explanation, Lance. Maybe there’s something going on at home, maybe Pidge pushing his buttons finally got to him--”

“But why did he lash out at me, Hunk?” Lance whined, and gripped the edge of the blanket tighter in his shaky grasp.”What have I done?”

“Nothing, Lance.” Hunk whispered, and wrapped his arms tighter around his best friend.

“I-I…” Lance began, and looked up at Hunk with his watery blue gaze, “I think I’m falling in love with him, Hunk. Bu-but, he obviously doesn’t feel the same way. What… What do I do?”

Hunk could practically feel his heart breaking at seeing Lance like this, so lost and confused. And he had utterly no idea what to tell him. Until a couple hours ago, Hunk would’ve swore the opposite, that Keith felt exactly the same way, but now…?

He wasn’t so sure.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hunk blinked rapidly, trying to rid his mind of last night. Shay was still staring at him, waiting for him to do something, anything, really.

Taking a deep breath, he stared at Keith long and hard for a moment, still huddled in his girlfriend’s arms. He knew that Keith obviously regretted what had happened, but he still had to know...

“Keith, do you… Do you love Lance?”

Keith’s head snapped up, and he met Hunk’s dark eyes with his own watery violet ones. A faint blush marred his pale cheeks, and he bit down on his lip firmly, before nodding once. Fresh tears rolled out as the realization hit him; that he loved the man that he said awful things to.

“Well then, you’ll need to apologize to Lance soon, then.” Shay spoke up, and patted Keith’s back lightly.

“As soon as Lance is ready to hear you out.” Hunk added, slightly forcefully.

Keith could only nod once more, before stepping out of Shay’s embrace. He quickly wiped his face of tears, and ducked his head from Hunk’s stern gaze. “I will.” he replied lowly, voice still heavy from crying. “A-as soon as he wants to hear it, that is.” With that, he took an awkward step back before turning around and walking out of the barn, shame forcing a heavy weight over his shoulders.

Shay turned back to Hunk, her gaze soft. “How are you, hon?”

Huffing all of the air out of his lungs, he let his shoulders and his head droop forwards. “I’m frankly, just tired. They’ve been dancing around each other for so long, and then this happens… I don’t know if Lance could take another heartache from that boy.”

“I know, Hunk. But, we need to give them space to talk it out.” She said thoughtfully as she made her way back to stand in front of Hunk. “Those idiots are so in love with each other that they won’t be able to stay apart for long.”

Hunk rested a hand lightly on the side of Shay’s face, and chewed on his bottom lip lightly. “I hope, for their sakes, that you’re right, love.”

Chapter Text

Taking Matters in Hand

Matt took a deep breath while stepping out of his car, eying up the barn in front of him warily. The last time he’d been here he hadn’t left of his own free will… He vaguely recalled a strong, warm body carrying him out of the barn, and plopping him in the backseat of his sister’s car, but couldn’t remember much else past that… Who had that been? He’d been too scared to ask Pidge about it, since she still seemed furious about that day. Not that he could blame her.

He figured he’d stretched Hunk and Pidge feeding and caring for Mouse long enough… It was time for him to pick up the slack.

Bracing himself, he closed the driver’s side door as quietly as he could, knowing that even a slam could gather attention. He edged his way across the gravel as quietly as he could, and slid up against the side of the barn.

Just as Matt was about to peek in, Shiro’s head whipped around the corner, nearly whacking into Matt’s.

They both flinched back at the near collision, but Matt lost his balance, tripping over his own feet onto the unforgiving gravel below them.

Shiro winced, and offered a hand down to Matt. “Shit, sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Matt grimaced, and took Shiro’s offered hand, but let go of it as soon as he was able to, almost as though it was diseased.

Shiro peeked at his hand quickly, but shook it off. “Why are you sneaking around…?” he asked slowly, clearly perplexed.

“I’m not sneaking around!” Matt said quickly, and glared up at Shiro with a slight pout. “I was, just, hoping nobody else would be here.”

Shiro eyed him dubiously, and crossed his arms over his chest. “So you chose to come back, in the middle of the day, when you’re most likely to run into someone?”

Matt practically deflated at Shiro’s logic. Of course, but I didn’t fully think this through. “Yeah, I, uh…”

A small chuckle escaped Shiro’s lips, and he shook his head down at the smaller man. “Didn’t think your plan through, like usual.”

Matt huffed at that statement. That wasn’t true…

“C’mon, let’s go see Mouse, huh?” Shiro placed a light hand on Matt’s shoulder, and gently steered him into the barn. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

Desperately trying to get over you? Matt immediately thought to himself, but merely shrugged in response to Shiro’s question. How could he tell Shiro that he’d been staying away from the barn, away from Mouse and his sister, so he wouldn’t have to see Shiro blissfully happy without him? He couldn’t. Shiro probably didn’t think that anything had changed between them, the ignorant man, but Matt couldn’t be more aware of it. Before, at least Matt was ignorant to the fact that Shiro was straight. But now? He was reminded of it every time Shiro and Allura were in the same room.

And considering Matt boarded his stallion here, at Allura’s barn? He was reminded every time he stepped foot on the property.

“Aw, c’mon Mattie, don’t be like that. What’s kept you away from the barn? Did your boss at the lab keep you for some overtime shifts again?”

“Y-yeah, uh, something like that.” Matt said, somewhat distracted that Shiro’s warm hand was still on his shoulder. Keep it together, Matthew James Holt.

Shiro seemed to pick up on Matt’s evasiveness, but chose not to comment on it. “Well, I’m sure Mouse will be happy to see you.”

“Hey, Shiro?” he asked suddenly, and stopped and turned to face the man. “As much as I appreciate, uh, this, do you think I could have some time with Mouse? Alone?” He mentally cringed at how cold he knew he sounded. “It’s like you said, haven’t seen Mouse in a while, so…”

His dark eyes widened slightly, and his hand left Matt’s shoulder. Matt almost wanted to chase it and put it back, but persevered. “S-sure, Matt. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later, then?”

“Yeah, see ya.”

Shiro offered a small awkward wave before turning towards the exit.

Matt practically bolted down the aisle towards Mouse’s stall, and unlatched it as fast as he could before ducking in. He collapsed down into the straw, back against the wall, and brought his knees up to his chest. As soon as Shiro’s footsteps disappeared, Matt buried his head in his hands, and groaned loudly. Well, that could’ve gone a lot worse.

Mouse dropped his head down to nose into Matt’s hair, blowing out through his nostrils contentedly.

Matt peeked up through his fingers at his pony, incredibly glad to see him. “Aww, hey handsome. How’s my boy been?”

Mouse obviously didn’t answer, but he stepped closer and pressed his muzzle into Matt’s cheek, causing Matt to giggle softly.

“Aww, I missed you too, boy. I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long.”

He stroked Mouse’s cheek absent-mindedly for a bit so he could gather his thoughts. So, he’d finally talked to Shiro, something he’d been dreading for weeks, and it didn’t go as badly as he thought it would. He didn’t break down in a puddle of tears, or yell at Shiro for not being in love with him, or completely ignore him… Although he might’ve been a little too cold to Shiro.

Well, baby steps.

“How’d that talk with Shiro go?”

Matt practically jumped out of his skin, and poor Mouse got a flailing hand to the forehead, causing him to step back frantically. Matt peered up, wide eyed, at the speaker, hands in front of himself defensively.

Lance smiled weakly down at him, looking much worse for wear than Matt had ever seen him. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, Matt.”

“Man, you’re the second person to scare the shit out of me since I’ve arrived on the property!”

“Well, if you ventured outside of your head more often, you’d have your shit together, Matt.” Lance smirked, and stepped into the stall. He gave Mouse a quick pat before asking “Can I sit?”

Matt gestured vaguely to the straw beside him.

Lance nodded, and lowered himself slowly onto the offered straw. He groaned as soon as he was seated, and rested his head back against the wood with his eyes closed.

Matt was suddenly struck with the thought that Lance felt the same way he did. He wasn’t sure how, exactly, but he was almost sure that Lance knew exactly what he was going through. “So, uh, what brings you down here, Lance?” he asked awkwardly.

“What, I can’t just sit with my friend who I haven’t seen in weeks and ask him about how he’s dealing with his crushed crush?”

With narrowed side eyes, Matt shoved Lance’s shoulder lightly. “I might’ve answered if you didn’t state it so… Eloquently.”

“I’m a man of few words, Matthew.”

“You, Lance McClain, a ‘man of few words’?” he scoffed, and shook his head. “I call bullshit. I’ve heard you ramble for half an hour about the colour of Keith’s eyes, let alone that rant the day your straightener suddenly died.”

Lance was suddenly very quiet, and it took Matt a moment to figure out what the sore topic was. “Shit, Lance, did something happen between you and Keith?”

Lance groaned, and brought his legs up to his chest, wrapping his long arms around his knees. He was wrapped up tighter than Matt had seen him in a long time, telling him exactly what he needed to know. “Ah.”

“I came here to talk about you, Matt, not about my sad story.” Lance muttered, and leaned over onto the smaller man casually. “So, tell me all about it. You’ve been avoiding him, obviously, but what have you been doing in the meantime?”

It was Matt’s turn to groan. “Well, I, uh, I joined a dating website?”

Lance sat up so suddenly that Matt briefly worried that Lance had given himself whiplash. “Dude, you joined a dating website?! Matthew Holt, the shyest boy I know, actually put himself out there?!”

Matt buried his head in his hands, and leaned away from Lance. “It’s not that big of a deal, Lance!” he hissed.

“Por el contrario, mi hijo! This is huge for you!” His blue eyes practically sparkled with excitement. “What site did you use? What’s your profile picture? Oh god, I’m gonna look it up later, this is gonna be great… Wait, have you been going on dates this whole time?”

Matt groaned loudly at the onslaught of questions from the man beside him.

“Oh my god, you sly dog! You have been going on dates, haven’t you? Anyone worth mentioning?”

“No, nobody yet…” Matt whispered. “But, I do have a dinner date tonight…”

“Ooooooohhhhhh Matt, Matthew, Mattie, Mattson, Mattie-Hottie, I must know all the deets!” Lance goaded, with a wide grin on his face. It appeared almost Cheshire-like in his enthusiasm. “Age? What’s he do? His stand on horses? How hot is he?”

“Lance, slow down, I mean, I’ve talked to him a bit, but I don’t know all that information yet.” He paused, and felt a slow blush creep up onto his cheeks. “But, I’d say Damian is at least an 8.”

Lance whistled, and slapped Matt’s arm a few times excitedly. “Damian, huh? Sounds hot. Man, you have to tell me how it goes, like, as soon as you get home from your date.”

Matt smirked suddenly, a wonderfully terrible idea coming to mind. He crossed his legs in front of himself and looked over at Lance.

Lance eyed that smirk doubtfully. “Oh no, I know that face. That’s a face you and your sister share, the ‘I have an evil plot’ face. Whatever it is, I say no in advance.”

“Aww, but Lance, you don’t even know what I was gonna say!’ Matt exclaimed with a pout. He batted his eyelashes playfully at the other man, knowing that Lance would cave. “Don’t you want to hear my bargain?”

“Bargain, huh?” Lance muttered, but sighed, resigned to his fate. “Fine, Matt, what’s this bargain?”

His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he smirked devilishly. “Dear sweet Lance, of course I will tell you how my date with Damian went the minute I step back into my humble abode tonight. But, only if you tell me what happened between you and Keith in the time I’ve been gone.”

Lance sighed, and shook his head lightly. “Should’ve known… Alright, well, I thought things were going really well between me and Keith… And suddenly, he just…. Shut me out and said some really mean things.”

Matt’s face fell at Lance’s words. What could Keith have said that made Lance so distant? “What’d he say, Lance? Do I have to go defend your honour?”

Lance draped himself over Matt’s crossed legs comfortably, with a small huff. “I think Hunk already defended my honour. Apparently, Shay said that Hunk made Keith cry. I still don’t believe it, because, Hunk? Made someone cry? I highly doubt that, even if my lovely Shay would never lie to me. But… He called me a nobody, Matt.”

He straightened up at Lance’s words. Matt may not know Keith all that well, but Keith never struck him as the type of guy who’d stoop so low. “There’s gotta be a reason for that. Maybe he just, I dunno, misspoke?”

“By calling me a nobody, Matt?” Lance whined, and rubbed a hand over his face. “That’s a hugely misspoken statement.”

Matt sighed, and ran his fingers through Lance’s hair lightly, fixing the mussed pieces at the front. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Lance. Have you tried talking to him about it?”

Lance shook his head slightly, and started chewing on his bottom lip. “No… I haven’t seen him since it happened, and that was like, a week ago… But we haven’t tried to text each other, so it’s also sorta on him.”

Matt hummed in agreement. He guessed that made sense, if neither of them had been willing to make the first move.

There was another set of footsteps echoing down the aisle, but neither boy stood up to see who it was. There was no need. If they needed either of them, they’d come searching for anyone who was in the barn.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Mouse decided to step closer and beg for attention, which Lance gave him by rubbing soothing circles on his forehead. It was almost like Mouse knew that the boys needed to gossip and talk, and kept his relative distance.

“Hey, Matt?” A voice called out, nearing Mouse’s stall. “Have you seen Lance anywhere--”

Keith’s head peeked into Mouse’s stall, and immediately narrowed in on Lance, who was still laying across Matt’s lap. “O-oh, uh, nevermind.” Keith stuttered out, and glanced away quickly as Lance sat up. “I’ll, just, uh…” With a vague wave, Keith disappeared from view.

Matt winced. So, he’d not only screwed up his relationship with Shiro, but may have helped make Lance and Keith’s rocky relationship worse. “Lance, you should, uh… You should go talk to him.”

“I can’t!” Lance hissed out, staring resolutely at the straw between them. “I-I’m not ready to talk to him yet.”

“So you’re just gonna let him think there’s something,” Matt gestured vaguely between the two of them, “between us?”

Lance shrugged.

Groaning, Matt slapped his hands on the sides of his face. “Lance, that’s not really fair to Keith, or to you, really. Or me! You’re gonna have to talk to him sooner or later, right? So, now’s the time!”

“I-I… I’m not ready, Matt. He… He really hurt me.” Lance sighed, and slouched forwards. “I’m allowed to be hurt for a bit, yet… Right?”

With a small rueful smile, Matt nodded. “Sure, Lance. But… Promise me you’ll talk to him soon, okay?”

Chapter Text

Discussing the Art of War

Rover started dancing in his spot in the passenger seat of Pidge’s car as soon as the wheels hit gravel. She couldn’t help but smile at her boy; he’d been cooped up for far too long at her apartment. Pidge hadn’t really had the time to bring him out to the barn in a while, so it was no wonder he was excited. He missed being able to run full tilt and have the space to do so. She felt a little bad, keeping her Border Collie cooped up, when all he wanted to do was run with the horses.

"C'mon boy, sit down, we’re almost there, and then you can run.” Pidge said lightly, and reached over to pat his black and white head.

He sat down with a huff, and stared out the window, willing the car to come to a stop.

As soon as Pidge put the car in park by the barn, Rover was practically in her lap, trying to nose his way through the car door to the grass. “R-Rover, buddy, just gimme--” she coughed out, trying to unbuckle her seatbelt. She quickly decided that she may as well let him out first, before he accidentally pummelled her in his excited haste to get out.

As soon as the door was open wide enough for his shoulders to get out, Rover launched out of Pidge’s lap, causing her to groan and curl up in her seat. He immediately rushed across the gravel towards the grass, but skidded to a stop about halfway there, his bright brown eyes trained towards the barn. Just as sudden as his stop, he bolted off towards the barn, barking along the way.

Pidge rubbed her middle lightly, a slight grimace on her face. No matter how much she loved that dog, he wasn’t a little puppy anymore; he’d gotten heavy. She slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and shut her car off, making sure the belt fully retracted before stepping out. Rover had disappeared into the barn, probably to say hello to whoever was in there.

As she entered the barn, she was shocked to see a mop of inky black hair on the floor, being harassed by her black and white baby. “Rover!” she snapped, and pointed to the ground beside her. “We don’t jump on people, boy!”

Rover quickly climbed off of his victim, and slunk to the pointed area with his tail between his legs.

Keith quickly sat up and brushed off the front of his shirt. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, before standing up. “Oh, uh, hey Pidge. That your dog?”

She nodded, and reached down to pat the top of Rover’s head. “Yeah, this is my boy, Rover. Sorry about,” she gestured vaguely towards Keith’s body, “that. He probably didn’t make the best first impression.”

“No, he’s fine. I mean, he scared the hell out of me, but I love dogs.” he rubbed the back of his neck, before crouching down. “Mind if I pet him?”

Rover peered up at his owner with pleading eyes. As soon as Pidge nodded, Rover rushed back over to Keith, practically in his lap with how close he’d manage to squeeze his body.

Keith let out a soft chuckle as he ran his hands down the dog’s body in any way he could with how much Rover was squirming.

Pidge chewed her lip as she watched Keith pet her dog. She knew that she should apologize to him, and not just because Allura cornered her and told her to. She hated the distance that she created between them. She was the one who basically shoved him away, when he made it perfectly clear he didn’t want to talk about it. She often found herself heading towards Red’s stall to share a small tidbit of her day with him, but found she couldn’t because she was still supposed to be angry at him. But why was she even angry at him in the first place?? So what if he was talking to Thace? He had the free will to do so, even if Thace was a part of their biggest rival in the competitive world. It shouldn’t have mattered to her. If it were anyone else talking to Thace, would she have reacted the same way?

“Hey, uh, Keith?” Pidge asked slowly, gauging his reaction. “I just, uh--”

“Pidge,” Keith cut in, and paused his ministrations. “I get it. I should’ve just been straight with you about why I was talking to Thace--”

“No, Keith.” she said sternly. “I shouldn’t have pushed it. It was none of my business, and you obviously had your reasons for keeping it quiet. So, I’m sorry for pressing you so hard for it.”

Rover took that opportunity to whine at Keith’s lack of pets, looking up pitifully at the flustered man. Keith quickly resumed petting him.

Pidge tried to stifle a giggle behind her fingers at how much attention Keith was diverting to the dog. “But seriously, Keith, can we be friends again? I hate not talking to you and god I miss our banter so much.” she whined out.

Keith smirked, and stood up. He was shaking his head as he stepped around Rover towards Pidge. “‘Course, Pidgeon. But only when you admit you were wrong.”

Pidge gasped, trying to school her face into a scandalized expression, but fully aware she failed. “Keith Whatever-Your-Middle-Name-Is Kogane, I am offended that you would insinuate that I, the all knowing overlord, could ever be wrong.” She pursed her lips before stepping closer to him and throwing her arms around his waist. “But, on this one singular occasion, I was regrettably incorrect in my judgement.” she whispered.

He broke out laughing at her tiny confession, returning the hug with shaking shoulders. “I’ll take that as an apology.” He said, and patted her head lightly with one hand, the other wrapped loosely around her tiny shoulders.

Rover tried to squeeze his body between their legs, forever impatient to get the pets he thought he deserved.

“Rover, sweetie, I thought you came here to run, not be smothered by Keith.” Pidge tutted, and stepped away from Keith to lightly shove her dog away. “Go on, I think Green’s out in the pasture. Go bother her!”

Rover perked up at hearing Green’s name, and took off outside to go find his favourite horse friend.

Keith chuckled at the dog’s dust trail. “A little one-minded, is he?”

“You have no idea.”

Keith shifted his weight back and forth, seeming to mull something over before speaking, “Actually, uh, there was a reason I was talking to my-- Thace, that day, at the fair grounds.” he began.

Pidge turned to face him with her hands on her hips. “Keith, if you fought me so hard to not tell me, you don’t--”

“Well, someone should at least know.” he interrupted, and stared down at the ground between his boots. “So, it’d be nice if it was you.”

Well, at least he’s finally trusting me with this, she thought a little bitterly. “Alright, I’m listening.”

He motioned towards the pile of straw outside of Red and Blue’s stalls. “It’s sort of a long story, so…”

She plopped down on top of the straw, and motioned for Keith to start.

It took him a while to gather his thoughts, so Pidge knew that it was serious. Even after he’d stopped pacing, it took him a few moments to speak, almost as though he was gathering up the courage. “So, do you remember how I said that Red was sired by my dad’s horse, Vic?”

She nodded.

“Well, Vic is a barn name. His show name is… Well, it’s one you should recognize. Vic’s show name is Victory Lap.” he said slowly, avoiding Pidge’s gaze.

Pidge sat up straighter in her seat, “Wait, so Red was sired by Thace’s horse?”

Keith nodded slowly.

The realization suddenly hit her like a sledge hammer. “Thace is your father?!” she exclaimed, her jaw going slack.

He nodded, and shuffled slightly in place. “Yeah, Thace is my dad. So, it’s not crazy that I’d be talking to him at an event… It was the first event where I was competing against him.”

“Waitwaitwait hold up.” Pidge made a pause motion with her hands. “So, if Thace is your father, that means that your previous stable was--”

“Galran Stables, yeah.” Keith interrupted bitterly. “Not like I had much of a choice. My dad competes for their team, and Red was practically Zarkon’s property while she was boarded there. But after I started preparing to--” he paused suddenly, and waved his hand. “Nevermind. I just needed to leave. I was never going to join Team Empire, and since that was the case, I needed to get out.”

“So that competition was probably the first time you’d seen your dad in a while, huh?”

“I mean, yeah. He practically lives at the barn, training and caring for Vic. Even when Red and I were still there I barely saw him. My dad and I aren’t particularly close, but--”

“He’s still your dad…” She nodded slowly, and twisted her hands out in front of her. “I get that… But,” she paused, and tried to catch Keith’s gaze. “What I don’t get, is why you’d hide it from us.”

“Why do you think?” Keith snapped, finally lifting his head to meet her gaze. “Team Empire and Team Voltron aren’t exactly on friendly terms since Alfor founded this team. How do you think you’d all take it if one of their prodigies showed up here one day, asking to board and be a part of the team?”

“Yeah, maybe, at first. But you’ve been here for months, Keith, and you’ve masterfully avoided the topic. I know Allura asked where you came from when you first signed boarding papers, and Lance has been asking, so why didn’t you tell them?”

“I-it’s a hard topic to breach, okay? I don’t like talking about my time at that barn.”

“Fine.” she took a deep breath in through her nose before continuing. “So, why are you telling me this?”

Keith ran a hand through his hair, appearing quite frazzled. “W-well, you’re my closest friend here. And you’ve been asking about it, so I just thought--”

“Not what I meant, pretty boy.” Pidge levelled a look at him. “I mean, why are you telling me this, and not Lance?”

“L-Lance? What does he--”

“You know you need to talk to him.” Pidge stood up, and made her way over to stand in front of him. “Apologize, for starters, and maybe tell him about this. And frankly, on this topic, Allura deserves to know as well.”

“Allura can’t know about this, Pidge!” Keith hissed, his eyes almost comically wide. “I already have a rocky relationship with her, but this? I’d be gone.”

Pidge couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Allura wouldn’t kick you out. Sure, she’ll be mad you, since you haven’t exactly been straight with her, but it takes a lot more than that to get kicked out.”

Keith spun away from her to resume his pacing. “I’d have nowhere left to go if Red and I got kicked out. I can’t go back to Galran Stables, Pidge, I can’t. Not with the way that monster tried to treat--” he shook his head frantically, and gripped handfuls of his hair tightly in his fists.

“Hey, alright, Keith, it’s fine.” Pidge soothed, and reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I won’t tell Allura, no matter how much I think she should know.”

Keith’s shoulders sagged in relief.

“But,” she continued, “I still think you should tell her. I won’t push you to do it, but I think she should know.”

He nodded slightly, almost to himself, before glancing over at Pidge. “Okay. Thanks, Pidgeon.”

“And seriously, you should apologize to Lance.”

“Isn’t he with your brother?” he asked bitterly.

She blinked up at him. “Uh, no? Matt’s at work today, and I think Lance had class?”

“No no, I mean…” he hummed vaguely, and gestured at Pidge like she knew what he meant.

Pidge raised a thin eyebrow at him. “My dude, my man, I have no idea what you’re talking about, so hold my hand and walk me through this.”

“Aren’t they together?” he whispered, and winced, as if those words together in that sentence physically pained him.

Pidge doubled over, her laughter echoing down the aisle. “What?” she wheezed out. “Matt and Lance? God, no.”

Keith appeared extremely confused. “But, I thought--”

“Why would you think Lance and my brother are dating? I mean, Hunk and Lance I could see, with their weird bromance thing going on, but Matt?”

“Well, I saw them the other day in Mouse’s stall--”

“Let me guess, Lance was sprawled across my brother’s lap?” At Keith’s hesitant nod, she chuckled. “Dude, that’s not uncommon. But Lance will lay on anyone willing to listen to his woes. It just happened to be Matt when you saw them.”

Keith shook his head dazedly. “But…”

“Keith, we’re Lance’s family. He wouldn’t date anyone in his family.”

As soon as the words left Pidge’s mouth, she could almost see the devastation her words caused in his eyes. It was almost as though she could see his world crumbling down through his violet irises, nothing being spared of the self doubt. It was like her careless words completely broke Keith.

“And I’m not part of his family, anyways, so why would it matter?” he muttered, his voice sounding much sadder than Pidge thought she’d ever hear from him.

“No, Keith, that’s not what I-- Damnit.” she cursed softly, and shifted over so she was directly in front of him again. Reaching up, she gripped his chin with her thumb and forefinger so he would look at her. “Keith, you’re different. You mean just as much to him as we do, but differently. He sees you differently because he doesn’t love you the same way he does us.”

“I know he hates me, you don’t need to rub it in--”

“Keith,” she interrupted loudly, and stood up on her tiptoes so she was nearly at his eye level. “That idiot loves you romantically, and he doesn’t love us that way. Only you.”

The realization dawned slowly across Keith’s features, quickly followed by a deep flush. He opened his mouth only to close it awkwardly.

Pidge sighed, let go of his chin and dropped back down onto her heels. “Please don’t make me be specific on relationship stuff ever again, Kogane.” she said sternly, and shook her fist threateningly at him. “That is so not my wheelhouse.”

“Well, uh, thanks Pidge.” Keith stuttered out awkwardly, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I do appreciate it.”

She shook her head, and started down the aisle towards where she last saw Rover. “Only you and Lance would have issues so big that the whole barn knows about it.”

Chapter Text

The Cold, Hard Truth

Allura yawned, and glanced over at the clock on the stove, stretching as much as she could from her confines on the couch. It blinked 2:25pm innocently back, and Allura shrieked and jumped up and off the couch.

Or, she would have, if her legs were not tangled with Shiro’s. Instead, she crashed to the floor, her ankle caught between Shiro’s legs.

He jerked upright at the commotion, and rubbed his hands over his eyes, yawning openly. “”Lura, what…?” he asked groggily.

“We fell asleep, Shiro!” she exclaimed, quickly removing her foot from its confine, and standing up, fixing her shirt. “I have a lesson starting in five minutes.”

“Shit,” he cursed softly, and stood up as well. Glancing over at the clock, he cursed again, and bent to adjust his pants. “I’ve gotta get a move-on, too.”

“Where do you have to be?” she questioned, and pulled the hair tie out of her hair. “I thought you were here for the rest of the day?”

He shook his head, and ran his hands down the front of his shirt. “No, I’ve got a job interview in about half an hour, but I’ll be back this evening for that dinner I promised.”

“A job interview?” She bent at the waist, her long hair dropping to nearly the floor, so she could gather it all up in one hand to put back up in a less messy bun. “But I thought you already had a job at the station--”

“I do, but I’m picking up a second job. I could use the extra money.”

“You do realize you don’t have to keep up monthly boarding fees?”

“What do you mean, of course I do?” Shiro cast her a slightly offended look. “This barn doesn’t cost nothing, Allura. I can’t just stop paying--”

“Shiro, you do more than enough work here to make up for boarding fees--”

“Allura, I’m picking up the second job so I can offer you more to keep Black boarded here.”

Looping the hair tie around her hair one last time, she gaped at Shiro. “I beg your pardon? There is no need--”

“But there is, Allura. We both know this barn isn’t doing as well financially as it could afford to be. So, I’m hoping a little more support will hold us until we get more boarders.”

“Shiro, you can’t do this all yourself--”

“I’m aware. Which is why I think you should raise boarding fees for everyone here.” Shiro cut in, and placed a soft hand on the side of her face. “Raise board fees so this barn can start earning money.”

“I-I can’t just raise my board fees! What if someone can’t--”

“We’d make it work, Allura. And worst case, if someone can’t afford the raised rate, I know you wouldn’t be hard on them. It is sudden, I know that, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself, Allura.”

She paused, considering his words. She knew that the barn had been losing money for months now, well, practically since her father passed away, if she was really truthful. But what choice did she have? She had enough money stored away for herself to manage the extra fees for the barn, so why shouldn’t she just keep using that?

“Ah-ah, no, Allura, I know what you’re thinking. You can’t keep relying on your father’s funds for you. That’s not how a business works, and like it or not, Altean Stables is a business, love.” Shiro chastised, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then turned to make his way outside. “Just, think about it, okay? I have to go, but I’ll be back later.”

She vaguely heard the door shut behind him, and the slight growl his car made when firing up, but didn’t really notice it. He had made some good points… Eventually, her father’s fund for her would run dry, and what would happen then? She knew she had to do something, and she’d known it for a while. Of course Shiro would try to be a one-man army to save the barn, but frankly?

It needed a lot more than just Shiro to save it.

With a sigh, she made her way to the back door, where she’d kicked her boots off before lunch. She sat down on the bench there, to properly lace up her boots. She didn’t really pay attention to the muscle memory task of lacing her boots, trying to think of an alternative, any alternative, to raising monthly board. She knew it was very possibly something she’d have to ask of her team, but could she really do it to them? They already worked hard enough, between their own jobs and caring for their horses with the current rates. Could she raise their stress?

As she opened the back door, she paused for a moment to take in her surroundings. The lush green grass outside the pastures, the trimmed bushes outlining the backyard, the chipped white painted fences. Everything in her sight was hers, given to her by her father. She’d spent most of her life here, and although some things had changed, she wasn’t about to lose any of it.

With a heavy heart, she came to a decision. Shiro was right, and she knew what she had to do.

As she made her way over to the barn, she saw Slav’s truck in the lot. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the sight. Why was Slav here?

She saw why once she made it into the barn. Slav was hunched over Red’s left rear leg, with his back to her. Keith was pacing in front of Red, and she was obviously nervous because of his pacing.

Allura stopped behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. “Jesus, Allura.” Keith muttered out.

“What’s wrong with Red?”

Keith blew out a long breath, and closed his eyes. “Thrush. Nothing serious, hopefully, but, it’s my fault…”

“Thrush?” she questioned, and glanced over at Slav. “How’d you manage that? Have you not been cleaning her stall regularly?”

“Of course I have!” he quickly defended, but hunched back over just as quickly, appearing guilty. “I think it’s from the south pasture.” Keith scuffed the toe of his boot along the concrete, avoiding her prying gaze. “I left her out one night, since she seemed restless, but I totally blanked the other morning and forgot to clean her hooves before taking her out on the cross country course…”

Allura sighed, and shook her head. “Keith, you should know better than that. You’re lucky it’s just thrush, and not something more serious.”

“He is lucky,” Slav cut in, rubbing his hands off on his chaps. “It’s a minor case of thrush, but I cleaned out the infected area and put a light copper sulfate solution on and around her frog. I took some from the medical cabinet here, Allura, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. That’s what it’s there for.” Allura said with a tight smile. “But if you’ll excuse me, I have a lesson right about now.”

She turned before hearing their answers, and rubbed her temples harshly. More vet bills were not what she needed, but she understood why Keith called the local vet. Even something as common as thrush could make a turn for the worse on the flip of chance.

Between feeding the horses, vet fees, farrier fees, and general maintenance on the barn, she was losing more money than she was gaining from boarding fees and giving lessons. Sure, there were two stalls available for potential new boarders, but her horses were taking up potential boarding space. Would she need to permanently pasture them, and only stable them when there was space?

Or, build a new barn?

No, that wouldn’t be able to happen until she had more funds at her disposal.

Oh, why had she let this go on for so long?

Shiro was right… She needed a plan. But raising the board fees on her beloved team? Could she do that?

There was only one way to find out. She’d have to announce a team meeting and discuss it with everyone.

Chapter Text

Soldiering On

“C’mere, Stella-Ella-Oh-La, let’s get you brushed off.” Shiro sang softly to his mare as he unlatched her stall door. She immediately nickered at his presence and abandoned her salt block to crowd into his space. He brought his hands up to stroke her cheeks lovingly, a soft smile on his face.

“I haven’t heard you call her that before,” Lance commented lightly as he walked past them. “It’s so cute to see you using pet names for her!”

Shiro felt his face flush at Lance’s words. “I was-- Just-- Oh, Lance, leave us alone.”

Lance grinned widely and chuckled. “Sorry, Shiro, sometimes you make it too easy.” he turned and continued on his way down the aisle, towards his own mare’s stall.

Everyone was at the barn today, oddly enough. Even Matt and Keith were here with the rest of the group, which made Shiro oddly happy. It was like having his whole family together.

Pidge and Matt were at the other end of the barn in the lesson horses’ stalls, talking quietly amongst themselves with pitchforks in hand. They’d offered to clean the stalls for Coran when he’d announced that the wind last night had pulled some of the boards loose on the dressage ring, and in the east pastures. Keith had immediately offered to help, since he’d already done all of his daily chores, even before Coran showed up. Lance was down in Red’s stall, trying to be subtle about checking up on Red’s healing hoof. It’d only been a day since Slav diagnosed Red with thrush, and Keith had scarcely left her side. Hunk was in the tack room cleaning up his tack for the weekend’s competition.

The only person who he was unsure of their location, was Allura.

Shrugging slightly to himself, Shiro grabbed the side of Black’s halter to lead her into the aisle, to the crossties, so he could brush her off. Once she was clipped in, he walked back around her towards his grooming kit, and rifled around until he found his two dandy brushes. He returned to her side, brandishing a brush in each hand, and set out to work to brush any dirt away. Black sighed and slouched slightly, enjoying the attention.

Shiro saw Lance quickly scramble out of Red’s stall, and retreat into his own mare’s stall just before Keith came back into the barn, talking with Coran.

He shook his head with a soft sigh. Hopefully those boys would come to their senses sooner rather than later.

Suddenly, Allura’s quick footsteps echoed down the aisle.

Shiro turned to face her, and offered a small smile. Her pace never slowed, and she inserted herself right into his space. He quickly switched both dandy brushes into the same hand, and wrapped his free arm around her. “What’s wrong, love?”

“Everyone’s here today.” she whispered into his chest. “That means I have to bring up our idea about raising board.”

Shiro had nearly forgotten that she’d agreed with his idea. He knew that she was absolutely dreading it, but, in the long run, it would be more beneficial for the barn. “Are you ready?”

“No.” she immediately replied, and looped her arms around his waist. “I really wish there was another way…”

He placed a soothing kiss into her hairline, and kept his lips pressed there so she’d know he was here for her. “I know, love. I’m sorry, but I know everyone here will understand.”

She inhaled deeply, before blowing the breath out loudly between them. “I know, Everyone’s amazing, but, I still feel bad.”

“I’ll be here the whole time.”

Steeling herself, Allura pulled away and offered Shiro a weak smile. Then she spun on her heel, and marched back down the aisle towards where Pidge and Matt were finishing up the stalls.

Shiro turned back to Black, and stroked her nose. “Sorry girl, looks like we’ll have to finish this later, okay?” he said quietly, and dropped the dandy brushes back into his grooming kit. As he unclipped the cross ties from the sides of Black’s halter, he saw Matt, Pidge, and Lance walk past him, towards the tack room. That must be where Allura decided to tell everyone. He backed Black up a few steps before steering her back into her stall.

As soon as Shiro was closing Black’s stall, Keith came up to his side. “What’s happening here?” he questioned, motioning down towards the tack room.

“Allura called a barn meeting. So we’re all meeting in there.”

“Any idea what it’s about?” Keith waited for Shiro to latch up Black’s stall, before walking beside him down to the tack room.

Shiro chewed on his bottom lip, contemplating. “I… I think it’s best for her to tell you.”

Keith slowed down, causing Shiro to stop and look back at him. Keith looked worried. “Is it bad?”

“No! No no, Keith, it’s fine.” he quickly reassured. “It’s just something that everyone needs to hear it, and we can discuss it as a group.”

“Christ, Shiro.” Keith muttered, glaring slightly. “Scared me.”

“Didn’t mean to, buddy.” he motioned for Keith to walk into the tack room ahead of him.

“So you and Damian, huh?”

“Shut up, Lance!”

Hunk and Lance were sitting beside each other on the second bench, in front of Hunk and Yellow’s tack, and Matt and Pidge were sitting in front of them. The four of them were talking quietly when Shiro and Keith entered, but as soon as Keith stepped into the room, Lance’s gaze snapped over to him, causing Keith to stop suddenly. Shiro nearly walked right into him.

“Sorry,” Keith murmured, and continued into the room. He ended up sitting at the polar opposite end of the room to Lance, and Shiro sat behind him.

Coran and Allura were the last two to walk into the room. Coran took a seat in the middle of the front bench, while Allura stayed standing near the door.

She took her time gathering her thoughts, until the silence in the room was almost palpable. Steeling herself, she stood up straighter to speak. “S-so, everyone, I’ve gathered you all here to… Well, to inform you of something.”

Shiro could see the rest of his team glancing at each other to see if they knew what was going on, but Allura continued. “Since my father passed away, this place has not really been gaining any money. Any extra monthly or annual fees, I’ve been covering out of my own pocket… From the money my father left me when he passed away.”

“Wait,” Lance cut in, sitting forward slightly. “You’re just telling us this?” Allura stayed silent. “Allura, this must’ve been going on for years. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I didn’t want to worry you all.” she said slowly, and shifted her weight back and forth. “I didn’t think you all needed to know--”

“Until it was too late?” Hunk cut in softly. “Allura, what can we do to help?”

Allura cut a glance over at Shiro, obviously floundering.

“Well, Allura and I… Well, actually, I’m the one who suggested raising the monthly boarding fee.” Shiro said, bringing everyone’s attention on him. “Since we don’t really have enough space to let in a bunch of boarders, we wouldn’t be able to rely strictly on that. So, this seems like the best option right now.”

“By how much?” Keith asked.

“A quarter.” Allura declaired.

This was news to Shiro. He hadn’t heard the final results of Allura’s plans, so hearing that even made his head spin a bit.

“A quarter?” Hunk asked breathlessly. He rubbed a hand over his face, appearing quite shocked.

“I know it’s a lot to ask of you… That you all have busy lives, between your own jobs, keeping your horses, and competing. But… Believe me when I say I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary.”

“I think that’s fair, Allura.” Pidge spoke up, and adjusted her glasses. “With how much you’ve been pitching in, of your own money, for what, nearly six years? I think we can do that.”

Allura seemed to relax a bit at Pidge’s words.

“I agree. An extra quarter of what we pay monthly seems more than fair, for what Allura’s been putting in for us since day one.” Lance said slowly, and nodded to himself.

Coran nodded, and twisted the end of his moustache idly. “I’m glad you’ve finally told everyone, Allura.”

“Guys…” Hunk whispered, his head in his hands and his elbows braced on his spread knees. “I-I won’t…”

Matt turned back to face Hunk. “That’s not really fair, Hunk. You of all people should understand--”

“No, I do understand, Matt.” Hunk cut in, still refusing to look up. “But I won’t be able to afford that.”

“I completely understand, Hunk. I won’t force you to--” Allura began.

“Dude, are you struggling with money?” Lance spun towards his best friend, shock written plainly across his face.

“W-well, money’s been a little tight since my last job let me go… And this new job doesn’t pay like me old one.” he said slowly, bashfully. “It wasn’t a big deal, until now.” Hunk looked up at Allura pleadingly. “I-I’m so sorry, Allura, but--”

“I’ll pay for his extra quarter.” Lance cut in determinedly.

“What?” Hunk stood up, and stared down pointedly down at Lance. “No, Lance, you've got enough to worry about with Blue and school, I can’t ask you to--”

“You didn’t ask, buddy.” Lance said lowly, but held his best friend’s gaze. “I offered. It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me.”

Hunk deflated at Lance words. He stared down at Lance for a moment longer, before he nodded and sat back down.

“I’ll help, too.” Keith spoke up, startling everyone in the room. He turned to face Hunk, with a look of determination on his face. “There’s nothing you could’ve done differently in your situation, and you shouldn’t be penalized for that. So, let us help you.” he said, and cut a quick glance to Lance.

“G-guys, I don’t--”

“Us, too.” Matt spoke up, and nudged Pidge’s shoulder lightly with his own.

“So will I.” Shiro added, and reached over to clasp Hunk’s knee comfortingly. “Frankly, between all of us, we could probably cover your entire boarding fees for a few months, till you get back on your feet.”

Hunk blinked furiously to hold the tears threatening to spill over at bay. “Guys, I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you?” Allura offered softly, a slight smile on her lips. “I won’t raise your fees, Hunk, until you feel you’ll be able to cover it.”

“Then you guys don’t need to help me with this.” Hunk said slowly, and peeked around at his teammates.

“Nuh uh, buddy. Not until you get back on your feet.” Keith said firmly, and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Suck it up, big guy.” Lance said smugly, smirking. “We’re here for you, no matter what.”

A single sob slipped past Hunk’s lips, before he reached over to wrap his arms tightly around Lance. “Thank you, thank you guys so so much.”

“We’d never leave you hanging, man.” Pidge said softly, before latching herself to Hunk’s back, her arms around his neck.

“Group hug!” Coran exclaimed, and launched at the hugging trio.

Shiro glanced over at Allura, who was laughing lightly while making her way to the hug pile. Then he turned to Keith, who was smiling slightly, but making no move towards the group. “C’mon, Keith, group hugs include you.”

“Oh, n-no, I’m good.” Keith stuttered out, his eyes wide.

“Too bad!” Shiro said, before lifting Keith up off the bench, and towards the group hug.

He squawked at being picked up, but reluctantly wrapped his arms around Pidge and Lance.

Shiro glanced over at Allura, and found her looking back at him already. “I told you it’d be fine,” he whispered, quiet enough so only she’d hear.

Chapter Text

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

Keith was the first one to back out of the hug. He wasn’t against them, per say, but so many people touching him at once, even in a seemingly innocent gesture like a group hug, made his skin crawl. He quickly retreated back to his spot on the bench, near the front of the group, while everyone else was just starting to detach themselves.

“So that’s settled, then.” Allura said, detaching herself from the group embrace. “Everyone will pitch in for Hunk’s monthly board until he feels as though he can contribute fully again.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Hunk replied bashfully, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m still blown away that you all would want to do this.”

“Of course we would, big guy.” Lance patted Hunk’s shoulder lightly, and stood up. “Was that everything, Allura?”

“Yes, Lance. That was everything.”

“Perfect. Well, if you’ll all excuse me, I have to go fulfill a promise to my girl, Blue.” He offered a brief wave before stepping out of the tack room.

Now would be the perfect time to talk to Lance, while everyone is preoccupied in here, Keith thought to himself. He stood, up, and started to make his way out of the tack room, when someone gripped his shoulder.

It was Hunk. “Hey, can I… Uh, can I talk to you for a second?” he whispered.

“Sure thing, buddy.” Keith said slowly.

Hunk steered him out of the tack room, and out of the barn, completely away from where Keith wanted to go.

“What’s up?”

“Well…” Hunk started, and glanced down at his hands. The skin on the sides of his nails were red, almost as though he was scratching at them. “I just, I wanted to thank you for, well, what you did back there.”

“What, offering to help Lance pay?”

“I mean, yeah--”

“Hunk.” Keith interrupted, and took a step closer to the bigger man. He could almost feel the nervousness radiating off of him. “It’s fine, really. It’s the least I can do after, well, everything. And, like I said in there, you shouldn’t be penalized for your situation.” he finished lamely. God, Hunk probably thought that he only did it for Lance, when that wasn’t true…

Well, it was certainly a bonus…

“But, if you’ll excuse me… I need to go talk to Lance.” Keith said, and turned his back.

Hunk jumped forwards to grip onto Keith’s shoulder again, staggering Keith’s hasty escape. “Just…” he started, but then seemed to think better of it with a shake of his head. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, man.” he said finally, and released Keith’s shoulder.

Whatever that means… Keith thought, but offered Hunk a slight nod in return.

As soon as he stepped back into the barn, he sought out Lance’s brunet head, but couldn’t spot it anywhere. Blue’s stall was left open, but neither Blue nor her owner were anywhere in sight. Maybe Lance had taken Blue out to pasture?

But what was that promise he’d spoken of?

He stopped in front of Blue’s stall to see if any clues were at his disposal. Her lead rope was gone, and her halter wasn’t left behind, so Lance didn’t tack her up. He started to rifle through Lance’s blue grooming kit, but didn’t notice anything really missing. Wait, didn’t Lance have three mane and tail combs? One of each was missing, along with the sweat scraper…

Why would Lance take those three items, specifically?

He briefly thought about going back to the tack room, to see if any of Lance’s tack was missing, but they were all just in there… Wouldn’t Lance have grabbed whatever tack he needed while he was in there?

Maybe Lance wanted to do a run-through full braid on Blue before the competition this weekend, and took Blue out to graze while he braided? Keith knew he was grasping at straws, but where Lance was concerned, Keith never knew.

As he made his way out of the barn, he kept a sharp eye for a large blue horse and a brunette head, but also took in the surroundings. The sun was peeking in and out from behind various clouds at any given time, and there was a soft breeze blowing across the property. The trees that ran the length of the driveway were flowing softly in the breeze, seeming to whisper between each other in each breath of wind. Hunk had cut the grass yesterday, and the sharp smell of cut grass graced Keith’s senses each time a breeze blew by. Black, Yellow, and Princess were out in the west pastures, grazing comfortably together, and he could see Spike, Champie, and Moondancer in an adjacent pasture to the mares. Commander was alone in the south pasture, not too far from the mansion, presumably only until King was brought out. In Keith’s experience, the two of them were scarcely not in a pasture together. He decided to go to the south pasture to see Commander.

As soon as Keith was near the fenceline, Commander paused his grazing and looked up and over at Keith. As soon as he saw him, he trotted over towards the fence line to greet him.

“Hi, handsome.” Keith whispered, and ran his hand down the gelding’s muzzle. “How are you?”

Commander answered by nudging into Keith’s hand again. Keith couldn’t help but chuckle; it was common horse language for ‘pet me more’. Keith ran his nails lightly over Commander’s white star in the middle of his forehead, and the horse closed his brown eyes in appreciation. With his other hand, he reached out to stroke Commander’s long neck. The ends of his mane tickled his hand, but Keith paid it no mind. Thoroughbreds may be known for their hotheadedness and their speed, but under the right hands, any horse can melt at a mere touch.

Suddenly, Keith heard some sort of beat coming from the direction of the mansion. Allura wasn’t one to have music playing outside at any point in the day, unless she was hosting some sort of party… So it must’ve been someone else. With a final pat to Commander’s neck, Keith turned towards where the sound was coming from.

The beat sounded very techno-like, upbeat, and something Keith vaguely recognized, but couldn’t quite name. As soon as the male voice filtered through his ears, he learned that the man was singing about seeing a girl and being immediately rejected. But the chorus quickly went on to talk about love and how brightly it shone?

Certainly not Keith’s sort of music, but he guessed it was peppy.

As he was walking towards the mansion, he learned that the music was not coming from the house, but from the arena, or more accurately, beside the arena. A masculine voice was singing along to the lyrics passionately, not really harmonizing or mimicking, sort of both at the same time?

"So give me a smile, or give me a sneer.
‘Cause I’m trying to guess, here…”

It was Lance singing. Keith came to a sudden halt to stop and listen to the lyrics he was singing along to, and couldn’t help but be awed. He had absolutely no idea that Lance could sing that well.

“Tell me again, was it love at first sight?
When I walked by and you caught my eye.
Didn’t you know love could shine this bright?
Well smile because you’re the deer in the headlights!”

Huh. Well, maybe Keith would like this song more, if he heard Lance sing it more often.

The song changed to another shortly after, just as peppy, although not techno. It was the sort of song that made everyone want to drop whatever they were doing to break out into dance. And Keith desperately wanted to see what Lance looked like dancing to it.

Continuing on his way, he finally made it into view of the shower pad. Blue was tied up to the fence there, her eyes closed in contentment, while Lance was bent over filling up a bucket with water. His jeans were rolled up a bit from his boots, and his hips were shaking along to the quick beat.

“You’re like the thing that makes the universe explode,
Into the colours of a world I’ve never known.
You keep turning, keep turning, my life around…”

Lance didn’t sing this song as loudly as he did to the previous song, but it sounded more soulful, almost, or more sincere. It was almost as though the lyrics were coming from his soul, not merely a memorization of the words. This song meant something to him.

“Violets and purples,
Diamonds and circles,
You’re my kaleidoscope.
I love every minute,
You’ve got me in it,
You’re my kaleidoscope!”

Blue opened her eyes suddenly, and stared right at Keith, making him jump slightly. Luckily, Blue made no motion to alert her owner of the new presence, and closed her eyes again. Keith sighed out a breath of relief. He wasn’t quite ready to be spotted by Lance.

Lance stopped filling the bucket, and switched the setting on the hose head, before showering it lightly over Blue’s back. The song has slowed into a more mellow tone, and Lance was still singing softly along as he watered down Blue’s coat.

He spun out suddenly, water flying everywhere as he ramped up for the chorus. Keith was forced to step back quickly to avoid the spray, when Lance finally noticed his presence.

He dropped the hose, causing it to spray a lone streak of water just past Keith’s head before it bounced off of the toggle. “Shit, Keith! I-I-I didn’t see you there…” He stuttered out, and stepped quickly over to the small boombox broadcasting his music. As he turned it down, he asked “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you. You weren’t in Blue’s stall, and your tack was still in the tack room, so I figured you were on the property… So I came to look for you, and followed the music.”

“Did you… What did you see?” Lance asked nervously.

“I mean, I saw you watering down Blue there, along with a little bit of singing and dancing.” Keith said slowly, and stepped closer to Lance.

“Urgh,” Lance whined pitifully, and buried his head in his hands. “That’s so embarrassing, I can’t believe you heard me singing.”

Another song started filtering out of the small black system, something upbeat that Keith thought was a Bruno Mars song. “Why is that embarrassing?” He slowly reached up to pry Lance’s hands away from his face. “You have a wonderful singing voice.”

“Oh god, no I don’t.” Lance quickly pulled his hands free, and waved a hand about nonchalantly. “I just, I dunno, I sing when I find good music, but not usually in front of others.”

“You really do, Lance. Your singing voice is amazing, and I’m surprised that I’d never heard you sing before.” Keith took an awkward step back. Lance obviously didn’t want him touching him, so there was no reason to be in his space, no matter how much he wanted to be.

“So, uh, what’d you want?”

Well, here goes. “Well, Lance, I… I came over here to apologize.” He paused, trying to conjure up the apology he’d been practicing the night before. “I was a complete ass to you, when all you were doing was being a good friend, and I--”

“You’re right. You were a complete and utter ass.” Lance interrupted, and crossed his wet hands across his chest. “You really hurt me.”

“Believe me, I-I know. And I know I’m the one that’s caused this distance between us--”

“You could’ve texted first, you know.”

“Damnit Lance, I’m trying to apologize here, would you let me finish?” Keith snapped. He breathed out slowly through his nose before continuing. “I didn’t text you because I didn’t want to apologize through a screen like a coward. This just isn’t the kind of conversation you have over text, and I wanted to do it in person. What I said to you was completely out of line, a-and I completely understand why you’re mad at me.”

Keith balled his hands into fists, and bit his lip harshly. He was brutally aware of how much he screwed up. He thought about it every night before he went to bed, every time he saw something and his first urge was to stop and text Lance about it… He knew that he was the cause of the rift between them, and he was so willing to meet him halfway… But only if Lance was willing to meet him there.

“S-so, I was wondering… If you’d forgive me?”

There was a span of silence where neither of them spoke, where no music was even playing. So when the song finally switched, it nearly made Keith jump out of his skin. It was a slow song, soulful and full of pain, and words quickly filled the space between them.

“Oh, I built a world around you.
Oh, you had me in a dream,
I lived in every word you said.
The stars had aligned,
I thought that I found you…”

“Keith…” Lance said slowly, and turned his body slightly, angled away from Keith. “I… I was really hurt, for quite a while, and frankly? I still sort of am. It seemed that I was finally at a good point in my life. I was comfortable with riding again, I was in a great position with my friends, and the guy I liked? I was sure he liked me back.”

Keith’s breath caught in his throat.

“Oh, we’ve left it all unspoken.
Oh, we buried it alive
And now it’s screaming in my head…
Oh, I shouldn’t go on hoping.
Oh, that you will change your mind
And one day we could start again…”

“But then, everything came crashing down around me. When I had finally started to work up the courage to tell him, he started retreating into himself. He was avoiding everybody, and he and his closest friend were even fighting. It killed me to see him this way, but there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.”

“Oh, I thought that I could change you…
Oh, I thought that we would be the greatest story that I’d tell…
I know that it’s time, to tell you it’s over.”

“When I finally found an opportunity to tell him about my feelings, I followed him into the forest to see if he was okay. I immediately knew he wasn’t; he was pacing around and pulling at his hair and obviously agitated, and I dunno, maybe I just caught him at a bad time. But I never expected the harmful words to come out of his pretty lips. And I… I ran. I ran as far away from him as I could, and decided avoiding him was the best way to keep the pain at bay.”

“But I don’t wanna love somebody else…”

“Lance, I am so sorry--”

“I’m not finished, Keith.” Lance said quietly, but firmly. He took a step forward, inserting himself into Keith’s space like they were what seemed like an eternity before. “I shouldn’t have run. I don’t know what caused you to say those things? But you must’ve been hurting a lot to lash out like you did, and I should’ve seen that.”

Keith finally broke eye contact with the amazing, forgiving boy in front of him and gazed down between his feet. “How would you have been able to see that?” he whispered sadly.

“I think I know you well enough, mullet.” Lance said slowly, and brought his hand up to cup Keith’s cheek. “I know that something is eating you up inside, other than what you said to me, but you feel like you can’t share it. I also know for a fact that you are indeed sorry. So, I will accept your apology, on two conditions.”

“Name them.” Keith immediately replied.

“The first is to tell me what’s eating you up.”

That made Keith pause. He was planning on telling Lance eventually, but he was hoping it was after they’d made up and were on speaking terms… When he wasn’t worried about Lance totally dropping him.

“Keith, please? I won’t be mad.” Lance said, almost as though reading his mind.

“...Okay. I told Pidge not that long ago, so you deserve to know as well…” Keith mumbled, and let his head tilt into Lance’s hand briefly, before pulling away completely. “You should keep washing Blue as I talk. It’d be easier than having you stare at me.”

Lance nodded, and grabbed the fallen hose. He didn’t turn to face Keith again, but his head stayed slightly tilted his way so Keith knew he was listening.

“Okay, well, uh… Remember how I told you Red was sired by my dad’s horse?”

“Yeah, the undefeated racer and eventer? What about him?” Lance answered smoothly, and started spraying down Blue again.

“Well, my dad’s horse is Victory Lap.”

“As in, Thace’s horse? As in, team Empire’s former lead rider?”

“...Yeah.”

Lance let his hand off the hose’s toggle, taking in that information. “So, Thace is your dad.”

“He is. And Red and I used to board at Galran Stables before we came here.”

“Why’d you switch?”

Keith clamped his mouth shut. This was supposed to be about Lance, not him. “We, uh, needed to branch out. And this barn had a good team, so…”

“Makes sense…” Lance said slowly, and shut off the hose. He stepped around Blue to grab his expensive soap, and drizzled a little bit of it over Blue’s back. “And you were worried to say anything because of Altea’s rocky relationship with anything Galran, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“So, if you’ve only told Pidge, you haven’t told Allura yet, right?” At Keith’s slight nod, Lance continued, “I’m sure she won’t be mad. She’ll understand why you didn’t say anything, especially after how you handled yourself with Hunk today.”

“It’s not his fault he got laid off, and it’s not his fault that Allura raised board, so he shouldn’t be penalized for not being able to pay the new fees so suddenly.” Keith mused, and toed a stone loose from it’s place in the ground.

“I should thank you for that, by the way.” Lance smiled at him over Blue’s soapy back. “I was fully prepared to pay for his full extra quarter, but it’s nice that I don’t have to.”

“It’s not a big deal…” Keith glanced back up, and stepped closer to Blue’s side, the mare standing between them. “So, what was the second thing?”

Lance chuckled lightly, and wiped his soapy hands off on his jeans. He quickly walked around Blue to face Keith directly, nothing between them anymore. He lifted his hands up to cradle Keith’s head, so his gaze would only be on him. “Forgive yourself.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I know how much this is probably killing you, but, I’ve forgiven you. It’s time to forgive yourself now.”

“B-but, why?” Keith stuttered out. He was so confused; why would Lance urge him to forgive himself? After what he said to Lance, all of those hurtful things--

“Because, Keith, you’re my kaleidoscope, and I don’t wanna love somebody else.” he whispered back with a small smile.

Keith’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to retort, to say anything, but his mouth was swiftly otherwise occupied.

Lance was kissing him.

Keith tensed up briefly under the smooth set of lips on his, but swiftly relaxed and pressed up into it. He had never craved another set of lips so much in his entire life, and he would swap anything in the world to stay in this moment forever. Their foreheads were pressed together, and normally being so close to someone made Keith’s skin itch, but this contact he craved. It was almost as though he didn’t need oxygen to live anymore, but Lance’s lips on his own.

Keith slowly moved his arms from his sides to wind around Lance’s waist, and edged up onto his tiptoes to kiss Lance soundly. If the small moan from the back of Lance’s throat was anything to go by, he liked it. One of Lance’s hands pushed back into Keith’s hair, and grasped some of the wild tendrils delicately. Keith practically melted into the touch, oh, he would die a happy man under Lance’s hands.

They pulled back for breath a moment later, noses still touching, and Keith could smell the light taste of mint on Lance’s breath. When Keith finally opened his eyes, Lance’s blue irises were already flickering all over his face. Keith flushed under the attention, but nosed in to press a quick kiss against Lance’s lips.

“Mmm, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” Lance murmured.

“Me too.” Keith whispered. He felt as though if he spoke any louder, it’d ruin the moment, and shatter whatever trance had come over them.

“Why didn’t we?”

“I’d assume it had something to do with the fact that I started avoiding everybody and then I said some mean things to you?” Keith said dryly. “Just a suggestion.”

Lance pulled his hand from Keith’s hair to flick him in the ear. “So it’s your fault we haven’t been making out all this time.”

“My fault?” Keith squawked, and leaned back slightly. “You’re the one who tried to make me think you and Matt were a thing!”

“Oh yeah…” Lance mused, and smirked slightly. “Wait, how’d you find out we weren’t? You could’ve just kissed a claimed man!”

Keith scoffed lightly, and booped his nose against Lance’s. “First off, you kissed me. Second of all, Pidge.”

“That little gremlin, stealing all of my thunder.” Lance muttered, pouting slightly.

Keith broke out laughing at Lance’s sour expression, a wide grin taking over his face.

Lance’s jaw visibly slackened, before he smiled softly and leaned in to kiss the boy in his arms again.

Suddenly, a bucket of icy cold water splashed over their legs.

Keith jumped away from the spray, and away from Lance, sputtering. “W-what?”

Lance whipped around, to find the bucket at his feet and his mare whinnying shrilly, almost as though she was laughing at them. “Blue!!” he screeched, and righted the bucket on it’s base. He shook a finger at her threateningly.

Keith couldn’t help but break out laughing again, at both Blue’s antics and Lance’s reaction. He supposed he’d gained quite the handful in the span of a few short minutes.

“Upset that she ruined our bonding moment?” Keith teased softly, and stepped back over to Lance’s side.

Lance in turn wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist, and glanced down at their soaked lower halves. “Only my girl would try to stop me from kissing someone. She’s jealous.”

“Aww, does she want a kiss from me, too?” Keith cooed, and stepped out of Lance’s embrace to plop a loud kiss onto her face. She huffed warmly at the contact, and stepped more confidently into his space.

“Woah woah, girl!” Lance tutted, and pulled Keith into his arms with a small pout. “Keith is my boyfriend, not yours, go get your own!”

“Boyfriend, huh?” Keith questioned with a slight smirk.

Lance stiffened slightly, and a soft blush tinged his cheeks. “Uhh, w-well only if you want to--”

Keith shut him up by kissing him soundly.

Chapter Text

So, uh, hi guys!

I know it's been forever since I updated this fic, and I'm sorry I haven't said anything sooner on here... I've said it a few times on Tumblr and once over on my Patreon [which you can find a link to on my tumblr page], but...

Three Seconds is on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

I really am sorry that this went on hiatus super suddenly, and that it's taken me so long to say anything about it here, but... Life has been pretty hectic for me.

Who knew that my second year at uni, while doing a double major and working two part-time jobs would do that? [I literally knew this, but, I did keep writing despite this...] I just... Haven't done much work on 3s. I have the 31st chapter started, with about 600words, but it's not even close to being ready for posting. I promise, this fic still holds a very dear place in my heart, and it will be finished eventually, but... It probably won't be updated until the beginning of next summer, or until I'm closer to finishing my newest series, the Triforce series.

For those of you who don't know about my new series, it's a Voltron/Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild crossover. And, to be completely honest, it's been taking up all of my writing time these past six months. So far I have about 50k words and updating fairly regularly [whenever I find time to write tbh], and it's planned to be about three full length fics long. I'm in the works of writing the 8th chapter for the first instalment, The Power of Faith, and it's 50k words long of a planned 18 chapter fic, so I think it's safe to say I have at least 150k words planned for that fic alone, and the second one will easily be as long. The third one is a bit more up in the air right now, with both content and word length, but, I still have quite a ways to go before I get to writing the third instalment.

To give you guys a bit of context on how I started that series and basically dropped 3s, well... The Triforce series combines two of my long loved passions [Voltron and Legend of Zelda], into one big fic where I basically just get to geek out and have an absolute blast writing it. I was working on the 31st chapter of this fic one day, with Breath of the Wild idling in the background [I had figured I should try to update the fic with a new chapter after I dropped off with that sweet Klance moment] when... It hit me, like a ton of bricks. I instantly knew that it would be my next fic idea. So... I spent the next three weeks working on the first few chapters, and building up ideas of who from Voltron should be the important characters from Breath of the Wild, and what order I should timeline the memories from the game.

I would actually like to finish the chapter I started soon-ish, so I can post a new chapter for you guys around New Year's, but I guess we'll see how that goes.

But yeah! That's why 3s hasn't been updated lately, and sorry for exciting you all with the notification of this fic 'updating' with my author's note.

If you're interested in my new series, please consider giving it a read and leaving comments! I'd love to see some of my readers from here over there, too. And if you want to see sneak peeks of the upcoming chapter for this fic, consider following me, if not contributing to me, on Patreon! Or perhaps leaving me a tip [or commissioning me] through my Ko-Fi!