Archive of Our Own ^beta

They hadn’t formed Voltron in a week.

People were dying. People were getting hurt.

And they just couldn’t form Voltron.

Birds were chirping softly, flying above as a breeze hit Keith’s face. Making his hair tangle and twirl in a way that Keith could only identify with the beach. There was laughter, and Keith sat up.

Children were laughing, and trying to tackle each other in the water. As Keith watched them, before laying back on the warm sand, letting the seat seep through the t-shirt on his back. It was so warm. His face felt like it was burning, and there was sand everywhere. Between his toes, and fingers, and probably in his hair too.

A shadow shielded his eyesight from the roaring sun and Keith looked up. Lance was standing there, his hands on his hips and smiling. “C’mon babe.”

“I’m good.”

“You have to play with Nadia and Sylvio, they’ve been looking forward to this forever.”

“I don’t like the water,” Keith mumbled, throwing an arm over his face so he was shielded from the sun as something prodded his side. “And I don’t like you.”

“That is a lie,” Lance laughed, “Whatever makes you sleep at night, sweetheart. Now hurry up,” Lance held out his hand and Keith reluctantly took it, as he was thrown upwards and stumbled into Lance’s arms.

Keith rested his forehead against Lance’s chest, as his chest rumbled and shook with laughter. “Keith,” his hair was being smoothed down and it felt nice. “I know you’re a cat, but what are you doing?”

“Relaxing,” Keith muttered. Before headbutting Lance in the stomach and Lance sighed. “See?”

“C’mon, Nadia and Sylvio want to meet you,” Lance grabbed his hand, which felt warm already, but being encased by Lance’s made him feel a different type of warm. He started walking with Keith, kicking up sand as the waves crashed softly and birds chirped, hungry for food.

Lance squeezed his hand and Keith squeezed back twice as hard. “Fuck!” Lance drew his hand away. “You always win. Just let me win for once.”

“Get stronger,” Keith responded with a huge smile that took over his entire face. “Don’t be so bad at this.”

“I hate you,” Lance muttered, “We’re breaking up right now.”

“That’s awkward, considering I’m about to talk to your mother about your next birthday gift,” Keith smiled and Lance rolled his eyes. Whacking him in the back. “You’re an idiot,” Keith muttered.

“Aw, I knew you loved me, babe!” Lance threw himself at Keith, who managed to catch him last minute and held him bridal-style. “See? You love me, that’s embarrassing.”

“We’ve been dating for five years,” Keith said, but the words felt weird in his mouth, and he didn’t know why they felt weird. He opened his mouth to say that but nothing came out, he scratched the back of his neck and Lance looked at him, worried. “That’s more embarrassing.”

“Imagine,” Lance got out of Keith’s arm and held his hands, walking backwards, his face in a huge smile. “Not kissing me until after the war was over.”

The war was over?

“The war’s over?” Keith asked, and looked around. “We’re not on holiday?”

“Babe,” He cupped Keith’s cheek with his hand. “The war’s been over six years…”

“What?” Keith said, “It— huh?”

“The war’s over,” Lance’s voice was soft and worried, “Remember? We defeated Zarkon and the Galra empire fell not that long after that. You work for The Blade now, I teach at the Garrison.”

“That—” Keith tried to think back to another time apart from this and came up with very little, Some distant memory, of general chaos, and yelling. Was that Zarkon’s defeat? It had to be. Right? “Okay.”

Lance pressed a kiss to his forehead. “The war’s over.”

“The war’s over,” Keith nodded, he cupped Lance’s cheek too. Going to pull him in for a kiss. But something wasn’t right… the scar. 

Lance’s scar, it wasn’t there. “What about your scar?”

“What scar?”

“You have a scar on your left cheek. It’s not…” Keith pulled back, clasping his hands behind his back. “You have a scar. I know that.”

“Well obviously I don’t,” Lance defended, his arms crossed. “Otherwise it would, y’know, be on my face.” Keith ran his thumb across Lance’s cheek where the scar was supposed to be. “C’mon, I wanna talk with my mama.”

“How did we get together?” Keith asked.

“You kissed me after the final battle,” Lance’s arms were crossed and his expression was guarded. “You kissed me when everyone thought I was dying, and I should’ve been dying because Zarkon stabbed me with some poison dagger… but I survived.”

“Why don’t I remember that?” Keith asked as he started looking around for something. “I think I’d remember the love of my life being inches close to death.”

“Come on,” Lance said through gritted teeth. “We’re talking to Mama.”

“Fuck,” Keith muttered to himself. “This isn’t real. Is it? Of course, it isn’t fucking real.”

Something threw him backwards and Keith hit the sand with a thump. 

Everything fell around him before something was wrapped over his eyes and limbs. He thrashed against whatever it was before something snapped and he could see.

Vines were surrounding his wrists and arms, and legs. Keith untangled himself, with difficulty. Before standing up and listening, he was in his armour. With the black ‘V’ going across his chest.

He was in something that was moving, moving up and down, inflating and deflating a little. Was he inside an animal? He looked around, there was a slight humming noise, like a snore. Keith looked around.

Humming, and something was thrumming in Keith’s chest.

What had happened?

“Here are my reasons,” Pidge clapped her hands together, “Why I think Keith Kogane is gay.”

“Pidge, you know I’m gay,” Keith crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“I needed scientific proof,” Pidge slammed her hands down on the couch and Keith jumped a little bit. “Boy, oh boy did I find the answers. I also made a slideshow for all the times you’ve done heart-eyes at Lance.”

“What?”

“For the wedding,” Pidge waved a hand and Keith just opened his mouth, before closing it and rolling his eyes. “You roll your eyes now, but at the wedding, you will be thankful I documented you being gay.”

Hunk bounced on his heels excitedly. “We worked on this together.”

“You both know I’m gay,” Keith repeated. “What’s the point in having this presentation.”

Pidge and Hunk exchanged a glance as Hunk clapped his hands before. “Look. Keith, everyone with eyes knows you’re gay for Lance.”

Something clicked in Keith’s mind. “You’re meddling,” he crossed his arms and stood up. “I don’t need you two meddling.” He turned around and Pidge threw herself at him, hitting the ground with him.

“Nope!” Pidge said, and Keith stared up at her, sighing and trying to push Pidge off of him. “So…, if you two continue at this rate, you’ll never get together and we can not be having this.”

“Why not?” Keith asked, “Because I’m fine with how Lance and I are right now.”

“But,” Hunk added, popping up over Pidge’s shoulder, looking down at the pair of them. “You’d be finer if you got to kiss him and Lance probably likes you back, and you’re being an idiot.”

“I am fine.” Keith snapped, “Unlike you, I have a list of issues to overcome before I even think about dating anyone.”

“Huh?” Pidge hopped off and Keith groaned.

“Look, I got issues.” Hunk snorted a bit too loudly for Keith to not be defended. “I need to chill, and I can’t talk about feelings which creates a whole load of communication issues and no one deserves that… especially not Lance.”

“Holy fuck,” Pidge said, “You are smitten. Like smitten. ”

Keith shrugged, sitting up and crossing his arms. 

“Oh, that is gross,” Pidge wrinkled up her nose. Before an alarm blared and Keith was off of the floor before the alarm finished its first beep.

Then he was down the hallway. Halfway in his room shrugging on his armour and undersuit as he was in a frantic scramble for his bayard, and ended up trying to get his boots on as he stumbled down the hallway, hitting into something with a groan.

Eventually, he stumbled into the main area, where Coran was standing. Before handing something to Keith, who started scanning straight away.

A planet was crumbling, and there were a few systems in place to give everyone more time to get off the planet. One of them was going into the core of the planet and sewing the planet back together using Yellow and Red.

Of course, the briefing didn’t say that. But between one lion who could control lava and heat and another who could manipulate Earth. Keith would say that they had this in the bag. He nodded and gave the tablet back to Coran.

Lance was out next, his chest plate not on right. Keith grabbed him by the back of the collar and started putting the armour on the way it needed to be put on. Before Keith pulled on his helmet and Lance put on his own.

“What’s the strat?” Lance adjusted his chest plate.

“A planet is collapsing, it’s core isn’t strong enough. So we’re going to go into the core of the planet, hopefully, you and Hunk can pull the planet together, using Red and Yellow. You’ve done it before, and then the rest of us go to move refugees off the planet and onto The Castle for a while.”

“Right,” Lance pulled on Keith’s chest plate, checking if it was in place. Which it was because unlike Lance, Keith actually knew how to do something as basic as putting on armour. Keith rolled his eyes and Lance pouted. “I can’t believe you,” Lance muttered, giving a sharp tug and Keith yelped.

Everyone else came out a few moments later, in various stages of disarray. Shiro showed up, his hair ruffled and looking exhausted. “I do not miss this,” Shiro muttered, “Have fun fighting.”

Keith glared at him.

Currently they were in the middle of an argument about leading Voltron. Yesterday there had been some yelling before Keith stormed out.

It was a bit tense.

“That’s not very supportive,” Keith’s tone was flat. 

“Oh,” Shiro scratched the back of his neck. “I mean… woo! Have fun!” He clapped a few times. “Seriously, stay safe.”

“Our words of wisdom from Takashi Shirogane,” Keith muttered. “Okay, the planet’s core is crumbling. Conveniently,” he snatched the tablet from Coran, “There is a flight path down to the core. Hunk and Lance. You know what to do. Please tell me you know what to do.”

“I know what to do,” Hunk said, elbowing Lance in the side and Lance looked at him. “Do you?”

“Yes,” Lance sighed, looking at Keith before looking back at Hunk. “Anything else to note Keithers?”

“Don’t call me— nevermind. The rest of us, Allura, Pidge, we’re getting the refugees onto The Castle. Most of them are already on ships and stuff around the planet, but we’re helping get the final people off.”

Pidge nodded. “Yes.”

“Right, sending all the information to your gauntlets,” he tapped the tablet. “Right. Everyone comms on, don’t kill anyone unless they try to kill you first. Um… good luck?”

Lance snorted, “Motivational speech.”

“Yeah…” Hunk trailed off, “That’s not your best work.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Don’t die, fuck shit up.”

“Woo!” Pidge clapped excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye. “That was so inspirational.”

“A planet is about to collapse!” Keith yelled, “We don’t have time to—” he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I yelled. But hurry the fuck up!”

Everyone dashed off, Allura was laughing softly as she ran off. Keith whirled around and went towards Black’s hangar. He felt Shiro’s eyes on his back, and he still didn’t feel very assured that Shiro was safe, so he spun around.

“Yeah?”

“You’re good at this,” Shiro said with a huge smile. “Coran’s controlling The Castle, I’ll be yelling at you guys.”

“I expect nothing less,” Keith turned around and went to his hangar. 

His hands hovered over the controls, and he took a deep breath. He’d flown her before, this wasn’t any different. So why was he struggling so much to put his hands on the controls this time?

“Keith?” Hunk’s voice came through the comms. “Are you alright?”

“No,” Keith shocked himself at how honest he was being. “But I have to be.”

Black roared to life.

He stared at the vines surrounding him, they may not have been vines even. His hand trailed across the side, the wall of a light grey colour which was moving how things breathed. Keith concluded that he was inside an animal of some sort.

Great.

Slowly he started turning away, to what looked like an opening. An archway. He held his gauntlet up to his face. “Hello?”

Nothing.

“Does anybody copy?”

Nothing.

So no one copied.

Keith stepped out of the room he was in, into a long hallway of the same grey moving material that the rest of the place had. He stared out, down the hallway. With a deep breath, he started walking.

His boots didn’t make any noise which in itself was startling. Before he held his gauntlet up to his face again. “Does anybody copy?”

“Does anybody copy?” His voice echoed back, slightly electronic sounding. It wasn’t his echo, it was someone hearing his message. Someone was nearby. 

He took a deep breath, this would get Pidge’s attention and Shiro’s and would probably get Lance’s too if they were awake somewhere. 

“All the time I turn around, brothas gather 'round. Always looking at me up and down, looking at my uh.”

He followed his voice, down the hallway as he kept doing the rap bit. Because truthfully that was the only part he knew of Fergalicious and he learnt it because Adam and him had a competition about who could rap it faster.

Keith won that.

Adam didn’t talk to him for about three days until Shiro locked them both in a room and told Adam to, “start being an adult, Keith is fourteen, you’re being a terrible role model.” 

Then Adam didn’t talk to Shiro for an hour.

“I just wanna say it now, I ain't trying to 'round up. Drama little mama, I don't wanna take your man. And I know I'm coming off just a little bit conceited.” Keith made a short turn down the hallway as his voice repeated back to him. Before pausing mid-step.

“And I keep on repeatin' how the boys wanna eat it. But I'm tryna tell, that I can't be treated like clientele.” He turned into an archway and Allura was laying there. Surrounded and restrained by vines… or something of the sort.

He ran over straight away, looking at the vines. Trying to pry them off Allura. Her eyes were shut firmly tight. She looked the most peaceful that Keith had ever seen her.

Like him, Allura had some sort of fight in her eyes and her bones. That’s what they had in common, the fight that would never leave them. Keith had decided that’s why Red had chosen him to start with. 

Because he’d been fighting his entire life, so why not thrust him into a ten-thousand-year war.

Only for a second was he startled at how peaceful Allura looked. Before he tugged at a vine, and couldn’t snap it. It just stretched, but not enough to snap. It felt like rubber rather than something naturally.

Keith moved his hand to shake Allura awake. When his hand hit her shoulder there was a bright blue flash of light.

He hit something hard and groaned slightly, looking up slowly.

It was a ballroom. With light spilling in from huge windows. Illuminating the pink marble-looking floor that was underneath him as he struggled to get onto his feet. The walls themselves were white, with light pink patterning in the shape of… something that had to mean something.

The light spilled in from every direction, making the floor shine and shimmer around him. He finally looked out of the window. To reveal what looked like trees, in a deep blue colour. With technology and railways dancing around all of these things while avoiding them.

Somehow, the air seemed to hum with a song. Everything seemed… so alive, so full of life. Whatever that meant.

He looked down, he was wearing some suit. Which was essentially his undersuit, with a waistcoat which had two tails on the back of it. He didn’t know the proper word. Lance probably did.

Slowly he looked around. The air hummed around him, with a song that Keith didn’t know how to listen to. Before realising… this was Altea.

This was Allura’s home, here, in the flesh.

A door opened, and a younger-looking Allura. With slightly shorter hair in an intricate braid slammed the doors open as Coran followed after her. He looked younger too, with fewer lines on his face and generally happier.

“Princess! You can’t just run out of diplomatic meetings.”

“I very well can,” Allura somehow sounded more British and proper, and Keith felt like their influence had something to do with how she sounded less and less British and less and less proper. “There is nothing you can do about it, I simply won’t—” she paused. Her eyes resting on Keith. “Who are you?”

Keith opened his mouth and Allura looked at Coran, “Is this a suitor?” She looked at him. “Are you a suitor, because I am not interested.”

“You’re like twelve…” Keith trailed off, “I’m not a suitor… I’m just,” he looked around. “Passing.”

Allura pouted, “I am not twelve thank you, I am thirteen in Altean years.”

“Right,” Keith muttered, “I’m guessing you’re Princess Allura?”

Allura nodded, her arms were crossed and her eyebrows were narrowed, and Keith felt like he was on the end of a death-filled look. “Yes, I am, and who the quiznack are you?”

Coran almost fainted. “Princess! You can’t simply say that to someone.” He also sounded a lot more proper and a lot more British. “That is unacceptable.”

“Learn to expect it,” Keith muttered and Coran raised an eyebrow. “I’m Keith. Keith Kogane.”

Something flashed across Allura’s face and she looked around desperately. “No,” she said softly and Keith just gave her a sad smile.

“I’ll be back for you,” Keith said. Allura nodded, her eyes sparkling almost teary.

Keith felt himself fall backwards again and hit the floor.

Surrounded by the vines he stood up, Allura was fidgeting, and Keith had the belief that Allura would be able to wake up by herself, but still, Keith was going to come back and get her after he got everyone else.

He was the Black Paladin. He could do this. All he had to do was pry his friends out of their biggest wishes and dreams. Sure. That was easy, Keith could do that in his sleep.

Lance should be doing this.

Keith sighed, but did Lance know all the words to Barbie Girl? Because… he did, and he knew all the words to Girls Just Want To Have Fun and he knew all the words to basically all Queen songs.

Sure, Lance was better at comforting… and singing. But Keith also knew all the words to Baby and literally every One Direction song. So… he had some qualifications and Black chose him for a reason.

With a groan, he held his gauntlet to his face. “Hello?” He yelled into the gauntlet and waiting for any sound, but was only met with the overwhelming sound of Allura’s comm. He walked over and switched that off.

“When I was 13, I had my first love there was nobody that compared to my baby and nobody came between us,” Keith started, straining for any sounds and not hearing any. So entered the hallway. “Nor could ever come above. She had me going crazy… Oh, I was starstruck. She woke me up daily, don’t need no Starbucks.”

There was a small sound and Keith started following it, as he walked his voice became clearer and louder, “She made my heart pound, and skip a beat when I see her in the street and at school on the playground, but I want to see her on the weekend she knows she's got me dazing, cause she was so amazing…” he paused. Looking both ways, until his voice repeated itself in his ears and he turned around and walked the right way.

“And now my heart is breaking, but I just keep on saying… Baby, baby, baby, oh!” 

Keith yelled, laughing to himself as he stumbled into another room-like place. With Pidge essentially tied down to one of the flesh looking… tables? His hands hovered over the vines, for a second.

He could do this.

He knew Pidge.

It was chaos. Everyone was fighting for spots on the lions, and Keith couldn’t hear Hunk’s and Lance’s banter in his ear over the noise. With a sigh, he clambered up onto his lions. Cupping his hands to his mouth, ready to spill several lies.

Allura raised her eyebrows. “Keith Kogane,” she snapped, pointing at the ground. “Get down here right now or so help me—”

“Hey!” Keith yelled and he felt what must’ve been thousands of people’s eyes staring straight at him. “Keep this orderly, that increases everyone’s chances of getting off this planet. And if you’re being an asshole you have to go with Allura and she will not hesitate to punch you in the nose.”

Allura looked at everyone, pointedly and they all seemed to squirm and shuffle under her gaze. “Don’t even try me,” Allura snapped. “See what happens.”

Keith nodded and Pidge gave a supportive thumbs up from her lions. “Stay orderly, shove someone and you go with Allura. Deal?”

No one said anything. Keith took that as a win and jumped off of his lion. Holding his shield underneath him to break his fall. He had Lance to thank for that trick. He’d done it on their last mission to try and impress Lulio.

Lulio was impressed.

Keith was slightly mad.

But that was a whole other can of worms. “Good job,” Lance’s voice chirped into his ear. “A week or so ago you’d be the one threatening to punch them all.”

“Thank you,” Keith deadpanned into the comms. “Inspirational, truly inspirational McClain.”

“I do my best Kogane—”

“Lance!” Hunk yelled, “Get that laser away from Yellow!” He shrieked and Lance shrieked. All Keith could hear was general chaos. “We don’t trust you with a lighter!” Hunk yelled, “Why do we trust you with a laser—”

“Keith,” Lance’s voice was frantic and he could hear things moving and Hunk shrieking, over the sound of the refugees trying to get onto the lions and the chatter that came with a large group of people. “Red’s gone berserk, I don’t know what to—”

Silence.

Complete silence. 

Keith tapped his mic as people started filling into his lion. Allura was also tapping her comms and Pidge’s eyes were wide, as her gauntlet was up and she was tapping like mad.

“Lance. Hunk. Do you copy?”

Silence.

“Lance? Hunk? If this is some sort of joke I will go down there and end your bloodlines,” Pidge yelled into the mic and it was quiet. "Hunk. Lance. If you can hear me say goodbye to your bayards."

It was silent.

Nothing.

Keith glared. 

"We're going in after them," Keith said, and he didn't need to say it.

It was unspoken.

They'd always go in to save his teammates. Even if it didn't make sense, even if it was a death trap.

Keith fell forwards, stumbling before standing upright and looking around.

He was in the Holt living room, one he knew well. There was a fluffy mat underneath his feet, which didn't have shoes on.

The sofas were dark blue, and the walls were painted a cream colour. With the remains of Matt and Pidge learning to draw on the walls, and photos of them as very little people.

In one of them, Pidge was in a swaddle.

There was a loud laugh, and Keith recognised that as Pidge's. Keith looked through the doorway.

Matt Holt, Colleen and Samuel Holt were sitting at a kitchen bench. The marble top with some sort of baking that Colleen was trying to do.

Shiro was standing in the back of the room and was mid-eyeroll.

Keith stared there for a long moment and Pidge smiled at him brightly. "Hey!" She said, "Took ya long enough, were you with Lance?"

"Uh—"

"He was," Matt said, crunching on the chips that came from a bowl in the middle of the counter. "Lance just texted me, wanna see the photo?"

He showed up his phone and a photo of Keith resting on a couch he didn't recognise. Scowling at a board game. Monopoly. The next photo was of the board flipped over with money everywhere as Keith was a blur. The final photo in the series was Keith buried into a pillow.

Shiro snickered, "You dating him yet?" Shiro asked, crunching a chip.

It was a meme that in Pidge's dreamland Keith and Lance were dating or almost dating.

"Why don't you tell 'em Pidge?" Keith teased. "You were there."

Colleen laughed and everyone 'oohed' around her as Keith grinned and Pidge looked like she was thinking hard. 

"No." Keith looked at everyone, even if Pidge was the only one who was real here. "We're not together."

"I thought you were?" Pidge said, her eyebrows furrowed. "After— we defeated Zarkon?"

Keith laughed, "What? Seven years ago?"

"What?" Pidge asked, slowly. "No way it has been seven years— the last thing I remember is going after Hunk and Lance—"

Keith nodded, "Yup."

"Fuck." Pidge slammed her hands down on the countertop. Looking at her family. "This isn't real? Is it?"

Keith shook his head again and Pidge swore again, before spinning around and looking at everyone who had been frozen in place.

She placed a hand on Matt's cheek, then sighed. Her shoulders deflating and sighing. Before running a hand through her hair which was so much longer than it had been.

With a soft sigh, Pidge played with the ends of her hair. She took a deep breath and looked at Keith.

"I— I'm trans…" Pidge crossed her arms tightly. "And— Coran knows. And you know and my family know."

Keith nodded and Pidge's shoulders slumped even more as she rest her forehead on the bench. "I guess being a girl in my childhood home surrounded by people I love…"

"You are a girl," Keith said sternly. "You're a girl. Lance is Cuban. I'm gay. Hunk's our resident straight. These are just facts."

Pidge didn't nod or shake her head and Keith grabbed a seat next to her. Pushing the fake Matt to the side who hit the floor loudly.

"It's why we couldn't form Voltron— you think it was you… but I don't think it was. I kept this secret and I don't know why—"

"Hey," Keith said softly. "That's okay. I promise. Voltron's kinda a dick for making you need to tell us anything you're uncomfortable with."

Pidge nodded.

"Do you still want me to call you Pidge or Katie or—"

"Pidge." She said with a soft smile. "Matt called me Pidge when I came out. But Katie's fine too."

Keith nodded, before putting an arm around Pidge and pulling her towards him in a hug. "I'm proud of you Pidge. It's not an easy thing to say, or do, or whatever."

Pidge rested her head on Keith's shoulder. "You're a good leader."

"You're a good kid."

"You're a good brother." Pidge sighed watching her family around the room. "I don't know why Shiro is here."

Keith laughed, rolling his eyes and ruffling Pidge's hair who yelped and pushed Keith off of the stool and Keith hit the ground.

Pidge took a deep breath and helping Keith back up onto his feet. "Let's go." Pidge smiled. 

Then everything fell around them.

Keith and Pidge woke up, as Pidge started fighting against vines and restraints before she sat up, looking at Keith who was pulling her off the table.

"You alright?"

"Holy shit," she muttered as Keith pulled her away from the table and the vines. "What happened?"

"I think you get shown your deepest wish… maybe… mine wasn't quite right."

"Huh?"

"I met Lance's family— that's not my deepest wish. But everyone else's seems about right." Keith shrugged and Pidge raised an eyebrow. "It's not one of my deepest wishes, I'd like to meet them but not that badly."

"Are you sure?" Pidge asked. "Like it would kinda make sense, to have a family that you feel like is your own—"

"You're my family," Keith responded sharply. "If my family wish was anything it'd be like— no one leaving me. Like just me being happy."

Pidge's smile faltered, "That is the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"I'm not a very happy person," Keith muttered, before stepping out into the hallway. "You've heard my tragic backstory?"

She snorted, "You and Shiro always argue about who's had the worst life. Yes. I've heard your tragic backstory."

Keith smiled. "I've been singing songs to find the others. Wanna sing a song?"

Pidge's eyes lit up, "Can we sing… Old Town Road."

"Dunno the words," Keith muttered, before holding his gauntlet up to his face, hesitating before Pidge held up her gauntlet.

"There's nothing rich folks love more than going downtown and slummin' it with the poor." Pidge started, walking down the hallway and they paused to listen to hear any noise.

Nothing.

Keith took a deep breath. He had Shiro and Adam to thank for blasting show tunes the entire time he'd lived with them.

He knew every word to 'Be More Chill' and learnt how to sing Michael's parts. Not very well. But he still knew all the words to most Hamilton songs.

"They pull up in their carriages and gawk, at the students in the common," Keith paused for any noises. "Just to watch them talk."

Still, silence and Keith sighed tiredly as Pidge gave a supportive thumbs up.

"Take Philip Schuyler, the man is loaded…" there was no repeating anywhere. "Uh-oh, but little does he know that—" his voice echoed back at him and Keith turned down the right direction.

"His daughters, Peggy, Angelica, Eliza. Sneak into the city just to watch all the guys at—"

"Work! Work!" Pidge added.

"Angelica!" Keith sung, turning down another hallway as their voices echoed back at them.

"Eliza…" Pidge sang, in a pretty impressive belt.

"And PEGGY!" Keith finished, before turning into a room. Where Shiro was on the table, vines surrounding his wrists and arms. Keith paused.

Did Shiro come after them? Did that mean Coran had come after them too? Keith took a deep breath.

Pidge looked at him. "You gotta do this one." She put a hand on his shoulder and Keith nodded. "I believe in you, leader."

Keith ran a hand down his face. "You're closer to him now." He looked at Pidge. "We've been fighting for a bit."

"He still cares." Pidge looked at Keith. "Being in the middle or a huge argument doesn't change that."

With a nod, Keith looked at Pidge who nodded.

"We need to get them!" Keith yelled. Throwing the last alien out of his lion, before slamming himself in the pilot's seat

"Well duh!" Pidge yelled back, before Green darted up into the air. "We're not leaving them."

Allura made a noise of agreement, and Blue lift off as Keith threw up the map and started scanning it.

He also took off, his eyes still on the map. Taking the lead as Pidge and Allura trailed behind him.

The stars danced past them, until Keith dove down. Cutting Black's controls and free falling down towards the planet.

This was faster anyway, that way Keith could focus on controlling anyway. "Keith!" Allura's voice cut through.

"What are you doing?"

"There's a crack in the planet. That's what they went through, I don't want to control my speed and direction."

"Do we do the same?" Pidge asked.

"If you think you can," Keith gripped his controls tighter. "It's a Garrison maneuver, Shiro taught me."

He was falling faster and faster. Keith prayed that he wasn't the best pilot at The Garrison for no reason., kicking Black to life who roared. Pidge and Allura were already in the air.

“Pidge, plot a course to the giant crack in the side of the planet. You take the lead. We’ll follow,” Pidge muttered something and Green took off, Allura following after her and Keith took the back.

Keith was trying to get the comms to work, barely looking up from the screens as he flew. Only glancing up to make sure that he was following Pidge and Allura. There was static and Keith stopped mid-flight.

“Hello?” Lance’s voice came through. “Is anyone—”

“Here,” Keith said quickly, without any falter. “What’s happening?”

“The core, it’s sucking us in—” Then there was static again and Keith bolted forwards, trying to catch up to Allura and Pidge which he did.

“The core’s faulty,” Keith said, “It’s pulling Hunk and Lance in.”

“And you know this how?” Allura asked.

“Contacted them, we need to go.” Keith slammed his control forward and darted forward, feeling like a bullet. Seeing the green earth of the planet fly underneath him as everything else was a blur.

Pidge and Allura were next to him, before Pidge stopped and spun and Keith spun around completely, not losing that much speed as Green stood in front of a crack in the ground and Keith flew towards that.

He also perched on the ledge, looking down into the abyss as his eyes tried to see down as much as he could. Which honestly wasn’t that far, maybe a metre or so. Keith grit his teeth, before looking up.

Free falling would be quicker, that way all Keith had to focus on was the directions and turning, rather the speed too. He could get to the core quicker that way, if he got enough force he’d be able to be there incredibly quickly.

Keith knew he could do it. Everyone had called him the best pilot in The Garrison for a reason. He was better than Shiro, not by a lot, but he was still better. He knew that he could make it, but could Allura and Pidge?

“Pidge, do you know protocol sixty-seven?”

“Free falling?” Pidge asked, “Through that tiny gap? No way. Only like Shiro— and you.”

“I could do it,” Allura chimed, “I’ve been flying since I was young. If I can maneuver The Castle through… anything. I can do that.”

“Right.” Keith hummed. “Pidge. What do you want to do?”

“You two go in, I’ll go in afterwards.” Pidge’s voice left no room for argument and sometimes Keith wondered if she’d be better at piloting Black than him. Everyone else seemed perfect for the job apart from him—

He didn’t have time for self-loathing.

Keith pulled back, and Black flew up. Straight above the giant split, and Allura went with him as they hovered there for a moment.

“You’re faster than me,” Allura said. “You go.”

With a deep breath, Keith closed his eyes a little. Shiro had taught him this. He’d taught him when and why free falling was needed. When Keith barely could reach the pedals in the flight simulator and when everything was nicer and more simple.

Keith smiled at the memory, before sighing. 

Then let himself fall.

The feeling of falling was one that Keith knew, falling for people, falling into the chaos, stumbling into the mess that was this war. Being pushed and falling them, being punched and falling backwards. He knew falling.

This falling was one that Keith could control.

So Keith wasn’t scared as the dirt and ground came closer and closer. He moved the controls a little bit and was plunged into darkness as Black adjusted almost instantly.

He was zooming through a space not much bigger than his lion. A rock jutted out and Keith danced out of the way, with a spin that he probably didn’t need to do as he fell faster and faster, everything became a huge blur before there was ground right in front of him.

Pulling up Keith and Black spun a bit, slamming against a wall and Keith groaned. Pain bursting through his forehead, his hands swiped over his forehead as his helmet fell away. There was wetness that was probably blood.

There was something slamming against the floor, and Keith could basically hear Allura groaning. “Quiznack,” she muttered and Keith couldn’t agree more. 

He clambered out of Black, his bayard in hand as he stared around. Red and Yellow were resting to the side, and Keith approached Red straight away, putting his hand on her, trying to connect to something.

“Where are they?” Keith asked, to be met with silence and the sound of Allura stumbling out of Blue. “Come on,” he whispered. “Where did they go?”

Nothing.

Keith pressed his hand forward more. Before placing both hands on Red. “Come on. Where did they go?”

Still nothing, but Keith pushed more. There was the sound of something crackling in his ear and Keith spun around completely.

In what looked like purple lights, were the glowing outlines of Red and Yellow, jumping down the tunnel, rather than just slamming into the ground like Allura had did, and slamming against the wall like Keith had done.

The lights rested on top of Yellow and Red, before an outline of Lance and Hunk stumbled out of their lions. They were outlined with purple lights that twinkled. As light-Lance spun around, his arms out either side of him, looking amazed at nothing in particular. 

Allura gasped, and Keith staggered backwards a little bit. “What’s happening?” He asked, grabbing onto Allura and Allura grabbed right back. Standing in front of Keith a little bit, her bayard charged and ready.

Keith scrambled for his, and pointed it at the purple outlines. As Lance and Hunk seemed to look straight through them, and Lance walked straight through them, the light and outlines parting before reforming on the other side.

“This way right?” Light-Lance said, his voice was echoey, more echoey than it probably should’ve been. 

“Well we can’t go the other way,” Light-Hunk replied flatly and Lance swatted at him. “We need the lions,” Hunk said, finally realising that they did have a mission. “Where are the cracks in the core?”

A snapping sound, and a spiderweb crack covered the entire floor. In the weird purple outline that sparkled and shimmered as Allura grabbed onto Keith and Keith hid behind her slightly.

Light-Lance yelped and threw himself at Red, and Hunk threw himself at Yellow. Both of their lions caught them in their jaws.

There was a bright flash of purple and Keith could hear himself say, “Thank you,” Keith deadpanned into the comms. “Inspirational, truly inspirational McClain.”

“I do my best Kogane—”

Light-Red had her laser out, and was putting bits of Earth together, while Light-Yellow was watching, and moving rock together for Lance to laser together. 

Light-Red jerked upwards and the laser went flying.

“Lance!” Light-Hunk yelled, “Get that laser away from Yellow!” He shrieked and Lance shrieked. “We don’t trust you with a lighter! Why do we trust you with a laser—”

“Keith, Red’s gone berserk, I don’t know what to do!” There was silence as Hunk shrieked and him and his lion ducked out of the way. “Hello?” He yelled. “Fuck!”

Hunk said nothing, there was a screech which came from Lance as both lions were thrown one direction. Before Hunk and Lance were spat out of their lions, and the purple lights and outlines on their lions rested on the real lions.

So no more purple lion outline.

The pair of them were being pulled by an invisible force, their armour scraping against the rock as both of them scrambled for… something, their bayards maybe, maybe something to hold.

Lance started swearing rapidly in Spanish and Hunk was screaming somewhat. The pair of them trying to grab onto something as they were dragged. And being purple outlines didn’t give much emotion, but Keith could tell the pair of them were frantic.

With a screech Lance managed to grab onto a rock, and snag Hunk’s hand as the pair of them were lifted off the ground with the force. And Light-Lance kept his grip on the rock, showing as much strain as a purple outline could.

“What’s happening?” Light-Hunk yelled.

“I reckon the core’s pulling us in!” Lance yelled, “Why is a great question. Hello?” He all but yelled into his comms. “Is anyone there? If you’re all being assholes I’m going to kill you.”

Silence.

“Comms are out,” Lance added helpfully, his face twisted in concentration as he kept his grip on the rocks, and on Hunk’s hand. “Hello? If anyone is there this is a great time to say so now. The core’s pulling us in.”

There was silence, and Lance yelled something in Spanish in frustration. “Hello? Is anyone there!”

“No one’s there!” Hunk yelled, “Otherwise they’d respond, we mustn’t be in range. Or maybe the magnetic field inside the core is ruining this. Pidge would know.”

Lance glared down at Hunk, as much annoyance as a purple outline with particularly sparkly bits could show. Before he opened his mouth. “Bet?” Lance asked, “If someone replies you need to cook me garlic knots or the closest you can.”

“No one’s going to respond if the comms aren’t working!” Hunk yelled back.

“Hello? Is anyone—”

“Here,” Keith’s voice said, still echoey and Keith could see the joy that popped up on Lance’s face. Even if his face was barely outlined. It did something to Keith’s stomach, even though this was truthfully a terrible time to be having a gay moment. “What’s happening?”

“The core, it’s sucking us in—” A static noise echoed throughout the cavern and Lance paused. “Keith? You still there?”

Keith wasn’t.

“Ha!” Lance yelled, “Someone responded, you owe me garlic knots—”

Light-Lance and Light-Hunk were pulled harder, and the pair of them fell through a wall. Which looked like it made a gap in it made out of the purple that everything was made out of. There was yelling that echoed around the cavern as Light-Lance and Light-Hunk disappeared.

“Pidge?” Allura asked, “Come in.”

“Bit busy!” Pidge said through gritted teeth. “Why is this so hard to navigate?”

“You have to go through the wall on the opposite side of Yellow and Red,” Keith said quickly. Kicking the wall. “If we’re not there when you’re here. We found a way in.”

They were met with silence. “Pidge?” Allura’s face was contorted with worry, and they were met with static. “Pidge, if you can hear me say something.”

Nothing. 

Keith kicked his feet against the wall. Swearing. “Let us in!” Keith yelled, “I want my friends back.”

“Keith,” Allura’s voice was gentle. “That’s not going to work.”

They were both lurched towards the wall, and fell through a hole that broke out of nowhere. Sending Keith and Allura spinning and tumbling through. The walls either side were light grey, as Keith tried to find a grip.

He would’ve if the wall wasn’t moving like an alive thing's chest would, like it was breathing. With horror Keith realised, this thing was probably alive.

Then. Nothing.

The first thing Keith realised was that he was in Shiro’s and Adam’s old apartment at The Garrison. With the orange accents, and the bright lights that were over the kitchen cupboards.

No one was at the island counter, or the black couch that was just in front of it. The TV wasn’t on, but a mug of coffee was still steaming on the counter. Keith looked in the TV again, realising he looked about thirteen. 

He could tell that he was thirteen, because he didn’t have the scar that he got when he was fourteen on his pinky finger and he didn’t even go here when he was twelve. He was thirteen.

Oh. So this was it?

Shiro wanted to go back to the way things were. Which Keith couldn’t help but find interesting, because Allura had wanted that too. But Pidge and him hadn’t, they wanted a better future.

Keith grabbed the coffee mug, trying to gage how hot it was. It was almost boiling, so someone had made coffee then. Unless whatever this was, was trying to trick him into thinking that.

There was a laugh, which Keith hadn’t heard in so long, in places that weren’t memories and he spun around as the door opened. Adam was there, his glasses balancing dangerously on the edge of his nose as Shiro had an arm wrapped around him.

His right arm.

It wasn’t the Galra arm that Keith had become used to. Shiro’s hair wasn’t white, it was all black, the way that Keith knew it to be for most of his time knowing Shiro. He looked happier too, there weren’t any bags under his eyes and he was smiling, properly, the corners of his eyes were wrinkled as Adam laughed.

God. Keith had missed Adam.

He’d missed this.

How he wanted to stay here forever—

No. He wasn’t entertaining that thought. Keith smiled at the pair of them, as their eyes landed on him. Shiro’s eyes went wide and he removed his arm from around Adam’s waist, Adam rolled his eyes.

“He’s seen us doing worse.”

“Still owe me therapy,” Keith muttered and Adam rolled his eyes.

“I’m already paying for your therapy,” Adam muttered, walking around the kitchen counters and going through the fridge. 

“I’m paying for everyone’s therapy,” Shiro grabbed his mug off the table and sat by the island counter. “I get paid more than you.”

“Debatable,” Adam muttered, “I should be paid more.”

“You teach… physics or something,” Shiro waved a hand as he sipped at his coffee. “I go to space.”

“I’ve been to space too, bitch,” Adam grabbed bacon out of the fridge, before going looking for the frying pan. Rummaging through one of the draws making a ruckus before he pulled out the frying pan and all but threw it onto the hot plate. “You’re not special, you teach kids how to fly.”

“That is important,” Shiro muttered into his cup. “Physics is not.”

“Is so, unlike you, I had to do all the calculations on my trip. Keith, when you go to space there is so much math involved.”

“He knows…” Shiro said, before pausing and looking at Keith. “No you don’t, you haven’t been to space.”

Keith raised his eyebrows and Shiro looked away, before having an existential crisis into his mug and Adam looked at the pair of them completely confused. He put the oil and bacon into the pan which gave a satisfying sizzle.

“How was school?” Adam asked, and Keith shrugged. “Talk to… whoever, James right? That little shit.”

Shiro nodded, as he threw his head back and chugged the rest of the coffee as Adam looked at him impressed. Keith rolled his eyes and slumped over the island counter. 

The bacon sizzled more and Adam got out some plates and some bread. He grabbed some eggs and the various spices. Keith grabbed a bowl and a whisk, cracking the eggs into the bowl.

“Stop!” Adam screeched, “You can’t cook.”

“Can so,” Keith argued, “I’ve watched Hunk do it enough,” he said casually and Shiro sat up a little bit straighter. “You don’t cook as well as him.”

“You’ve never talked to Hunk Garret,” Adam said easily.

“He has?” It was a statement but it sounded more like a question. “Why would I know that?”

Keith shrugged, before standing up. Going to look for his sketchbook, wondering if this entire dreamscape was elaborate to put the pots and pans in the exact positions they were in. It was probably elaborate enough to put his sketchbook in his room.

He pushed open the door, and was straight away hit with the nostalgia that Keith didn’t know he felt for this place. It wasn’t an overly complicated room, Keith technically slept in the dorms anyway.

Still, there was an orange bedspread thrown across, and a pillow case of the same colour. There was a desk, with papers scattered across it. With his sketchbook on top, a bunch of pencils setting on top of it.

Keith hadn’t drawn in so long.

He flicked through some of his old sketches, they were mostly of objects. One of them was of Shiro’s face, and another one of Adam. When he flicked back far enough there was a shaky sketch of Eiji and Yua Shirogane.

Shiro’s parents.

Keith felt his throat get surprisingly closed up, and tears pricked at his eyes. Sure, Shiro was his first brother. But they were his first parents, his dad had been a parent. They were parents to him.

His fingers trailed over the face of Yua Shirogane, she was all soft lines, soft smiles with too many smile and laugh wrinkles. Her forehead wasn’t wrinkled, it was smooth, but around the corners of her eyes were wrinkled from laughing so much. With greying hair that never turned white, even if that wasn’t able to be seen through the drawing.

She’d always been so gentle with him. Incredibly gentle. She didn’t yell, and Shiro must’ve inherited that from her. Keith sniffed loudly, and the door swung open softly.

Adam was standing there, looking concerned enough that Keith almost believed that everything that had happened since he was thirteen was just a bad dream. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft.

As much as they pretended to resent and hate the other, mostly to annoy Shiro, that wasn’t right. “Yeah,” Keith sniffed loudly again and rubbed at his eyes. Putting his sketchbook down on the bed. “I miss them.”

“The Shirogane’s?” Adam sat down next to him, and picked up the sketchbook, smiling longingly at the rough drawing of Yua. “Me too, they were so— everything. Everything that you’d want in parents.”

“Yeah,” Keith took the notebook back. Before turning to the sketch of Eiji Shirogane.

Eiji Shirogane had sharper lines, he looked like Shiro’s spitting image. Even with the white hair tuft on the top, except he didn’t have his scar. He was also older, his skin was rougher from working at a dock his entire life, and he was more tanned than the other three Shirogane’s.

“He looks like Shiro,” Keith snorted and Adam nodded. “If only Shiro knew how to cook.”

Adam laughed, “That is very true Keith,” he stood up, brushing his hands on his pants. “Dinner is soon. Feel free to do whatever you want until dinner. Do not commit any crimes.”

Keith nodded, putting his pencil to the paper as he started sketching Black. Considering Black was ingrained into his head, Keith was able to draw how she looked pretty accurately. Maybe this would shock Shiro back into realising what had happened.

The seeds were planted anyway, all Keith had to do was drive the message home.

Still, Keith looked at his sketchbook. And ripped out the sketches of Yua and Eiji, before ripping out one of the sketches of Adam. He folded them all up, and held them in his hand. Because if they went in his uniform pocket they probably wouldn’t survive the trip back.

Hell, they probably wouldn’t survive anyway. 

Keith grabbed his notebook, running out of his room with the energy that he would not be able to replicate if his body wasn’t young right now. He slammed the sketchbook down on the countertop top in front of Shiro.

Shiro jumped, before looking at the sketchbook with wide, tired eyes.. “This isn’t real,” he muttered quietly, before looking at Adam. “He isn’t real.”

“No.” Keith said quietly. “None of it is.”

In a scramble Shiro got off the stool and grabbed Adam by the back of the neck, before pulling him in for a fierce kiss. The sort of kiss that Keith wasn’t supposed to be seeing, so he looked away.

“I love you,” Shiro’s voice was firm. “I love you so much.”

“Shiro?” Adam asked, “Are you okay?”

He pressed another kiss to Adam’s lips. “I’m so sorry,” Shiro whispered.

Then Keith fell backwards.

When he was back upright, Shiro was already out of the vines. His arms crossed tightly, looking down at his arm. Keith looked at him. Pidge’s gaze was flicking between the two of them.

With a deep breath Shiro rubbed at his face, tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked up at the roof, obviously trying not to cry. “Dammit,” Shiro muttered. “Dammit!” He yelled, slamming his hands against the table and the loosened vines were resting on.

“Shiro,” Keith’s voice was gentle, “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” Shiro replied, his head was hunched. “He thinks I’m dead. He thinks you’re dead. It’s not alright,” and Keith didn’t need to see Shiro’s face to know that he was crying. “I miss him.” Shiro sniffed and Keith took some careful steps forward. “I miss him, all the time… and that was so real.”

“I know,” Keith stood next to Shiro. “They’re so real.”

Shiro nodded, before glancing at Keith. Keith unfurled his hand, and somehow the three sketches were balled up in his hands. With a confused glance Shiro picked up all three, unfolding all of them.

All Shiro did was smile, and it was teary and it was terribly sad. But it was still a smile. “You’re a good kid,” Shiro hunched over again, his shoulders shaking with what were probably cries. “Fuck.” He said, and that was not in character for Shiro at all. 

Pidge walked up to the other side as Shiro. “I saw my family too,” Pidge gave a sad smile. “And— we will get back to them all. It hurts sometimes, and that’s okay. It’s allowed to hurt.”

Keith nodded. “We’re allowed to hurt,” Keith added. “It’s human, and we’re all giving up so much for a universe that wouldn’t do anything for us. It’ll hurt.”

Pidge put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, “We have each other, it might not count for a lot… but it’s something.” 

Shiro turned around, his eyes were filled with tears. “You’re all good kids,” he smiled, and there were still tears, but his smiles felt more bittersweet than sad now. “And everyone calls Keith the emotionally useless one.”

“It’s a family thing,” Keith said with a huge smile and Shiro rolled his eyes. “Tell us when something’s wrong, when you’re upset, or happy, or whatever. Just because you’re the adult doesn’t mean you need to care for us all. Hey, technically I’m an adult.”

Shiro snorted, “Sometimes I feel like I’m supposed to be someone you all look up to and I don’t want to let you down.”

“Shiro.” Keith laughed, “I don’t look up to you because you’re some mystical figure, sure, everyone else might’ve once upon a time. But I look up to you because of how human you are. Not because you’re the best pilot to ever graduate from The Garrison, but because everything in your life fucks up, and you keep going.”

Shiro smiled, wiping at his eyes. “Thanks. Really. Thank you.”

Keith smiled. A small smile, but it was not less real because it was small.

Finding Hunk was incredibly easy

He was slightly down the hall from Shiro. Hunk was snoring, and Keith hesitated to touch him, instead looking at Pidge. “I think this is your domain.”

“What?” Pidge looked down at Hunk, “I mean. Maybe? But, you’re Keith. You connect with everyone differently than everyone else. We all do.”

Keith crossed his arms and stepped aside. “It should be one of you two, I’m not that close to Hunk.”

There were hands on his back and Keith was shoved forwards.

Then he was falling again, and Keith was very tired of falling forwards already.

He hit the ground inside a house that he didn’t recognise. It was a nice house, with a fire burning in the fireplace. Which had Christmas stockings hanging over it, dangling a bit too closely to the fire.

One stocking read, Hannah another read, Hunk and the other two read Ma and Mom. Keith stared for a moment, this was Hunk’s house then. The Christmas tree was one of the rainbow ones that Adam had always wanted to get, but didn’t celebrate Christmas anyway.

In the Shirogane-Wright-Kogane household they celebrated Festivus. From some old TV show that Keith had never watched, but apparently Eiji and Yua loved it. Allegedly Yua’s parents watched the show and they introduced the holiday to Yua who eventually introduced it to Shiro.

A whole history.

Keith looked at the presents stacked underneath the tree, all with labels on them to various people. He smiled, before Hunk rushed in. His arms filled with presents, which were dropped on the floor.

“Keith!” Hunk said, “Right? Like Kogane? W—what are you doing here, Lance said you guys were away doing Voltron stuff.”

“Voltron stuff?” Keith repeated. “Uh. No? I’m…” he looked around, “Here. In your living room.”

“I can tell,” Hunk laughed awkwardly and Keith wondered why he was acting like he barely knew Keith. “I— um, is everything okay? Why are you here?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Keith returned, more sharply than he meant to. “Sorry, sorry.”

“I mean,” Hunk looked down, starting to kick the presents underneath the tree. “I know you’re dating Lance and stuff, but, we’re not really friends. You’re off doing Voltron things with Lance and Pidge and Shiro and I’m here.”

“But you’re a part of Voltron?” Keith questioned, putting one of the presents underneath the tree. 

Hunk laughed, “Ha. Funny.” He snorted, “Okay Keith, and Lance isn’t dating you.”

“He isn’t— nevermind,” Keith sighed, putting a present underneath the tree. “You followed Lance, to go get Shiro?”

“I didn’t go out,” Hunk said carefully, “I had a test the next day and wanted to study. Pidge and Lance went out and then… all this happened. You guys defeated Zarkon.”

“Who pilots Yellow?” Keith asked and Hunk’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you feeling alright?” Hunk’s voice was careful, like he was talking to a stranger. “It’s James Griffin.”

Keith coughed, “What?”

“James Griffin? We went to school with him.”

“I know him,” Keith said weekly, before staring ahead, trying to comprehend a world where the single most annoying boy that Keith had ever known was in Voltron. “Duh. Because he flies Yellow.”

Hunk nodded, seemingly content with that answer. “Yeah, he saw Lance chasing after you… apparently, and didn’t want to be left out.”

“Oh. It’s like that.”

Hunk laughed, pushing another present under the tree. “You dated him, did you repress that, that hard?”

“Yeah…” Keith trailed off. Holy shit. In Hunk’s ideal world he dated James Griffin? What sort of fucked up world did Hunk want to live in? “Gonna need some therapy for that,” Keith muttered.

Hunk left. Leaving Keith on the floor in front of the tree. How the everloving fuck was he supposed to play this? Was he supposed to just shake Hunk until he got his memories back?

Keith sighed, before sitting up a bit straighter. The semblance of a plan playing in his mind, he stood up. Before slowly walking into the kitchen. It was a huge kitchen, with black marble tops, and food in various stages of completion everywhere.

Two people Keith didn’t recognise were walking and bustling around the kitchen. One with brown skin and long black hair, and the other with brown skin too, with short, blonde hair, which looked dyed.

“Ma!” Hunk yelled, as Keith started scanning the food for the cheesiest, most dairy filled item of food that he could, and hoping that Hunk wouldn’t let him eat it, otherwise he’d be sneezing forever. “Keith is here!”

“Voltron, Keith?” the one with short blonde hair said. Who must’ve been ‘Ma’, “Or Hannah’s friend Keith.”

“Voltron,” Hunk returned, as Hunk’s a turned around and looked at Keith her eyes slightly wide.

“Hello, Mrs Garret,” Keith smiled, looking over at the potato bake. “And… also… Mrs Garret.” The other woman turned around and smiled.

“Hello Keith, it’s lovely to see you again.”

“Lovely to be here,” Keith said with a large smile. “Can I try some of this?”

Hunk’s mom nodded, handing him a fork as Keith got the biggest hunk of cheese that he could, before Hunk made a noise. “Keith, don’t eat that! You’re lactose intolerant.”

Keith looked at Hunk, an eyebrow raised. “How do you know that? Lance doesn’t even know that.”

“Uh—” Hunk was looking around, quite frantically and Keith could basically see the pieces start to form a picture in his brain. Hunk shook his head, “Lucky guess. You look like someone who’s lactose intolerant.”

“Huh.” Keith hummed, before shoving the potato bake into his mouth anyway and Hunk covered his face with his hands, shaking his head slightly. “I’ll be fine.”

“You say that, but then you’ll sneeze your weight in snot.” Something clicked in Hunk’s brain again and he shook his head again, before walking out.

Keith shrugged, before following after Hunk.

Until a small thing launched itself at his legs, and Keith yelped. Ready to kick this thing into another dimension. Before it looked up at him. The thing was a girl, with wide brown eyes, and short hair, with a fringe sloppily cut and a huge smile. “Your Lance’s boyfriend!” She yelled. “I like Lance, do you like Lance? You should because you’re dating him.”

“I—” Keith sighed. In Pidge’s want, Hunk’s wants and his own wants Lance and him were either dating or almost dancing.

Most people would’ve taken that as a sign.

Keith did not.

“Hannah!” Hunk yelled, yanking the small child off of Keith’s legs. “We don’t just tackle people.”

Keith laughed, “She kinda reminds me of that kid on La-Kua.”

“You mean the kid who got forced into immense amount of pain to use her legs?” Hunk asked, sounding pissed off. Before realising what he said. “Wait… what? I— why would I know that?”

Keith looked at Hunk, “I think you know why.”

Hunk’s shoulders dropped. “Oh God.” He muttered, running a hand down his face. “This isn’t real? Is it?”

“No.” Keith’s voice was flat. “You get shown your wants… your deepest want. Mine was… nevermind.”

“So my wish was that Voltron never happened to me,” Hunk sighed, “I love Voltron… I don’t. I don’t love Voltron, I love all you guys… I just, I miss home.” He looked around the house. “I miss home, and I hate Voltron.”

Keith nodded sympathetically, “Me too,” Keith’s voice was surprisingly weak and tired. “I hate Voltron, but I love the people who are there with me… and someone loves all the people that we save.”

“I want to go home,” Hunk wrapped his arms around himself. “I really don’t want to be here, why did Yellow choose me, there are so many other people that could’ve—”

“But they didn’t,” Keith said sternly. “It was you. You’re the person who will play video games late into the night with Pidge. You’re the person who’s teaching Allura and Coran how to cook, you’re the person who Lance trusts with everything. You’re important to the team, you’re the heart of the team.”

Hunk looked up at him, smiling. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re the heart of the team. Seriously, you’re kind and compassionate and you care for your friends and family. Look around you, even if they’re not real, they’re based off of something and you care for these guys so much.”

With a deep breath, Hunk stood up. “How do we leave? We have a universe to save.”

“Dunno, it just kinda happens—”

Keith fell backwards and hit his head on the table. 

With a groan, Shiro pulled him backwards, as Pidge and Hunk were untangling him from the table and the vines. Hunk got off of the table.

He looked around. “Where are Lance and Allura?”

“Haven’t found Lance,” Keith rubbed his forehead, “We’re getting Allura last.”

Everyone nodded sympathetically, they understood in an instant and Keith was so grateful to have them for that. 

Pidge tapped her foot, and Shiro looked around. “What’s next?” Hunk asked. “Like… how do we find the next person?”

“I sang into my comm,” Keith admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Which is kinda pathetic, but I got through some raps and stuff. Pidge and I sang ‘The Schuyler Sisters’ and I did the rap from ‘Baby’ and the rap from ‘Fergalicious’.” 

Shiro snorted and Keith (very kindly) glared at him. Shiro laughed a little bit harder, shaking his head. “Damn, I wish I came in while you were singing.”

“So…” Pidge said, tilting her head. “You came in after us?”

“Coran and I were trying to contact you, we couldn’t, so I came in after you all and then proceeded to end up here.” Shiro sighed and looked around. “Can we please find Lance? This place gives me the creeps.”

Hunk nodded enthusiastically. “What are we singing?” He asked.

“Keith knows all the words to ‘My Whole Family’ by Bo Burnham,” Shiro nudged Keith and Keith responded by straight up pushing Shiro to the side, who cackled like the maniac that he truly was.

“Shiro knows all the words to ‘Poker Face’.”

“Keith knows all the words to ‘Adore You’ and every Hozier song.”

“Hozier slaps!” Keith argued, “You’re just mad because he has actually meaningful lyrics unlike Arianna Grande.”

“I am disowning you!” Shiro yelled, slamming his hands down on the table that Hunk had been on. “You do not disrespect the queen of pop when you’re in my house.”

“You disrespect Queen.”

“It’s white people music.”

“So’s Arianna Grande!” Keith argued, before taking a deep breath. “Shiro knows all the words to ‘Umbrella’.”

“Keith knows all the words to ‘Barbie Girl’ and ‘Sweater Weather’. You’re not even bi.”

“It slaps and you know it,” Keith crossed his arms. “You know all the words to ‘It’s Raining Men’,” he stuck his tongue out at Shiro who crossed his arms too, rolling his eyes in what Keith would call disappointment.

Hunk and Pidge exchanged a glance. “Jesus,” Pidge muttered. “Fine. Showtunes, you both like showtunes. Right? You better otherwise I’m killing you right now.”

“Yup,” Shiro and Keith chorused. 

“Favourite musical songs?” Hunk asked, and Pidge and Hunk reminded Keith of Eiji and Yua when they argued over something dumb. “I would not believe you two are adults.”

“‘Ex-Wives’,” Shiro said, far too tensely for someone who was talking about his favourite musical. “Or ‘When He Sees Me’.”

“Unlike Dawn you’ll never get married,” Keith said and Shiro punched him in the arm. “Mine’s probably like… ‘Michael In The Bathroom’ or… does off-broadway count?”

“No.” Shiro said and Keith punched him in the arm again.

“‘Flowers’.” Keith glared at Shiro and Pidge clapped her hands together.

“Great. We can’t sing any of those. They take actual skill. We’ve been arguing over this for too long. Hunk. You choose something.”

Hunk grinned and took a deep breath. Holding his gauntlet up to his face and grinning even wider as he opened his mouth. “We're no strangers to love,” Hunk started and everyone collectively groaned as Hunk started leading the way. “You know the rules and so do I. A full commitment's what I'm thinking of, you wouldn't get this from any other guy.”

Everyone paused, listening for any noises. And heard nothing as Hunk started walking forwards further. “I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling, gotta make you understand…” another pause as everyone listened.

“Never gonna give you up,” Pidge had joined in now, and was singing more for the fun of it that the need to, and Shiro was smiling widely. “Never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you!” Shiro joined in this time, and was doing a terrible white-person dance. “Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!”

Keith paused, as the others erupted into giggles. Listening out for everything. There was a slight noise and Keith held his gauntlet up to his face. 

“Despacito.” Keith started “Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito.” He paused for the noises, waiting to hear something and heard a small sound, so pushed past Pidge and Hunk. “Deja que te diga cosas al oído.”

Another long pause and Keith turned left down a hallway. His voice repeating itself back at him became louder and louder as he kept singing. “Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo… Despacito… quiero desnudarte a besos despacito.”

He turned into a room, sure enough. Lance was on the table, and his gauntlet repeated the last of the song. “Do you know what that song even means?” Pidge asked. “Like. You literally just said you wanted to undress someone with kisses slowly. Like holy shit, that’s moving quickly.”

“Pidge.” Keith snapped. “I heard you singing WAP, now be quiet.”

Pidge shrugged.

Keith approached Lance on the table, before hovering his hand over his chest. Looking at Pidge, Hunk and Shiro who all nodded at him. Keith nodded. Giving himself a long moment. 

Before he fell forwards.

This time he didn’t hit anything. He was on the beach… somewhere, and stared for a long moment. Until Lance showed up, grinning. “Keith, my dude, my man, where have you been? Everyone’s been waiting for you.”

Keith stared.

“Hello?” Lance waved a hand in front of his face. “Keith? You alright there buddy? C’mon Voltron reunion, even though we see these people like every second day. It’s for tradition, why am I telling you this? You know this.”

He put a hand on Keith’s back and started pushing him, and Keith was too shell shocked to say anything. Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, Allura and Coran were all there, smiling at him as Keith was pushed into a seat between Pidge and Coran.

What was happening?

This felt like Keith’s want. Not Lance’s.

Keith stared as Lance took a seat across from him and held his arms out either side of him. Dramatically almost, “We welcome you all to the sixth annual Voltron dinner.”

“What?” Keith said, an eyebrow raised. “Seriously?”

Everyone looked at him and Keith needed a cover story really quickly, a bird chirped overhead and Keith didn’t even hesitate. “That’s the opening you chose? Really, I saw you like yesterday.”

“Well… yesterday wasn’t the second anniversary of defeating Zarkon.” Lance pouted and crossed his arms, looking frankly, quite adorable. “Today is. How would you’ve started Mullet?”

“Sup?” Keith questioned and was met with laughter all around the table, even Lance was laughing, and Keith couldn’t bring himself to make a plan for himself. Because holy shit, this was all he ever really wanted.

So, like the coward he was, he ate through the meal. Laughing with everyone and talking with Coran over future plans while Pidge talked about science so enthusiastically that she hit Keith in the face twice.

He was really a coward. 

Everyone talked for what felt like hours, the topic of future plans rolled around. The way that they do at any gathering, Lance grinned as he said, “I’m trying to be a counsellor at The Garrison. They need it.”

Shiro snorted too loudly and Pidge nodded enthusiastically, food still out of her mouth as she did so. “What about you?” Lance asked, looking directly at Keith. “What are you planning to do with your promising looking future?”

Keith stabbed at his food. “Dunno. I probably need to process my past first,” he put some of the (excellent) pasta into his mouth as he thought. “I really don’t know. I love space, but— I love Earth too.”

“Love the people on Earth,” Pidge muttered and Keith stared at her for longer than he needed to. Before looking down at his pasta again, stabbing it with a bit more force than he needed to. 

“Well,” Shiro said, “Whatever you do, you’ll be great at.”

“Apart from motivational speaking,” Hunk added, shuddering. “I love you very much, but your speeches are terrible.”

“They’re not that bad,” Lance’s head was tilted, and he had his head propped up with his arm. Elbow on the table. “They’re… realistic. Like all those times you tell us to not die, those speeches are very emotional.”

“Right.” Keith nodded and Lance smiled, a real smile that did something to Keith’s stomach. “No motivational speaking, got it.”

“Come to the farm,” Lance said, his arms crossed and his eyes sparkling with something that Keith couldn’t quite place. “Soul search a little, decide what you think you wanna do… although we’re all only like twenty. Apart from you Pidge, you’re still a baby.”

“I’m eighteen!” Pidge yelled and everyone ignored her.

“Look,” Lance smiled, “We can talk about it later, I’ve seen your apartment, you’re wasting away in that thing. It’s awful. There’s no furniture, or anything. It’s awful.”

Keith shrugged, stabbing at his pasta.

“Just, think about it,” Lance shot another award-winning smile and Keith sighed. Which Lance rightfully understood as Keith agreeing with him.

The dinner wrapped up. Somehow, somewhere, everyone else was doing practical things like actually seriously talking about future plans. As Keith and Lance sat on the edge of the water, not caring if their asses got wet.

It was dark outside, the stars were out and Keith couldn’t help but note the blue and red star that seemed to shine a little bit brighter than the rest of them. He smiled at that, before leaning back into the sand, feeling the remains of sand that had once been boiling hot and was now cooling down.

“Lance.” Keith said, his eyes were closed, and he didn’t care to open them. “You trust me right?”

“Always.”

This place was just a dream, if he needed to Keith could lie and say he came into the scene later. If he really, really wanted to. “Why?”

“What?”

“I dropped you.”

“Into the lava?” Lance looked like someone had just confessed that he had seven days left to live. “You— that was years ago, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It does to me,” Keith crossed his arms tightly. “I— dropped you and I thought I killed you, that should’ve killed you, you shouldn’t be here and you almost weren’t here and I—”

“Hey,” Lance’s voice was soft. “I was the one who let go, do you remember that?”

“But—”

“Nothing, but nothing,” Lance looked straight out across the water and at the moon. “It wasn’t your fault, things happen, you’re not superhuman. Then or now, there was nothing you could’ve done and I trust you with— I trust you with everything.”

“Everything?” Keith mused.

“Everything. The sun, the stars, the moon, me. I trust you.”

Keith prayed that the darkness was hiding his blush. “Oh. Thanks.” He said instead of something else he’d regret saying later. “I trust you too.”

“Sometimes I felt like your replacement, or in your shadow… in Voltron. Like, you had this super strong and interesting bond with Red and then I had to try and get out of your shadow when I had Red. Or… I dunno, it just felt like I was always the worse one out of the pair of us. You could use these badass swords, and I would press a trigger, then you’d go on Blade missions and it felt like I was trying to lead, but I wasn’t a leader,” Lance sighed. Hugging his knees to his chest. “It was just… a lot. Voltron was a lot, all the time and it always felt like I was stepping behind you rather than beside you.”

“Oh.” Keith said, like the true intellect that he really was. “That’s not true.”

“I know I was pathetic two years ago, you don’t need to tell me otherwise,” Lance hugged his knees closer and Keith wanted to hug him. “I was some scrawny Cuban boy who hadn’t grown into his body.”

“That’s not true,” Keith repeated. “You’ve never been pathetic. You’re like… my other half, you’re the person who takes note of the surroundings and how to escape while I focus on stabbing things. You’re the one who thought to turn the robes inside out on La-Kua, you’re our sharpshooter.”

Lance looked at him. 

“You’ve never been pathetic and you’ll never be pathetic. You’re… everything I suppose.” Keith stared out on the water, fully aware that Lance was looking at him instead of the water. “You’ve always been so kind, and caring and compassionate. You’re what a paladin should be, mostly level headed, kind, smart, funny, charismatic. Shiro is… the perfect soldier. You’re the perfect paladin.”

“Oh,” Lance said and that’s all they said for a long time. “I know none of this is real. I’ve known since I basically got here. But I didn’t really want to leave, I know this is some fake Keith but—”

“It’s me.”

Lance shot around to look at him and Keith swore that he moved so quickly that he must’ve gotten whiplash. “What?”

“I rocked up before dinner?”

“Oh.” Lance looked ahead. “So you meant everything you said.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you always mean everything you said?” Lance asked, his voice was wobbly. 

“As long as I’m alive,” Keith responded. “Then maybe a bit longer. If you mean everything you said to me.”

“I meant it,” Lance smiled. “I do trust you with everything.”

“And you are everything.” Keith looked at Lance, the pair of them were just looking at each other. And Keith wanted to move forward, it made sense to move forward, he was terribly and deeply in love with Lance and probably always would be.

But because he loved him, Keith stayed still.

“Can we go home?” Lance asked, and Keith stood up, holding out his hand which Lance took. “I like it here… but everything’s too perfect.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “You’re an idiot.”

Then Keith was falling again. But this time. He had someone to hold onto.

Keith hit his head on the table with a loud thump. Before staggering backwards, essentially seeing stars. He blinked a few times, before shaking his head as the blurriness disappeared from his vision.

“Are you alright?” Pidge’s voice said, and Keith swayed dangerously. “That made an impressive noise.”

“Am not feeling so hot,” Keith muttered, rubbing at his head.

Hunk was hugging Lance tightly. Lifting him off of the ground as Lance let Hunk hug the living daylights out of him, and it looked comfortable enough that Keith also kinda wanted one of those hugs from Hunk.

Finding Allura was easy, but Lance, Pidge and Hunk sung ‘Take On Me’ for good measure anyway, even though Keith had muted Allura’s comm when he first started walking around and dragging his friends out of dreamland.

“This planet is a Balmera,” Pidge said thoughtfully. “One who’s dying… that’s why we were lured here. The Balmera wanted to feed off of our life-force, to keep going for a little bit longer.”

Lance paused. Putting a hand on the moving grey wall, that seemed to breathe. “I’m sorry,” Lance said softly, and everyone would’ve rolled their eyes if it hadn’t been such a moving moment. “It doesn’t hurt.”

The grey walls seemed to move less after that, and somehow the air felt easier to walk through.

When they got to Allura’s room. She was sitting on the table, legs crossed, plaiting some of the vines together. She smiled at all of them, before throwing herself at Keith, wrapping her arms around Keith’s neck. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear, “For letting me stay longer.”

“Anytime,” Keith whispered back, before Allura let go and all six of them started through the hallways. 

There seemed to be a whispering in his mind, telling him where to go. Being supportive, and leading them to safety. Which was shown when the climbed up a grey tunnel and the rock wall opened up for them.

It led to the cavern filled with the lions, all of which were slumped and almost lifeless looking. Keith stared for a moment longer before standing next to Black.

“How do we get out?” Pidge asked, prodding at her lion. “They all seem drained… they won’t be able to get out by themselves.”

“Voltron,” Keith and Lance said at the same time. “We form Voltron.” Lance added and Keith nodded.

“Okay everyone, before this planet crumbles. Anyone have any secrets to tell us so we can get out of here?” Keith asked, tapping his foot on the ground.

It had taken him this long to realise, but it was all of them that meant they couldn’t form Voltron. He’d thought it had been him, with all of his issues building up and up. But it was everyone.

Everyone was at fault. Everyone needed to talk more.

Keith took a deep breath, “I want to feel wanted,” it was silent for a moment that almost stretched into awkwardness, and would’ve if it weren’t for Lance.

“I sometimes feel like I’m useless on the team,” Lance said, tapping his foot on the ground. “And I miss my family more than I can say.”

Pidge took a deeper breath that Keith, brushing some hair out of her face as she did it and Keith shot her a supportive smile. “I’m trans.”

Allura gasped, “Is this another calling? First Lance, now Pidge!”

“No, no,” Pidge waved a hand, “My other family knows. But, I’m transgender. I’ve had that on my chest for a while… also, I miss my other family.”

Allura’s smile became sad. “Sometimes I miss Altea so much that I stay in my room for hours, looking at my fairy tales because it almost looks like Altea. I would say I have self-worth issues, but I know that I’m awesome.”

“Amen!” Pidge added happily and everyone else couldn’t help but smile. Even Allura, who didn’t know what amen meant.

“I miss my family, and sometimes I wish I never went out with Pidge and Lance that evening and I wish that I never followed after Keith. Because I hate Voltron, all the pain and suffering that we see.”

“All the happiness,” Allura countered. “We see love, we see the best and worst of the universe and the worst tries to drown out the best… but I don’t think that it can.”

Everyone looked at Shiro, who looked awkward. “I— wish that Kerberos never happened, and I think I’d give up almost anything to go back to before then and spend it with the people that I love.”

Keith gave a soft smile, before taking a deep breath. “C’mon y’all. It’s time to form Voltron. Shiro, you’re with me.”

So everyone clambered into their lions, before getting into formation, and Keith could feel the bonds drawing all of them together to form Voltron. Everyone cheered as they became Voltron.

Finally. Voltron was back in business. 

All it had taken was Keith dragging his friends out of their biggest wants on a slowly dying planet. Woo!

Keith sat on top of Black. Staring out the hangar, mostly because The Castle was packed filled with refugees from the planet, and he needed his peace and quiet as much as the next guy.

He had a sketchbook perched on his lap that Allura had given him, and in it were just doodles of scenes from his childhood. Good, bad and ugly. It was his way of processing everything, putting all his emotions into the drawings of the scenes.

Some of them were confronting, and when Pidge had looked over his shoulder and seen one, she’d burst out into tears. So that wasn’t going to happen again.

Others were drawings of the team. Lance, Shiro, Coran, Hunk, Allura, Pidge. Some were just faces, others were entire scenes. Like Pidge throwing a pillow at Allura and Coran on the floor cry-laughing.

It was one of his favourite sketches that he’d done.

There was a loud thunking noise, and Lance flopped on top of the lion next to him. “Hey,” he said breathlessly, crawling over. “You are a hard guy to find when you want to be.”

“Hey,” Keith said, closing his sketchbook and looking at Lance. “You good?”

“Yeah…” Lance grinned, “I’m great.”

“What did you do?” Keith said slowly, ready to hear that Lance accidentally on purpose wiped out half of the universe.

“Nothing, nothing, just,” he pulled out another sketchbook. A good one, leather-bound with thick paper that was probably meant for painting but Keith was going to use it for drawing. “Here.”

“Holy shit, Lance.”

“It’s my, our rivalry has ended gift.”

“Your rivalry,” Keith muttered, flicking through the empty pages. “I thought we quit that ages ago?”

“I am officially ending it,” Lance said proudly, puffing his chest out not unlike a rooster. “I Lance McClain, officially end my rivalry with Keith Kogane.”

Keith rolled his eyes, but shook Lance’s hand when he held it out anyway, and Lance grinned at him. “We’re going to win this war.” His voice was stern enough that Keith believed it with everything that he had.

“We are.” Keith repeated. “And we’re going to do it together.”

“You’re unbelievable sometimes,” Lance muttered, shoving Keith playfully. “But yeah, we’re gonna do this together. Lance and Keith.”

“Keith and Lance,” Keith amended.

“And the others I guess,” Lance added, more as an afterthought than anything else.

“Thank you,” Keith held the sketchbook to his chest. “For everything.”’

The silence in itself was it’s own thank you. 

Lance hummed, before taking the older sketchbook and flicking through it and Keith let him, watching his reactions as he skimmed over the darkest pictures that he’d drawn.

Lance looked up at him, his eyes sad. “These are good.”

“I guess…” Keith hugged his arms around his knees.

“They are… just because they’re sad doesn’t mean that they’re not good drawings.” Lance gave a small smile and handed the sketchbook back. 

Keith rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot, the biggest, dumbest, idiot that I know.”

Lance shrugged, “Maybe.” And he said it with such a cheesy smile that Keith couldn’t help but smile back.