Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Third POV

Keith hated being the center of attention. He wanted to grab Lance and run out of the control room and continue avoiding his problems. Lance wanted to be there for him as he told Team Voltron that he was an orphan, that he is most likely a Galra, and that his father maybe Thace the same man who helped him escape them.

Allura and Coran had an idea that Keith may have been. They never said it, but he fought like a Galran soldier.

Shiro and Lance already had time to digest this.

Keith, Hunk, and Pidge heard this for the first time today. Hunk and Pidge didn’t know what to think. Keith didn’t look like a Galra, but they felt as if everything he was saying was true. It made them feel for him.

Pidge always knew their family and cared for them deeply. They understood why Keith was so angered when they said they were leaving Voltron to find them. Pidge recounted his words You're not the only one with a family… Everyone in the universe has families. Pidge couldn’t imagine how hurt Keith felt. He didn’t have a family, but they were leaving Team Voltron for theirs. They wondered if Keith thought of them as family which is why he had been so upset beforehand.

Hunk thought of how Keith was handling this. His dad is Galran, working with the other Galrans, and Team Voltron is attacking them. That’s kind of like Keith’s species. Hunk thought of having to attack humans for the sake of the universe and those images alone made him feel scared. He wouldn’t want to hurt his own kind.

Keith hadn’t seen the Galra as his own kind. Keith always felt disconnected from people in general, hearing he was Galran only confirmed why. He couldn’t think of Thace as his father. He saw Thace who didn’t look like him at all. Thace had purple skin and Keith had an ivory complexion.

Thace was another Galra to him, but as he was talking to his Team he realized something. He realized Thace was useful.

“We should capture Thace.” Keith suggested.

“What?” exclaimed everyone around him, but now Keith was calm.

“Think about it, we have been swirling around in space with our dicks in our hands, but Thace has intel. Direct intel on Zarkon. I think he was his right hand man. That’s why Zarkon assigned him to Prorok because he was messing up too much.  Instead of waiting for Zarkon to strike and attack the rest of the universe, why don’t we just get Thace and fight Zarkon with whatever information Thace has?” There was silence amongst the group as they thought about it. Keith groaned as he rolled his eyes.

“Come on! This is us doing something, instead of making treaties with planets telling them to call us when Zarkon gets here or trust us Voltron is back we will protect you. Filling them with bullshit lies and giving them high hopes because reality check, we have nothing on Zarkon. He has an entire fucking fleet and we have five metallic lions. He can live ten thousand years, and we don’t exactly have that time. Zarkon started the war, it’s time for us to fight back. Now, we can, now we have something, and you guys don’t speak up?!” Shiro walked toward Keith calmly.

“Keith we need to think about this,” Keith rolled his eyes.

“What is there to think about? Let’s one up Zarkon.” Lance stood beside Keith.

“Keith, if we did that we would be going right into the hands of the Galra. Risk is higher than the reward. If anything goes wrong we’d give up Voltron the universe’s only hope.” Keith was angered that Lance wasn’t on his side. Lance could tell so he started to do damage control. “Plus, we have no idea how we could track them down.”

Pidge’s mind was act work the gears turning in their head.

“Actually, we might be able to. We have Thace’s dagger,” Pidge thought of Thace as Keith’s dad. They were on board with tracking down a family member of the team even if it wasn’t there own. “It’s not that hard to track DNA with this Altean tech. So, long as Thace still has a trace on his dagger we should be able to find wherever he is.”

Allura was thinking of the pros and cons of getting Thace. She worried of Keith’s real intention behind why he wanted Thace.

“Keith, are you sure?” The Princess asked. “His relation to you, I can see that being a conflict of interest on the mission? If it clouds your mind you won’t be able to form Voltron-”

“I can handle it. I know what we have to do to save the universe, do you?” Keith faced all of Team Voltron.

“I think we should go for it.” Pidge commented. If all goes well, then Pidge would be a step closer to reuniting with their family. “Anything for you to see your family.” Keith didn’t really feel like Thace was his family, but he thanked Pidge regardless.

“It’s risky, but I agree with Keith,” Hunk said. “If we can prevent him from ruling over other planets we should try it.” Hunk thought of how Shay had been forced to live in the shadows on the Balmera. He remembered her everytime they went to make a peace treaty with other worlds. Hunk recalled how he believed what Keith said beforehand that they couldn’t protect them all. Now there was an opportunity, they should take it.

“I stand by Keith, if you think this is this is the right thing then let’s do it.” Lance and Keith stared at each other. The same way they did when they fought Sendak. Lance’s words came to Keith. We make a good team. Lance found himself instinctively reaching for Keith’s hand.

The Black Paladin spoke his peace, he realized what his team wanted, and he knew he had to lead.

“If we’re all in agreement of rescuing Thace, then we should start planning.” He looked up toward Allura and Coran who were at the panels waiting to see if they would object to the Team’s wishes.

Coran advised Allura on what she already knew.  “If this works we can hurt Zarkon, the damage could be lethal, but it also may not amount to anything, but if it doesn’t Zarkon has Voltron.”

“I know,” Allura wondered what her father would do. Then addressed Pidge. “Start tracking Thace,” Pidge nodded. Shiro said he would go get it for them. Allura started pulling her white hair up.

“Let’s start planning. We are about to infiltrate the Galra.”

The plan had been simple.

Short version of the plan: get in, get out.

Longer version involves, trust, teamwork, and luck.

Pidge’s lion had camouflage abilities. They would use that to sneak aboard onto Prorok’s ship, where Thace had been tracked. The way they had known was that the castleship had marked the sip with a specific code number and recognized it from Keith’s Red Lion.

Pidge said they could make the Lion appear like the Galran fighter ships, but it would only be for fifteen minutes and rest in the hanger of the ship. Shiro and Keith would be inside the Green lion and escape when hell broke loose.

Hunk and Lance would be providing the hell. They needed to break the ship from the outside and try to not get caught. Pidge would also be assisted them by messing with the Galran’s coding making the functionality of the ship collapse. Pidge knew the electrical system of the Galran ship or the idea of how they get their lights to work, before they lost Rover they studied the mechanism of how it lit up. Pidge could cause a blackout which would allow Shiro and Keith to get on the ground and collect Thace. Shiro and Keith’s helmets had night vision on it so this would help them and hurt the Galra. However, the cover of darkness wouldn’t last long, Pidge reminded.

Keith said that was fine he told his team that he could use his Incubite to his advantage. He just needs to get their helmets off in order to look at the men. He could find out intel, make them do his bidding, or simply get out of his way.

Coran and Hunk didn’t believe his Gaze abilities worked so Keith tested it on them. They drooled over him instantly. He hadn’t been trying to use it on Lance or Shiro, but it had an effect on them anyway. It was stronger than when Keith used it on Prorok because he had just been replenished and he had a surplus of seed. No man would be able to break free from Keith’s eyes. He was at his most powerful right now. Unlike the Paladin’s helmets there was no transparency for the eyes to be seen. That would create an issue for Keith. Shiro would help Keith in taking off the Galran helmets with his Galran arm or killing the Galra if it should come to that. Lance wanted to come with Keith, but Hunk couldn’t destroy by himself and Shiro was trained more in hand to hand combat.

Keith would have to be the one to retrieve Thace since he was the only one he truly trusted. He was the whole reason for this plan, but he was the only true outlier. He could always say no and ruin everything.

Shiro and Keith’s helmet had tracking units on where Thace would be, but other than that the ship would be a maze until Allura was able to scan the ship with her own ship. Which would take about five minutes considering they would be far from the Galran ship not wanting to start a battle they couldn’t win. Pidge said they may be able to provide

assistance if they could find blueprints on their database they could send it to the helmets.

They believed Pidge could find them more quickly than Allura’s ship, but they wanted to have a specific time basis so they based the rest off of Allura finding the Galran ship’s map in five minutes. Five minutes to get off the hanger into the ship and then they would have ten minutes of darkness left to navigate to find Thace and get back on either the Green or Blue or Yellow lion.

The team decided that they wouldn’t bring the Black or Red lion in fear of failing the mission. At least this way Zarkon doesn’t have all the components needed to form Voltron, but now the team would need to rely solely on each other. They would need to perform better than they would with Voltron.

It terrified all of them. Their only backup plan was to run. If Shiro and Keith couldn’t make it back to Pidge they told them to leave without the Red and Black Paladin. Shiro would be forced back into captivity and Keith would be used as a toy for Prorok.

If Pidge, Hunk, or Lance couldn’t escape from the Galra they would be captors as well.

There was also the possibility that the Galran would find Allura’s ship and end up getting all of Voltron anyway leaving the universe in the hands of Zarkon.

There was a lot of room for error. No one liked thinking about it, but Keith thought the reward was greater than the risk. They had to take it.

Hunk vomited once all the parts of the plan were laid out. A feeling the rest of the team shared.

But they were commencing the plan now. Hunk would need to hold in his stomach for the rest of it.

After they got into their combat suits they were ready to leave for retrieval.

Pidge, Shiro, and Keith climbed into the Green Lion.

Lance into the Blue.

Hunk into the Yellow.

Allura was talking to them through their headsets. “Are you ready to warp?” Before any of the Paladins could answer she said. “Well, you need to be.”

Part one of the plan went smoothly. Pidge was able to get onto the ship messing with their systems before even they even got into the hanger so that the Green Lion registered as a fighter ship for them. Then they implemented phase two. The black out.

The Galra were immersed completely in the dark. The only light had been from the distant stars of space and with all the dark matter surrounding them it didn’t help at all. The absolute brightness of the stars were weak. There might as well have been nothing outside.

Shiro and Keith started to walk through the confused Galra. They overheard directions being told to the engineers to bring the lights back on. The Galrans were bumping into one another. Shiro avoided being hit by one of them. Keith found the door going into the ship before Shiro did. There was a handprint. He placed his palm over it. Some part of him was hoping it didn’t open and that he wasn’t a Galra. Except the door did open and he was.

Shiro followed him through. It had been two minutes and they were waiting for either Allura or Pidge to send them the map of the Galran ship. Keith hated the suspense. They had been running into dead ends mindlessly following wherever the red dot moved which moved constantly.

Thace was moving a lot. He was unaware of the members trying to get him. He was trying to figure out this technological error. He was also trying to get Prorok to shut up and let him concentrate on bringing the lights back up. Thace was good at fixing things online. Prorok just thought this was a physical issue. He kept barking commands toward the people in the control room.

“The issue isn’t here! Go find and fix it!”  Thace rolled his eyes. The issue was on the computer. He recognized the coding. They were being hacked.

He didn’t have time to tell Prorok this as he was trying to counter the hacker and bring the lights back up.

Thace brought the lights up first and then he started trying to find the hacker. It had been five minutes and Allura was finally delivering the boys in the ship the map.

Shiro and Keith were on ground. Their cover now gone. Keith shouted toward Pidge.

“I thought you said we had fifteen minutes!” Shiro’s heart sank looking at the familiar halls of when he had been trapped in halls like these before. He shook off the fear to focus on the mission to prevent it from happening again.

“You did! I don’t know what happened!” Pidge returned to trying to blackout the ship, now that they had the map they needed. They wished they had paid all their attention on this in the first place.

“It doesn’t matter,” Shiro directed. “He is close by we can try to make it without getting caught.” Then the heat signature came through. Allura wanted to see how many  Galrans were around. And there were fifteen of them leaving from the room Thace resided in. The ones who were going to find the problem had went back into the room and Prorok told them to go back and make sure it didn’t malfunction again.

They were walking in the same path Shiro and Keith had been walking in.  They were going to run into them soon. Shiro grabbed hold of Keith’s wrist bringing him into a section where if they held their backs against the wall they could go unnoticed. So, long as they didn’t check, they were there.

They had thirty seconds before the Galra soldiers were close by and Shiro whispered to Lance and Hunk through the helmet.

“Are you guys attacking on the outside?”

“We are working on being stealthy about it.” Hunk replied. Then the spacecraft shook Shiro’s arm slipped out ever so slightly, but he reeled it in quickly praying it went unnoticed. Everyone on ship felt the blast Lance and Hunk created using science he learned at the Garrison.

The soldiers ran by Shiro and Keith faster. Keith counted only fourteen.

“Where’s the last one?” Keith whispered. Keith saw through his heat wave sensors red dots which represented the other Galra soldiers, but the sole blue dot was Thace.  The red dot was practically hovering over them.

That’s when Shiro was pulled out from the corner held up at gunpoint. Keith ran out unleashing my bayard to protect him and Keith hit the gun up so that it shot at the ceiling.

Shiro’s arm glowed ready to kill, but then the soldier wielding the gun dropped it and they removed their helmet.

“No, wait! I didn’t know it was you!” She spoke after she recognized Keith’s face. “I don’t want you dead.” It was the woman from before. “Take my gun, Black Paladin. Prorok killed my friend, I want revenge,” Her hands raised in defeat. “Go get it for me.”  Shiro didn’t need to hear more as he took her gun.

Unfortunately, the other fourteen soldiers heard her shot.

Keith and Shiro was staring at her when she was shot right in the middle of her abdomen. She coughed up blood from her mouth.

“Behind you,” She coughed up more red goo. “Those damn idiots never could aim.” Were her last words as she collapsed. Keith pushed Shiro into the corner opposite of where they just had been and went into the one we had just been.

Keith only had a sword which did nothing in long range combat. Shiro kept shooting at them, but they needed more cover or a plan. Keith felt his bite start to pulse. Keith was beyond scared, the soldiers were coming in and he didn’t want to become Prorok’s. Then it happened.

Keith could not fit inside the small corner he pushed himself into.

Keith grew wings just like the Incubus who bit him had. Except these were not an angelic white, they were the color of his father, they were purple.

Keith was going with instinct as he took hold of Shiro whose eyes widened at seeing Keith’s new form.  He was using one of his wings to shield them both from the shots. Keith felt exhilarated he ignored the pain even if the laser lit his right wing on fire.

Shiro was shell shocked as he told the team Keith has wings. The team started to see what Shiro was looking at through his headset. Keith had wings.

There was an array of questions none of them answered. Coran knew that powers could arise from the bite, but he never heard of someone gaining wings. He wondered if they were permanent.

Shiro’s senses came back to him realizing he could not fight off the soldiers alone. “Pidge! Is there a way to cut these guys off?” Shiro screamed in his headset.

“On it!”

Shiro was expecting a door to slam in front of them, but instead there was pouncing from a distant. It was Pidge’s Green Lion. They were just going to trample over them, sometimes brawn won over brain.

“Keith’s on fire!” Pidge commented looking through the windshield. Lance screamed through his headset. “Hotstuff’s on fire?!” Shiro patted Keith down so his feathers were no longer aflame.

“Let’s go.” Keith said. He smelt the cinders of his wings the disgusting smell of flesh combined with the burning quills which were similar to plastic, but he still had too much adrenaline to feel the immense pain of the burn.

“Pidge stay and keep cover.” Shiro said.

“All right!”

Keith put his hand on the handprint he saw two sensors inside. The door hissed as they faced the blue and red mark.

Thace and Prorok.

Keith didn’t know how scared of Prorok he was. The last time he was here, this very room, chained forced to do whatever Prorok wanted. Keith couldn’t control his breathing facing him.  Shiro knew that look. Shiro made that look whenever he relieved a flashback.

Shiro knew he had to break Keith from his trance.

“Go get your father to Pidge.” Shiro nudged Keith hard so that he lost his balanced, but faced him. His skin gone pale as he nodded toward him.

Thace was close to Prorok. Thace didn’t understand what was happening. He only saw his son with wings. Prorok had heard Shiro call Thace, Keith’s father.

“So they rumors were true?” Prorok cracked a smile. As he grabbed Thace’s neck, choking him, and bringing him closer to his body using him as a shield so that Shiro couldn’t shoot at him.

“You did fuck a woman on earth? And you birthed a Paladin?!” He snickered loudly  into Thace’s ears. Thace was clawing at Prorok’s hand trying to breathe. “How does it feel? Knowing that you raised a boy who gets fucked by men?” He snickered bringing Thace close to face Shiro. “I bet he let the false Black Paladin slither into him.”

Keith’s eyes were watering. He didn’t know why Prorok’s words were hurting him. Soon, his adrenaline was replaced by fear and with fear came the pain. He could feel the burn on his back. He cried out collapsing on the floor trying to clutch his wing.

“What’s happening?!” Lance yelled into the headset hearing Keith’s anguish. No one answered him. Pidge wanted to rush in to help, but they were fighting off Galrans that had been coming to check on what was happening in the control room.

Shiro didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t kill Thace, to end the life of Prorok, but he wanted to. Keith was writhing in pain, but he couldn’t assist him without lowering his gun and he saw Prorok had one armed at his side. He could easily reach into it and end their lives.

“Boy,” Prorok was addressing Keith. “I’ll let your father go,” he wiggled Thace in his hands as Thace started turning into darker shades of purple. He only had a few minutes or seconds left before he was strangled to death and Keith knew it.“ And I’ll let your friends escape under one condition,” Keith faced Prorok trying to muffle his cries. “You stay.”

Keith couldn’t control himself. His impulses took over. He knew what Prorok meant, but he was in a corner. If the sadist wanted him, Keith could only comply.

“Fine,” Thace was thrown across the room his back hitting the wall close to Shiro. Keith ignored the pain as he started walking toward Prorok.

Shiro tried to take his wrist into his screaming don’t go, but Keith extended his broken wing to smack him backwards toward the door.

Keith took off his own helmet walking toward Prorok who stood on a platform of the control room.

Prorok had grin on his face, but he forgot one thing.

Keith could see his face.

“ On your knees .”  

Keith remembered those yellow eyes with slits instead of pupils as he stared down at these pure yellow eyes. He remembered what it felt like, that he would have let the angel do anything to him, giving him full control.

Keith raised his sword, he gives Prorok a quick death wishing Prorok had it worse, slicing his head right off his shoulders.

Keith then collapsed unable to muster any more strength, his body lying right beside the beheaded Prorok.

Keith’s POV

I woke up in the kitchen on the table, lying on my stomach, shirtless and my back hurt. That was the first thing I noticed, and then the sobs of someone. It was Lance he held my hand, the pressure was immense.

“Why am I in the kitchen?” I spoke groggily. Lance realized I was awake when he faced me. Tears strolled down his face, he had two lines running down his face which glistened in the light, and he looked dishevelled more than usual.

“Your wings couldn’t fit in the pod.” Coran spoke gently.

“Wings?” I said and felt them flutter behind me and I winced.

Faces started to pour in front of me joining Lance. I saw Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Thace. Thace had been farther away from Team Voltron. He was watching from a distance, but he was still here.

“Don’t stress them out too much!” Coran yelled from behind me he was putting something warm over my wings. It was soothing.

“How long have I been like this?” I avoid facing the person everyone was referring to as my father. I look at Team Voltron instead.

“A day or two, we lost count after too many tics.” Allura let out a small chuckle.

“You guys waited up for me?” I almost cried, but I felt too weak to do that.

“Of course we did,” Lance had snot running down his nose. “We love you, Keith.”

Now, I was crying, but silently. My arms had been keeping my head while I slept one arm over the other. I had been looking up at Team Voltron, but I hid my head so no one saw how touched I was.

I laughed thinking about the last time I passed out. This felt oddly similar despite their being grand differences.

“I love you guys, too.” It came out muffled since my voice wasn’t directed toward them, but to the kitchen table, but I think they can infer what I said. They all hugged me being extra careful not to bring any pain to my wings.

It was weird to think I had wings.

It was weird to think my biological dad was in the room.

It was weird to think I was in space defending the universe.

Everything felt weird and I didn’t know how to deal with it. So, I fell asleep on the table.

When I woke up, I was still on the table, but now my Paladins were gone. Except for Lance, he was asleep on the floor. Thace was awake. There were bags underneath his eyes. I wonder how long he was up. My wings weren’t as sore as they had been. Taking my time I was able to move off of the table. Thace offered his help, but I motioned toward him that I was fine.

“So,” I croak out. I moved my hand toward my neck, rubbing my adams’ apple.  I start walking toward the water pouches since we were in the kitchen. Thace stuck beside me, there in case I fell. I grabbed one from the counter, sticking the straw in quickly before laying against the counter. “I don’t know how this works.” I admitted.

“Neither do I.” Thace was across from me. He crossed his arms

“I’m not sure if I call you Thace or if I call you dad. I don’t really know you,” My eyes wander toward Lance sprawled out on the floor. He was the last person who I called dad. Now, standing in front of my biological father I realized I had daddy issues. I didn’t know how to talk to him. I didn’t think I would ever meet him.

“That’s alright, I wished I could’ve known you, seen you growing up,” There were silences between us. We didn’t know what to say, you can’t grow a bond in a single conversation, but you can start one. “How is your mother?” Thace asked. And I shook my head no , confused.

“I never knew her.” I spoke softly. How could he have not known? Didn’t they both abandon me?

Thace closed his eyes rubbing the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and thumb.

“I should’ve stayed.” He admitted his voice full of pain as if I confirmed his worst fear.

“Why didn’t you?” I thought about keeping this question to myself, but I have been wondering my entire life where my parents were. I deserve to have an answer.

“Zarkon,” I bite down on my teeth and I listen. “He sent me to Earth to find the Blue Lion which is how I found her. She was the kindest woman I had ever met. We wanted to raise a family. So, we had you. She named you Keith,” I could feel my eyes watering. My namesake was from my mother. So, they did give me more than a blade.

“A fleet was coming to get me and maybe invade Earth and they wouldn’t stop until I left with them. Your mother got hit in the crossfire, but told me that she would make it and raise you.” I nodded. It was quiet for a while. I guess she didn’t survive, but it was nice to know a little bit about her.

“Your mother found it and she was the Blue Paladin, but she never flew it. She only had conversations with it,” my eyes flicker to Lance.

“He is the Blue Paladin now,” I grin. “I found the Blue Lion like I sensed it. Or maybe it sensed me.” I chuckle toward my father. “We have something in common after all. We both fell in love with the Blue Paladin.” Thace peered toward Lance. He looked happy.

“He cared for you while you were asleep. I’m glad you two have each other. He is better than me, he stayed,” I could see the hurt in Thace’s eyes.

“Lance had the option to stay, you didn’t.”

“His name is Lance?” I saw a faint smile appear on his face.

“Yes,” I guess Team Voltron hadn’t had time to talk to him yet. It would take adjusting to seeing a Galra on board, I guess. “The small one with orange hair is named Pidge, they go by they, them pronouns. They pilot the Green Lion. The big one, he is Hunk, makes the best alien food I have ever had. He pilots Yellow. And Shiro, guy with white hair, metal arm, is the leader of Voltron he pilots the Black Lion. The Princess is Allura and her advisor with the orange mustache is Coran.”

Thace nodded.

“Thank you, I hadn’t been familiar with the others. I knew of Shiro, Haggar found him interesting. They do with all humans.” He was telling me important information, but I wouldn’t be able to retain it now, and I didn’t want to talk about it without Team Voltron.

“Yeah speaking of Zarkon related stuff, since your Team Voltron now, it would be great if you told us everything you know about him. Do you think you have anything that could ruin him?” Thace scoffed.

“I know all his blind spots better than the back of my hand. I was planning on taking him down myself, but I was waiting for the right moment. You have provided me with that, thank you son.”

We made eye contact, but I broke away unaware of what to say. I focused on drinking my water staring at the straw Thace cleared his throat softly.

“Her name was Akira.” I looked back at him.

“Hmph?” I was still sipping from my water.

“Your mother, she was Akira Kogane, she was very smart.”

“Of course she was. My orphanage told me they only knew my name because it was written on my arm. It had been faded, but it was still legible. She must have planned it before she passed,” I smirk so that’s where I get my cleverness from. “Akira,” I mutter.

Thace went back to looking at Lance. His eyebrows burrowed.

“He is the Blue Paladin, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, Akira went in the Blue Lion. I went with her plentiful of times and a week after you were born we showed you to Blue. Blue might still have the memory of it,”

“Maybe, I can see my mother?” I dropped my drink at the thought. I walk over to Lance, eager at the opportunity.

I kneel beside him while he lay on the floor and I shake him awake.

“Lance, get up.” Lance groaned. “Five more minutes, mom.”

“It’s me. Keith,” I shake him a little more. “Your boyfriend Keeeith, wake up.”

“No, mom.” Lance’s voice was cute when he was half awake, but I have to see my mom right now so it is irritating.

“I am your boyfriend!” My patience runs thin and I shout.  Lance’s eyelids started to flutter. They shot open instantly seeing that I was in front of him.

His brought his hands to my cheeks and kissed me. I think he would have hugged me had not my wings been in the way.

“Wait,” he pulled away. “You should be getting rest, why are you off the table?” He looked over toward the door which is where Thace had been before and shifted his view to the counter and saw Thace looking at us. Lance brought his hands away from my face. He started to stammer in  Thace’s general direction.

“Uh, I- uh,” I guess it might be awkward to kiss someone’s son in front of them. I ruffle his hair.

“He knows we’re together. It’s okay.” I didn’t say this outloud, but obviously he knows that someone has been tending to my bite. A kiss is nothing compared to that. Lance glanced toward Thace letting out an awkward chuckle. “I promise I won’t hurt him.”

I let out a sigh.

“Stop talking.” I stand up with my hand held  out for him. He took hold of it and propelled himself up. “Don’t make things awkward.”

Thace walked over toward us.

“Keith and I were hoping we would be able to go into your Lion. His mother,” Lance cut him off.

“Was the Blue Paladin, right? I knew it!”

“What?” I question toward Lance. “How?”

“I was going to tell you, because I mean, that was the only logical answer to you knowing where Blue was, but you didn’t even believe me about Thace, so I only explained the matching daggers. I didn’t really have any other proof about your mom wouldn’t have believed me about your mom.” Lance is something else.

“He is like your mom.”

“Annoyingly smart?”

“Something like that.” My dad and I laughed together. Lance smiled with us rubbing the back of his neck.

“Lance, apparently I was in Blue before, but I was a newborn. I think that’s why I felt her presence. Thace and I want to see if we could see if she has any photos of her with us.”

“Wait, I get to see you as a baby? What are we waiting for?” Lance rushed out of the kitchen. Thace whispered to me.

“Lance really is like your mother.” I thought, like father, like son.

Lance’s head popped up from the kitchen door.

“You guys coming or what?” I roll my eyes, playfully speaking.

“Oh, bite me , it’s not like I was passed out for two days or anything.” I blinked my eyes, realizing what I said. “Shit, it’s been two days.”  Lance’s eyes widened.

“You’re right!” Lance looked at Thace. Then quickly back at me. “Afterward.”

“Yup.” I start to follow after him. Hoping Thace hadn’t questioned what Lance and I were talking about.

We make it into the Blue Lion. I felt it hum as we walked up the ramp.

“She said, it’s good to see you again, Thace.” Lance said smiling. I looked toward Thace, he stared at the captain’s seat nostalgically.

“It’s nice to see you as well, Blue.” The engine purred in response. “I can’t believe you remember me.” He said. Lance’s head moved back. He hadn’t sat in the seat yet.

“She said, she was waiting for you,  that Akira has something for you?” A gentle and soft voice started playing all around us.

“ Thace,” Akira. My mother. “I am sorry, I lied to you,” her voice was strained yet somehow still elegant. “I won’t make it. I wish I would. I told people about Keith. They should find him soon. I hope you meet him again. I hope you find Blue again.

If you ever should return to Earth and you see our son. I want him to know, I am sorry. I was weak,” My mom, this is her voice, she is talking to me. I put my hand over my mouth letting the tears flow freely. “ I wish I could have seen you age. You are so beautiful,” An image of me as a baby appeared on the screen. I was asleep. My cheeks were plump and red. I had a lot of hair for a newborn. There was a blue blanket wrapped around me. “I know he will be like his father, he will be stronger than we both ever could be. He will have to be, but I believe in you, Keith.

I believe in you too, Thace. You led them away from Earth. You saved us.

You saved our son.

I love you, Thace.

I love you, Keith.

Goodbye.”

The portrait of me as a child zoomed out to reveal my family portrait. My mother in the captain's chair and my father behind her. She was holding me.

I looked like her. The only thing I inherited from my father had been the length of my hair and his eyebrows.

She had freckles all over her cheeks. My hand motioned toward the screen to touch her.

It hadn’t hit me until now. My mother is dead. I am sobbing over a woman I can’t remember meeting, but I wish I had. I wish could know that I think she is strong. That she isn’t weak. Thace didn’t save Earth. She did, he would’ve stayed had not it been for her.

My mother had the world on her shoulders and made the hardest sacrifice of them all.

I did something I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t see this video or heard her voice.Something I never thought I would be able to do. I hugged my dad, cried in his arms, and mourned my mother.

We stayed in Blue Lion for a while. Videos played of Akira in the Blue Lion she treated it like a diary, talked about her day and her feelings. I could learn all about her. I could see how she aged from her first visit with Blue to her last, but Lance told me, there was a reason Blue only showed audio. I remembered Thace saying she was caught in the crossfire and I understood. I don’t think I will watch that video, but the others I will. Lance told me that Blue would send all of the files to Red so I can watch them on my own time. I could get to know my mother, or how she was when she was alive.

I’m also going to get to know my father now. While he is still here, but it will take some time but, I think I will get there someday.

Lance and I walked to his room. After, the sob session I didn’t feel up to for sex. I just wanted to be held. I wanted to talk. Lance understood and we figured we could wait for when we wake up later.

We walked into his bedroom. I sat on his bed and it creaked slightly. I wanted my wings to retract because they would get in the way. I closed my eyes trying to concentrate on them going away.I groaned when it didn’t work the first time. I let out a sigh.

I believe in you, Keith.

“Keith, how did you do that?” I heard Lance’s voice speak in amazement. As I stare behind my back only to see my back or most of my back.

“Do  I have a tattoo on my back?” I ask, standing up, my back facing Lance.

“Woah, um, yes.” Lance’s voice sounded blown away.

“What’s it of?” I was curious as to what the new mark on my body was.

“Can I touch it?” I could feel Lance’s hand close to the small of my back. I curved it instinctively.

“Of course.” I replied. I shuddered when his hands started to go over my back.

“You have purple outline of wings with it’s feathers all over your back.” He ran his finger along the left side of my spine. “There’s a space in between the two wings here.” Then he traced my right spine. “This is where they start.” It extended all the way from the beginning of my shoulder blade down to my lower back.

Lance’s finger traced over the curve of my wing which were close to my shoulders, but an inch away from touching them.

“It’s beautiful.”

I turn to face him.

“You’re beautiful.” I kiss him not caring about being cheesy. I put my arms on top of his shoulders staring at him.

“Can you hold me?” Lance was tired. I woken him up from his sleep, and he cried with Thace and I. He was as drained as I was.

“Of course.” Lance spoke.

We laid in bed together. The room’s light were dimmed in blue. He let me rest my head over his arm. He wouldn’t be feeling that in the morning, but I don't think he cared. Lance crossed his other arm over my chest. I locked my fingers with the hand he held close to my heart. He pulled the covers over me. He asked me if I wanted a shirt since I could now wear one without breaking it. I didn’t need one. Lance’s warmth was all I needed.I was facing toward his wall. It changed from an opaque white to transparent. We were staring out into space. I could see nebulas and stars shining in the distant.

“Lance, I’m scared.” I admitted. “What if I don’t live up to my mom’s expectations?”

“You will, Keith. Everything she said it’s true. You are the strongest and smartest person I have ever met.”

“I don’t feel strong.” I felt vulnerable. I was bitten, I was captured, and I can’t control what I say or do sometimes.

“Do you think I am strong?” Lance’s question threw me off.

“Yes.” I answered him honestly anyway.

“Do you value what I think?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I think you’re the best person I have ever know, Keith Kogane. I think you are capable of doing anything. You are just like your mom. Blue told me, she sacrificed herself for the good of the world. You have been doing the same all your life. You did it for Hunk. You went through something terrible on that ship, even before that, you got bit, and even before than you were an orphan. Keith I couldn’t have handled any of that. You think I am strong, but I am nowhere near your caliber.

You’re scared and it’s your right to be. I am, too. But there is no doubt in my mind that you will figure everything out.”

There was a shooting star outside. I closed my eyes and wished for Lance to be right. I brought his hand to my mouth. I kissed his palm.

I may not have everything planned now, but that’s okay.

I am not alone, I don’t need to have everything figured out by myself. The universe is not dependant on my shoulders alone.

I have people who believe in me.

Coran.

Allura.

Pidge.

Hunk.

Shiro.

Lance.

Thace.

Akira.

Myself.