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Chapter Text

Keith gasped harshly as his back hit the wall. The air trapped in his lungs rushed free from the force of the impact. He cracked his eyes open to see the perpetrator, but before he knew what was happening two fairly large hands slammed onto the wall behind him on either side of his head, trapping his body against the wall. A larger body pressed itself close to his own. He could feel this person’s hot breath against his neck and cheek. A leg pressing between his own as his heartbeat raced in his ears.

“Your name?” The voice whispered, but Keith could tell it was a male. He shuddered at the proximity.

“I think I should be the one asking—” One of the strong hands balled into a fist and pounded the wall to Keith’s left. Startled, he looked directly into the eyes of his captor. He was met with the most mesmerizing blue he’d ever seen. Although to be fair, there wasn’t that much variation in Galran eye color anyway.

“You have no room for attitude or asking for things, Galra.” The voice spat, eyes growing furious. Keith noticed bright blue markings resting high on this person’s cheeks. “An Altean”, Keith found himself realizing. He put his hands up in surrender.

“You’re right, I don’t have room. Not with you pinning me against this wall.” He held his gaze with the stranger, who had presumably stolen one of the druids’ cloaks, as he hid most of his face and body with the offending cloth. Those eyes, however, those were clear even with the shadowed obscurity of the cloak.

The young Altean hesitated, bringing his leg down from between Keith’s, letting his arms relax against their place on the wall as well. Keith was still more or less pinned and at a great disadvantage for countering, but it was at least more comfortable this way. The Altean’s eyes, from what Keith could see, were still serious and untrusting, but Keith was eager to prove himself to the stranger. If anything in order to gain the upper hand in the situation.

“Now tell me, who are you?” The Altean said again, this time through gritted teeth. Keith looked around as much as he could, where the tall Altean wasn’t blocking his sight, making sure they were safe, before speaking.

“I am Commander Keith of the Galra Empire. And I think you and I should take a friendly walk before someone sees you holding a Commander hostage. I can take you to the pod hangar and you can escape from there.” Tensing, the Altean realized the truth behind Keith’s words before tentatively easing up, removing his body from the other’s. Keith couldn’t quite believe it when found himself missing the contact.

“Why would you want to help me escape?” he asked, and as if he couldn’t be brought to lie, Keith told him.

“I can’t explain it all here, as the entire ship is rigged with surveillance. Just believe me when I say,” Keith leaned incredibly close into the intruder’s space before whispering, “I am on your side.” Pulling away, he continued. “I promise I can’t tell you any more than that, you’ll just have to trust me.” Keith extended his hand, offering it to the other. The stranger looked pensively between Keith’s eyes and hand, before tentatively twining their arms together instead. He shot a look at the other.

“You said a friendly walk, didn’t you?”

Keith would swear that he could see a blush under that hood.

As they continued down the corridor together, the Altean took long elegant strides that matched royalty. He exuded confidence and grace, despite not knowing where he was heading or with whom he was. Keith watched the taller male, feeling what could only be an instant attraction to the other. He couldn’t quite believe himself. His entire mission was in grave jeopardy at this point and he was just letting some stranger throw him off like this.

Eventually, the duo found their way to Keith’s private chamber. It was very minimal. The long walls and high ceiling had large windows that looked out into the depths of space just outside. Various stars and planets twinkled in the distance. There was a simple, small bed and desk on one side of the room and a surveillance system on the other, monitoring nearly all of the soldiers under Keith’s command.

“What have you brought me here for? I do not want to talk business or get familiar with you. You are going to lead me to the escape pods, as you promised!” The Altean stuck his nose up at the young Commander, trying to appear snobbish and fierce. “Cute.” Keith hid a small grin behind his hand as he watched his captive glare at him. He cleared his throat, giving off his own official air before catching the other’s gaze with his own.

“Not before you tell me who you are, just how you got here, and why you stopped me against the wall in the first place.” Keith finally spoke, feeling his fingers twitch against his sheathed blade, resisting the urge to make the other talk. Sometimes, his instincts were a little bit too controlling.

“…Fine.” The Altean removed the hood from the cloak before elegantly seating himself at Keith’s desk. Crossing his legs and holding his knee, the Altean’s face was long, angular, and sharp in some spots while soft in others. His hair was an intense platinum color, brought out even more by his wonderfully deep skin color. His pointed ears perked, on alert. The markings on his face gleamed stronger than before once revealed in the lowlight. In essence, he was absolutely stunning. Keith’s face flushed all over again as he did his best to hide it.

“I am Prince Lance of Altea. I was captured and brought here by your brutish soldiers. They kept me alive in order to impress you and Zarkon I can only assume. Perhaps to also hold a ransom in order to lure my sister in as well.” The boy spoke, indignantly not looking Keith in the eyes. “Although I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. You haven’t yet earned my trust.” Keith had forgotten that Alteans cared only about one thing: loyalty. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he noticed that the other actually looked hurt.

“Your sister? You don’t mean Princess Allura, do you?” Keith’s jaw dropped. After the explanation had been finished, he found himself feeling more interested and desiring to ask more and more questions of the prince.

“Yes, my sister. We are Paladins of Voltron together. Well… mostly. Now, this interrogation is over and you will take me to the escape pods before I go by myself. I’ll take as many of you hideous Galra out as I can on my way there.” The Altean rose to his feet, tearing the Druid cloak away and towering once again over Keith. He must have been the tallest Altean that Keith had ever encountered.

“I like your style, I must admit, Prince. Come with me. I won’t betray you again.” They began walking once more. Every time Lance encountered a soldier that saw the two together, he would knock him unconscious and throw him to the side, Keith would simply watch with a playful grin on his face. The Prince would look over his shoulder with a skeptically raised eyebrow at the Galran Commander, confused as to why he wasn’t being stopped on his rampage.

“Where do you hold the Red Paladin prisoner?” The Prince asked at one point. “I never saw her in passing in the different cells after I escaped. My sister told the rest of the team that she was captured and brought here a very long time ago. Only Shiro, our leader, has ever seen her. He was a prisoner when she was captured.” Keith’s eyes shot open incredibly wide at her mention. He had nearly forgotten about her…

“…She died a very long time ago.” Keith said, “I watched her execution myself. It was part of the reason I was promoted to Commander at such a young age.”

Lance stopped dead in his tracks, eyes narrowing as Keith faced him.

“Liar. The Red Lion still feels her connection. She refuses every pilot who tries to fly her, even my sister. She hasn’t left the Chamber of Lions since that day. She keeps saying that her true Paladin still lives. Where. Is. She?” Lance demanded, stepping brusquely toward Keith with each word.

“You really are Allura’s brother, aren’t you? You both are so demanding, from what I’ve heard. Just follow me.” Keith said, guiding Lance to the hangar where the pods rested. “If she survived, as you seem to think, then I wouldn’t know where she is. I was told she had died after being executed.”

Lance lowered his head in sorrow, but Keith could tell he believed what he was saying this time.

“I’ll tell you this much, if she is still living, it isn’t pretty. The Druids love to make ugly monsters out of beautiful things.” Keith shared an intense stare with the prince, before turning around and gesturing to the open hangar. The two wandered inside.

Climbing into one of the pods, Keith patted the passenger seat next to him. Lance stood dumbstruck.

“No way. No. Not a chance. Get out.” Lance shook his head defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest and jutting a sharp hip out to the side.

“I’m coming with you.” Keith said, a playful smirk on his face as he spoke.

“Absolutely not, this is ridiculous.” Lance exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Noticing that Keith wasn’t showing any signs of standing up, he said, “Fine. I’ll just take a different pod then.” That was when Keith rolled his eyes and moved into the passenger seat of the same pod.

“Would you prefer to pilot, Mr. Paladin of Voltron?” Keith said unceremoniously, now patting the pilot’s seat.

“May I just ask why you even want to come with me? You’re not going to lead this entire fleet to my team are you? How do I know I can trust you?” Lance said with narrowed eyes. Despite his distrust of the Galran boy, he still seated himself at the controls, closing the pod behind himself.

“You have my word. Do you think I’d really give you up after all the time I just spent speaking with you? I could’ve easily had them come for you before now, if I wanted.” Keith taunted the other boy, sticking his tongue out between his fangs seductively. Lance flushed before averting his gaze and starting the pod up. “Besides, I’m all over the surveillance right now willingly guiding you to the escape pods, that won’t look good for me if I stay behind.” Keith said, shrugging his shoulders and shifting his gaze toward Lance’s again.

“I can’t believe I’m trusting you right now.” Lance shook his head and bit his lip to hide his smile. As the pod began floating and the escape doors opened, Keith crossed his hands behind his head and smiled at his new accomplice.

“Well, you sure know how to show a Galra a good time, Princey. I’m your quiznacking partner!” Lance simply gaped at the other boy, a blush once again present on his face. How did the soldier even know that strictly Altean curse anyway? Shaking his head, he guided the pod in the direction of the castle.

After some time, they found the castle and began their approach. Lance used the communicator inside the pod to contact the ship, hoping they would answer before just blowing the pod up.

“Hello, this is a neutral vacation cruiser, is that a Galra pod?” Coran. Lance felt his shoulders relax immediately at the sound of his advisor’s voice. Excitedly, he began speaking over the communicator.

“Coran! It’s me, Lance! Please let me board! I’ve got an ally with me that I rescued, but it’s just us two.” The pause that ensued was ominous. But seconds later, Coran came back online.

“Lance, thank heavens you’re alright. I’m opening the boarding dock now.” Lance could’ve sworn he heard Coran sniffle just a little bit. He smiled at the thought. They had all missed him.

“Coran, did you just say ‘heavens’? Isn’t that an earth word?” Lance giggled as he directed the pod toward the now open dock. Coran just laughed over the line.

After they landed on the castle ship, Lance told Keith to stay put in the pod so he could explain the situation to Shiro and Allura. Allura was the most cautious and defensive member of the team when faced with any Galra, even civilians or rebel allies. And this fact was rightfully so, seeing as they had taken everything from her (and Lance) previously. Her trust was the most important to be earned and the best way to do so was through Lance.

Lance wandered through the castle on his own, it had been his mission to find the Red Paladin, dead or alive, as assigned by Allura. He had technically failed, but he succeeded in that he had brought a somewhat trustworthy Galra Commander with him, which would definitely help them in the long run. If they couldn’t quite figure out what had happened to the former Red Paladin, then they could at least have the upper hand from the source on how to evade and be safe from Zarkon until they could form Voltron as a team. Although Red was showing her strong persistence as always. Lance was confident that they would soon find a way.

Keith on the other hand wasn’t one for taking orders, not even from Altean princes. So, he jumped out of the pod and started wandering around the hangar. He found an interesting door that led him to the Chamber of Lions, where each component of Voltron was present. There was the small but handy Green Lion, the sensitive and accepting Blue Lion, the reliable and steadfast Yellow Lion, the ornate and regal Black Lion; and finally, Keith came upon the Red Lion, mysterious, aloof, and definitely in need of a joyride. She was looking a little rusty with disuse.

From what Keith could remember, she hadn’t been out flying or in action since her Paladin went missing nearly ten thousand years before. “Maybe it’s time she got out.” Keith thought to himself as he climbed into her cockpit. There was a small smirk upon his face as she opened up easily for him. Her controls and everything felt like a second nature to Keith, and he was a little bit surprised at her maneuverability for someone so unfamiliar. Especially considering Lance’s warning.

Red seemed to have complete control as she took off and left the castle. She flew Keith from planet to planet, thrashing wildly and unpredictably. Keith, despite not knowing what he was doing, remained calm and level-headed. The lion kept going until finally arriving at a far off planet that Keith felt as if he’d never seen before. That was when it clicked.

It was Altea.

“Why are you showing me this? Is it because you know I’m a Galra? I’m pretty aware of what happened here. Although, I’ve never seen it in person…” Keith said, suddenly feeling self-conscious of himself and his heritage. Instantly he felt comforting vibes from the lion, as if she were telling him to calm down and trust her. Of course he did. Their bond was strong despite this being their first encounter. And suddenly Lance’s words ran through his head once more.

“She refuses every pilot who tries to fly her, even my sister.” And Keith’s eyes widened in shock once again.

“You—you want me to be your pilot? Even though I’m a commander in Zarkon’s Empire? I mean, I know I’m supposed to be… undercover but…” The lion responded by jolting vigorously, causing Keith to smack his head against the roof of the cockpit. “Sorry! Sorry, even though I was a commander. I know I’m on your side.”

On the ship, Lance was busy in the central room area of the castle. Everyone was there, and everyone showered Lance in affection and relief glad to just see him alive.

“How long was I gone?” Lance asked, looking around as Pidge smacked her face right into Lance’s ribs, squeezing tightly. He squeezed her right back as Hunk came to his side as well.

“About six quintants.” Allura’s voice cracked as she spoke, smile quivering as her eyes lined with unshed tears. Pidge stepped away knowingly. The Princess embraced her brother, desperately feeling at different parts of him to make sure he was real. Lance returned said embrace, a few stray tears streaking his cheeks as the rest of the group dog-piled him. He loved his team so much, and he couldn’t wait to get back to work with them.

“Lance,” Coran began, pulling out of the group hug. “Where is this rescued ally of yours? Are they injured at all? Are you injured at all?” Everyone’s heads shot back to Lance after Coran finished speaking, eyes wide.

“Ally?” They all said in unison.

“Were they a prisoner? Did they know my family?” Pidge asked, adjusting her glasses.

“Is it the Red Paladin?” Shiro and Allura asked.

“Who?” Hunk finished.

“Calm down, everyone. For starters, I’m sorry Pidge, but no it isn’t someone who knows Matt or your father. If it was, you’d be the first to know, that I promise. We’ll have to ask if he knows of them.” Pidge nodded, body easing from its previous tension. “Two, it isn’t the Red Paladin either. But it’s someone who can really help us and he told me himself that he’s on our side.” Lance said, a smile gracing his gorgeous face. “He’s still in the pod, uninjured, waiting for us.”

“Well then, let’s go greet him.” Shiro smiled, gesturing to the others to follow him. Lance placed his hand on Allura’s shoulder as the others were out of sight.

“I need to talk to you first.” Lance said, a look of seriousness on his face. Allura, now worried, turned to completely face her brother.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

“No… but this guy… He was a commander in Zarkon’s army. However, he knew Thace and Ulaz. He’s with the Blade of Mamora and he said he’s going to help us. He’s Galra.”

“He’s Galra?”

“Allura, please listen, he helped me escape! I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t taken me to the pods. He’s not evil, I swear to you. In fact, he’s is technically a traitor of the Galra Empire. If they get their hands on him, they’ll kill him for sure. He willingly let a Voltron Paladin escape unharmed.”

“Lance, you Shiro and I will discuss this later. For now, we will have to figure something out to make sure he’s as trustworthy as you say—”

“Hey you two, we have a problem.” Shiro said, re-entering the room. She turned wickedly fast to face him, eyes narrowing. She glanced back quickly at Lance before hurrying to Shiro’s side.

“What is it?”

“The Red Lion is gone.” Shiro said, pursing his lips after he did.

Chapter Text

Allura stopped dead in her tracks, her blood running cold. She locked eyes with Shiro, who offered a look of concern. She didn’t say anything more as she sprang into action and ran into the Chamber of Lions, Lance and Shiro in tow. Once inside she noticed Hunk, Pidge, and Coran standing there in shock. Red was gone and so was the Galra commander that Lance had brought with him, the escape pod sitting empty and cold in its place.

“Lance, I can’t believe this. That quiznacking friend of yours stole the Red Lion.” She started pacing, stress making her body stiff. “Do you realize how serious this is?” Her voice was rising with panic and anger. She wasn’t exactly angry at Lance, she just couldn’t believe that they had been betrayed once again. Every time they seemed to catch a break, it ended up worse than when it began.

“I-I’m sorry, Allura. I-I didn’t think that this would happen. He… he seemed so different.” Lance’s entire body slumped with exhaustion and sorrow. His eyes searched the floor for a reassurance, a sign that maybe this wasn’t actually happening, or that maybe there was a misunderstanding. He could find none. Hunk placed a comforting arm on his friend and Pidge joined in.

“Dude. It’s ok. Remember when we got your lion back after it got stolen by those space rogues? It’ll be A-Okay. We’re lion retrieving professionals at this point.” Hunk tried to make light of the situation in order to diffuse the obvious tension he saw in the room, but all Lance could do was offer a weak and fake smile.

“It’s not okay, Hunk, this is drastic! We can’t let him get away with this we need to find him right now!” Allura spoke with a level-headed authority, but everyone could tell she was just about a hair away from losing it. “Pidge, Coran. Did either of you see him depart? If we pull up a map we should be able to track his location from here…” her fingers began working deftly to pull up a map and with her connection to the lions, locate Red.

“I don’t think we could’ve stopped him, Allura. We heard the lion activate and were surprised.” Pidge shifted her feet on the ground where she stood, anxiousness was thick in the room. Allura’s eyes shot open wildly.

“You saw him? You let him get away?! Both of you? You couldn’t stop him?” She was coming undone, anger and upset thrashed rigorously in her eyes as she stepped toward Pidge, body rigid with tension. Pidge knew that the Princess would never harm her, but that didn’t stop the fear from showing briefly in her eyes.

“Princess, that’s enough.” Coran and Shiro said in unison. They looked at each other, surprised for a moment, before turning to face the Princess once more. She looked down at Pidge and when she noticed the other was standing with a quivering lip and fighting back small tears, she stopped.

The look on Allura’s face made it seem as if her heart had shattered when she realized she lashed out at not only her brother, who had been missing for nearly a week, but her team as well. She rubbed her eyes, cursing under her breath as she calmed herself down. Shiro came to her side and let his human hand rub along her back soothingly. She felt herself melting into the touch as if all her stress was dissolving. She turned her body completely into Shiro’s chest and he enclosed her carefully in an embrace. Lance looked to his sister and felt tears lining his eyes once again, wanting nothing more than to make her feel better as well.

 “Princess. It’ll be alright. I understand that you’re upset and confused but we all need to calm down and think about what to do next. Are you able to sense the lion’s presence?” Shiro asked as she sniffled into his shoulder. She took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it from her mouth. Everyone came to her side in an instant, offering their understanding and kindness.

“I’ll try. I’m sorry everyone.” She muffled into Shiro’s neck.

“Princess… Allura don’t apologize. You have every right to feel the way you feel. You just had a moment. We all do.” Shiro released her carefully and met her eyes intently. Lance rested his head on his sister’s shoulder, she patted his hair softly.

“I—”

That was when the Red Lion flew carefully into the hangar. Landing gingerly back in the spot she had occupied not too long ago. Everyone looked up in shock and awe at the now functioning lion. It was as if she hadn’t spent the last odd 10,000 years cooped up without a pilot. As she lowered her head to release the pilot from her cockpit, everyone stood tensed and ready to face whoever it was that came out of the lion. Lance already knew and his smile was beginning to grow with hope. The mechanical jaws opened and out walked Keith, arms raised so as to show he didn’t want to fight.

“Keith!” You came back!” Lance, who perked up instantly, ran over to greet him. He picked him up seemingly effortlessly, swinging him around with joy. “Everyone, this is Keith. This is the guy that helped me escape!” Once his feet were back on the ground, Keith stood rigid and scared of what the group would say to him. Shiro looked to Allura reassuringly before approaching Keith.

“Hey there… everyone. I’m Keith.” Keith said, trying his best to be personable. Spending too long under Galra control, even if it was a ruse, had done a real number on his social skills.

“Welcome, Keith. You can call me Shiro.” Shiro offered a friendly grin, extending his hand. Keith accepted, shaking it, his own small smile forming.

“Nice. Thank you, Shiro.” Keith said, eyeing Allura from the corner of his eyes. He had heard many things about the princess, including that she was very cautious with her trust as well as a ruthless fighter. She was standing, analyzing, looking for even the smallest misstep in his action. Keith couldn’t blame her, she had lost her entire world and had an entire war thrust upon her shoulders. She must have felt all alone in her fight. He said nothing as two others approached him.

“Hey there, Galra Keith. My name is Hunk and I’m the resident engineer. It’s awesome to meet you. You had us worried there when you took off with the Red Lion. But I’m glad you both came back.” Hunk chuckled, scratching at his head as he did so. He held his arms open, offering a hug as opposed to Shiro’s more professional gesture. Before he could say anything, Lance pulled Keith into the hug with Hunk, laughing the whole way. Keith found himself blushing.

“I am Coran, your resident expert on Paladin training, defense, mechanics, you name it! You will be learning a lot from me, young Galra. I can tell.” Coran fiddled with his moustache as he spoke, and the group positively beamed.

“Don’t leave me out! Everyone calls me Pidge. I’m basically a genius prodigy. I like your ears, they’re… the most cat-like of any Galran ears I’ve ever seen.” She giggled, joining in on the group bonding energetically. They all seemed so… happy, youthful. Of course, Keith himself was the same age (from the looks of it) as Lance and Hunk, but he just felt so much older mentally.

“What about Sendak though? His ears were pretty cat-like.” Hunk added, still holding onto the entire group in his arms.

“Eh. His were so-so, but I prefer Keith’s. He’s like a real cat.”

“Explain?”

“Shaped like a friend.” Pidge said, smiling a big goofy smile as she pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Keith nearly laughed this time, smile expanding, playfully exposing his fangs in the process. He was already excited to be part of their team.

He didn’t have much more time to think of anything when it happened.

“Hello, Keith. I am Princess Allura. Thank you for rescuing my brother. He’s taken quite a liking to you from what I can see.” Lance huffed beside him, blushing wildly. “I hear you’re supposed to be a rebel against Zarkon’s forces?” She asked, eyes still wary, cautious. Almost as if she were searching. Hunk released the group and Keith stood to properly face her.

“Yes, I was. About two years ago I was brought to Zarkon’s fleet alongside Thace by the Blade of Marmora group. I don’t want to get too into the details right now. I do think we all need to talk about this though.” He finished, gesturing to Red with a nod of his head.

“I’m glad you agree. How were you able to pilot the Red Lion?” She seemed genuinely intrigued.

“I dunno. She kinda just spoke to me, you know? It felt like she wanted me to fly her. It felt… like we trusted each other enough.” Keith said, his golden eyes shining with truth. Allura looked surprised. And then a look of recognition flashed in her eyes—then disbelief, and finally realization. It all happened so fast, Keith wasn’t sure if anyone else had noticed. Then, slowly, Allura’s lips turned up in a surprised grin.

“Welcome to Team Voltron, Keith.” She said enthusiastically. Everyone in the room, including Shiro whipped their heads around to look at her. How had she made such a 180 after just meeting this guy? Was he really all that impressive to the Princess?

Not questioning it, Lance cheered and wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulder, meeting the other’s eyes as he did so.

“Maybe this is all turning out for the better.” Keith bit his smile back at the thought, turning his face away from Lance in the process.

King Alfor called the Lions back into the Castle. There was no hope left. The Druids that worked with Zarkon had just successfully ripped all the quintessence from the core of the planet Altea. The rest of their solar system was already dying as well. The Voltron Paladins had fought all they could but once the Green and Blue Paladins had been killed by Zarkon’s own hand, there was little more to be done other than to plan for the worst and escape.

He knew what he had to do.

“Red! You and I must return to the Castle and send the lions into hiding. From there, I will distract Zarkon long enough for you to take Allura, Lance and Coran and hide them on a distant planet, far, far away from all of this. Until we can find new Paladins.”

“Alfor are you sure—”

“Sudal…Please, save my children.” He said softly over the intercom. Without another word, the Red Lion returned to the castle ship that was still resting on the decaying planet and joined the others in the Chamber of Lions. Her pilot, Sudal, kissed her lowered nose as she stepped out of the cockpit. The paladin looked lovingly on at her Lion before stepping back, turning and running to the control room.

“Coran! Allura! Lance! We have to hurry, please. Zarkon’s fleet is too strong. We have to retreat and regroup.”

“Where’s our father?” Allura demanded. Lance looked distressed from where he was standing beside Coran, silent in his fear.

“I’m here, daughter, son.” Sounded a voice from behind Sudal. Whipping her head around, she looked with wide eyes as Alfor stepped into the control room as well. Coran opened up a wormhole to put the Castle through. Alfor’s children ran to him, tackling him hard with a strong embrace. Lance shoved his face deep into his father’s shoulder to hide his tears.

“Lance, Allura, please take care of yourselves and Coran. I love you both more than anything. When you wake up, you’ll know what to do.”

“Wake up?”

“What do you mean?”

With that, Alfor used his magic to put Allura and Lance into a deep, sleeping trance. He handed them to Coran to place in the cryopods. As Coran carried them off, the two youths watched their father with their last fading bits of consciousness.

“I love you.” Alfor whispered.

“What about you, sire?” Coran asked upon his return.

“Coran… My time is coming to a close. I must protect you all from Zarkon so you can escape, find new Paladins, regroup. If I don’t he will follow you across any wormhole you open. Please, forgive me.” He tranced Coran as well, placing him in a pod beside his children. Finally, Alfor turned to face Sudal, who had just re-entered the room.

“Can you just tell me what your grand plan is? You’re not going to try to fight him with just us two, are you?” She asked, cocking out a strong hip while crossing her arms. Her paladin armor was covered in grime, blood, and plenty of sweat for sure. Sudal’s golden eyes still shined, however, ready to continue the fight at any moment. Alfor smiled fondly at her, shaking his head. He crossed the room to place a firm hand upon her shoulder.

“Sudal, you are capable. I believe in you. The Red Lion and you have a bond so strong I cannot see it fading with time. With training and age, you will become an even fiercer opponent to the Galra. You have served me well, and that is why I must protect you in return.”

“Sir, what do you mean?” Alfor tranced her, settling her small body into a pod beside his family. The Castle was struck by a stray blast at the same moment, rocking the entire castle. Alfor’s body jerked, hitting the release on Sudal’s pod, and ejecting her into the void of space.

“Sudal!” Alfor cried as he watched her disappear from sight. Realizing he was running out of time, Alfor ran into the control room once more, and set the Castle on autopilot. He sent out a distress signal in the direction of Sudal’s pod, hoping a stray wanderer would take her. The castle ship broke away from the dying planet and was heading toward the wormhole Coran had opened as Alfor jumped into one of the last spare battle cruisers in the hangar.

As the giant Galra fleet began slowly making their way toward the Castle, Alfor sped in front of them, issuing a relentless series of blasts from his cruiser. His heart was racing and his body was shaking with anxiety, anger, and desperation. He couldn’t believe he had to abandon his children. He couldn’t believe he’d let Sudal down, he was trying to save her and instead he—

On the giant Galra ship, Zarkon stood at the controls and cursed loudly at the sight of a fighting Alfor. He channeled his battle cruiser.

“Your persistence still hasn’t dwindled I see, Alfor.”

“No! And it will not. You may kill me, Zarkon. But you will never have Voltron for yourself. You’ve lost this time.” as Alfor’s speech came to an end, the Castle carrying each lion as well as Allura, Lance and Coran entered the wormhole. The hole closed itself up shortly after the Castle disappeared. Alfor smirked as Zarkon shouted in anger.

“You will pay for this, you blithering idiot!” He screamed, losing all control.

Alfor closed his eyes, thinking of his children safe and sound as a gigantic ray of light swallowed up his cruiser.

Thousands of years later, a patrol ship cruised the asteroids in the belt. They often looked for abandoned ships, weapons, precious metals and materials that strayed. The Blade of Marmora was a long standing, secret Galra alliance that was formed against Zarkon’s tyranny. They operated in secrecy, always waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.

Ulaz, who had once worked as a spy on Zarkon’s fleet, was on patrol this particular shift when he discovered a stray pod floating aimlessly surrounded by asteroids. Ulaz moved in cautiously to the pod, examining it as best he could from afar, before realizing there was someone in it.

Approaching carefully, noting that it was a cryopod his eyes shot open in surprise. “A Galra? In a cryopod? All the way out here?” he thought, getting even closer. He looked inside the pod finally, seeing an incredibly young Galra woman’s face inside. There was no way she could have been part of Zarkon’s fleet, as Galra women were kept strictly on their home planet, forbidden from joining the fighting.

Ulaz brought the young woman in the pod into the Blade of Marmora base. He brought her directly to Kolivan, who was astonished immediately at the sight.

“Ulaz, do you realize what—who this is?” The look upon his face was the most intense Ulaz had ever seen upon his leader. This, of course, piqued his curiosity.

“No, sir. Care to explain?”

“Ulaz, this is the original Red Paladin of Voltron, Sudal. She’s supposed to have been dead for over 10,000 years. It was believed that she was killed fighting alongside the Alteans in their final effort to thwart Zarkon.”

Chapter Text

When Keith awoke the morning after his first day within the Castle of Lions, he didn’t hear a single thing going on in the ship. There was only dead silence from all directions. Opening the door to his new room, he gazed either side before stepping out into the corridor. He needed to find himself new clothes as soon as possible, seeing as though all he had was the Galra armor he arrived in. And boy, did he hate sleeping naked.

That was when he heard it. A noise. A soft, skittering patter of tiny feet against cold metal floors. Keith’s ears twitched to life at the stimulation. They perked up and flicked in the direction of the noise, and he found himself following the sound to where he thought that it came from. The sound led him to a secluded area of the ship, presumably a storage space for now ultra-rare artifacts of Altean culture. The space was quite large and full of furnishings. There were art pieces of all kinds, trinkets, and generally just nice things reminiscent of something long since lost.

There was a separate chamber within the storage space that led to where the clothing was kept. The sound picked up the strongest from within that area, so Keith cautiously made his way over. He opened the door and peered around the opening with his head before stepping fully inside.

Grouped together on the floor was a cluster of four mice. Puzzled, Keith knelt down to greet them. Despite having cat-like genes in him, Galra weren’t much for mice hunters. They preferred larger targets most often. The mice looked horrified, all hiding behind the largest of their group for comfort.

“Hey there, little ones.” He offered a finger for them to sniff at, and the largest, happiest looking mouse stepped forth first. He sniffed for a couple seconds before turning to the others and gesturing to come forward. Keith, shocked, could only watch as the mice climbed up his arm and began running around all over his body. Not knowing exactly what to do, Keith froze in place and let the mice do as they pleased. It went on for only a few moments longer before suddenly, they jumped off and ran into the abyss of clothing just behind them.

Not much longer after the fact, the mice arrived with new garments for Keith to wear. They were by far more casual and comfortable looking than the heavy Galra armor he’d sported until that point. Keith stood dumbstruck but impressed at the work the four mice did. It was just a pair of form-fitting leggings and a black t-shirt, but he was glad to have it. He smiled thankfully down at the mice.

Keith changed as quickly as he could, just in case someone popped up out of nowhere. The mice applauded joyously as he showed them the results of their handiwork.

“Thank you, thank you.” He said, half-bowing to his tiny audience, chuckling as he did so.

“You look much better without all that ridiculous Galra garb on you, you know.” A voice behind him said, a short applause following. Tensing, Keith turned around on his heel to see Lance, standing at the threshold of the clothing closet with his arms folded over his chest and one hip against the doorframe. He noticed that Lance had changed as well, into his own more comfortable training attire, nothing like the defensive equipment he had worn when they first met, and certainly not as regal as his sister’s usual outfitting either.

“Thanks for that, I suppose. You know, you guys are way too kind to me. Why is that?” Keith asked, approaching Lance slowly. He wanted to prove he could be just as flirty as the Altean Prince. “I haven’t really done anything to earn your trust, so why?” Being a good amount shorter than Lance, Keith found himself having to cock his head upwards to make direct eye contact with him.

“Well, I was taught from a very young age that we Alteans should always be willing to be diplomatic in any situation. It doesn’t make a difference who it’s with.” Lance’s grin grew into a full blown smile, perfect lips parting over dazzling teeth. His cheeks and the markings upon them crinkled the corners of his eyes rather cutely, and Keith could feel himself heating up. “The same idea goes for Voltron Paladins.”

“Oh right. Paladin. I forgot about that. Which lion is yours again?” Keith asked, copying Lance’s pose and getting in incredibly close.

“I think I’d rather show you. Hunk said that on earth the expression goes, ‘seeing is believing’.” Lance ran a hand through his hair as he stepped off the doorway. “Follow me.” And with that, he turned and began walking in the direction of the Chamber of Lions. Keith rolled his eyes, pretending that in his head he wasn’t still totally screaming, and followed swiftly behind.

Allura was in the control room of the ship, waiting. The mice, having left the storage area after Keith and Lance, scurried their way up to greet her. She took them into her hands and began asking all sorts of questions about Keith as she walked out in favor of the privacy of her room.

In the hallway where the Paladins’ rooms were found, Pidge and Hunk greeted each other from outside their rooms.

“Have you seen Lance or Keith? Weren’t we supposed to try and form Voltron together ‘first thing in the morning’?” Pidge asked Hunk, yawning into her hand. They had both just risen, and were heading toward the kitchen to prepare a meal.

“I haven’t seen anyone else but you, honestly.” Hunk explained, scratching at his head in confusion. “Do you think we woke up late?”

“Don’t you think that they would’ve come for us though?” Pidge, only becoming more confused, postulated.

“I dunno. Maybe they forgot?” Hunk reached for the food goo hose as Pidge grabbed each of them fresh plates.

“How could they just forget about two-fifths of Voltron, Hunk?”

“Make that three-fifths.” Shiro said, entering the kitchen as well. He too looked as if he had just risen despite already being in his paladin armor. He appeared equally as confused as the other two. “Have you at least seen Allura?” The duo shrugged.

“Something must be wrong, she’s the one who usually makes everyone get up at what I can only assume would be the break of dawn.” Pidge grumbled.

“We should probably go looking for them. This is just really strange.” Shiro concluded.

Allura, in her room on her own, set the mice down upon her intricately decorated workspace. The desk was where she would go to think when she needed to be away from her team and her brother. There were notes on fighting techniques, old Altean engineering books, keepsakes and souvenirs of her childhood, and many other assorted things that helped keep her sane in times of great stress. She had only been awoken from her cryosleep for a limited amount of time, less than one earth year, but she was already feeling the gravity of her predicament.

The mice, whom she had planted in order to gather more information about the mysterious Keith, were reporting back to her what they had gathered. They began gesturing exaggeratedly at the Princess as she watched on eagerly.

“Alright, alright. Let me hear it!” She uttered enthusiastically.

At the same moment, Keith was with Lance, inside of the Blue Lion. Lance was explaining something about the capabilities of Blue. She was a leg component, so it made sense that she was generally bigger and had a little more firepower (or ice power in this case) than both the Green and Red lions, but Keith was really only half listening to what he was saying. What he was really paying attention to was Lance. How had he not noticed when they were making their escape just how pretty Lance was?

His skin was basically perfect, not a single blemish or scar or imperfection of any sort. Not to mention it was soft-looking as if he religiously took care of it. Overall, his face was round in all the right places, sharp in others. It was instantly noticeable that he still had growing to do. There were certain spots where it was obvious he was still filling out. Moving from his face, Keith’s line of sight traced a path to those humongous shoulders. Keith thought that Galran shoulders were enormous, but Lance’s could easily compete with any of the others he’d seen. Sure, he was a little bit lean overall, but Lance’s shoulders were definitely strong, and it took all of Keith’s willpower not to imagine what his claws would look like raking down them.

Suddenly, Lance began leaning over the pilot’s chair, his tight round backside demanding Keith’s attention. He was pointing to something on the control panel, still talking, but Keith could honestly give less of a damn what he was saying. The way Lance would periodically look over his shoulder, shooting a wink or giving a smirk, made the space feel so much smaller than it really was. Finding himself feeling a little bit delirious, and a little bit more than hot and bothered, Keith tried to look anywhere but where Lance was, overwhelmed by his gorgeousness.

“Dude? Are you good? You look like you’re burning up.” Lance raised an eyebrow and stood up straight, not quite realizing what was going through the other’s head.

“F-fine. I’m fine. I think I need air, though.” Keith stuttered.

“Do you need help? You look like you’re about to fall over… are you positive that you’re alright?” Lance gasped, suddenly shifting from flirtation to Big Brother™ mode as Keith tripped and nearly fell in his clumsy stupor. He reached an arm toward Keith, who then began panicking.

“Oh, no. I’m totally fine. Let’s just get outta here and see if anyone else is up yet.” Keith began stumbling over his feet toward the exit of the lion, and Lance kept closely behind him as they made their way out, resisting the urge to wrap his arm around Keith’s waist.

“You know, this is kind of funny. Yesterday when we first met, I thought you were gonna be a real big weblum. Corpse eating, fun-ruining, never happy. But then you really turned out to be quite the opposite, I think.” Lance flashed a cheeky grin as he scratched behind his amazingly pointed ears. His other hand was hovering just behind Keith’s shoulders, ready to grab him should he begin to fall. He was fine once they had gotten out of Blue, but Lance wouldn’t take his word for it.

“Thanks, Princey.” Keith said, trying to calm his shaky voice.

“Don’t mention it.” Lance stuck his tongue out and winked at him.

They arrived in the training room, noticing right away that the entire rest of the team was waiting for them there. The others were ready to go in their Paladin armor and quickly eyed them as soon as they came within sight.

“Lance, we get it, you’re the flirty Disney Prince who can’t keep it in his pants. But come on man, we literally picked this one up yesterday.” Pidge shouted from across the room, mischievous smirk decorating her face. Hunk covered a snicker with his fist and Shiro raised a judgmental eyebrow at them. Allura stood quietly, a knowing look hiding in her eyes as she stared Keith down.

“First of all, what’s a ‘Disney’?” Lance looked over to Keith, scrunching his nose.

“Earth thing?” Keith shrugged.

“Earth thing.” Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk said in unison.

“Alright Paladins, let’s get serious and focus on our task.” Allura clapped her hands together before instructing the group to sit on the ground in a circular pattern. She handed everyone the mind-link crowns before leaving to stand outside of the group. “I know we’re all familiar with the mind-melding exercise, aside from Keith. So we are revisiting it in order to help us all get an idea of the mental connection a little bit better.”

Keith’s entire body stiffened at that. Did they really have to dig around in his head to be able to form Voltron with him? Was this actually necessary? He looked around at the rest of the team, nervous.

“Keith? You okay, buddy?” Hunk asked from his right. The device was already on his head, and he had a look of genuine concern on his soft face. His hands fidgeted in his lap, as if he wanted to offer a reassuring touch, but he stayed where he was.

“Yeah. Yeah. Let’s do it.” he shook his head, trying to dissolve his nerves. He showed Hunk a nervous smile. He put the mind-link on and shut his eyes, following the others’ lead.

Keith did his best to keep his thoughts shut down, focusing only on his connection to Red and his new place in Voltron. It was working successfully. Everyone could see that they were coming together, slowly sure, but it was something and it gave the room an air of excitement. They were in the process of coming together completely. Each part of Voltron was clear; two arms, two legs, the torso and head. Then, suddenly, the image became fuzzy and distorted before disappearing completely. An image of a female Galra teenager sporting the Blade of Marmora combat suit flashed before everyone’s eyes. Keith ripped the device from his head and threw it violently against the ground.

Everyone looked at him with concern in their eyes. Keith was stuck where he stood, body feeling like a block of lead. No one was able to formulate a thought before he ran off in the opposite direction.

“What just happened?” Hunk asked, looking to the team for confirmation.

“I don’t know, he started thinking about some lady and then boom, he freaked out.” Pidge commented, also looking rather surprised.

“We have to talk to him! Something’s wrong.” Lance began to stand, but Shiro gently stopped him with one arm.

“He might need some time to think on his own, Lance.” Shiro stated, concern clear in his grey eyes. He shot a look at Allura, who nodded in response.

Thace was there when they finally decided to awaken the Red Paladin. They waited at Ulaz’s discretion to do so. Thace was the youngest member of the Blade of Marmora, being in early adulthood. He was recently rescued by Kolivan as his home was ransacked by The Empire. The Empire took his mother and the rest of his family that day. He was the eldest and worked as a combat teacher for the local community he had been born in.

It would be nice to finally have someone more youthful and high-spirited to speak to. And Kolivan was eager for Thace as well as the rest to learn combat skills from the Paladin.

When she opened her eyes, she was instantly in a panic.

“Stay away! Get back. Where is King Alfor? Voltron?” She demanded, searching futilely for a weapon. Noticing she was out of luck, she sprung from her resting position and kicked Thace right in the jaw, before trying to run off. Ulaz gently apprehended her, scooping her up in his arms.

“Sudal! We are not your enemies. King Alfor is dead, the rest of the Paladins are dead. Zarkon believes that you, too, are dead.” Kolivan spoke to her, she stopped struggling as the words hit her like a splash of cold water. Ulaz gently placed her back on her feet, but she instead sank to her knees as she tried to hold in her tears. “You are safe here for the time being.” She shifted her eyes to glance Kolivan with her peripherals, but offered no response. Thace, recalling his days as an instructor, knelt before the weeping girl and looked into her fearful eyes. She avoided his eyes as best she could.

“Miss. If it makes any difference to you, The Empire stole my family as well. They took my mother, they took my father, and they took all of my siblings. They are all probably brainwashed shells of their former selves now. And every day I wish they had been murdered before my very eyes instead of being taken, because then at least I would know. I cannot change this, but I have learned that there is still hope. Please, let’s try again.” He offered her his hand, as she trembled with the weight of her sorrow.

The Paladin shot her head up, locking eyes with Thace. He could see so much intensity residing in her eyes. There was anger, resentment, longing, endless fire. She was more than just a girl, more than just a confused teenager—she was a true warrior and Thace felt his heart nearly break at the sight of her larger than life character.

She trusted Thace without further doubt after their encounter. She was, however, quickly taken to the infirmary to be examined by Ulaz and the other medics. Kolivan and his close team had to figure out what to do next with her.

“She is clearly a great asset to this rebellion.” Kolivan began, he had brought Antok and Thace to his study, where he often devised mission plans. Ulaz joined them once finished with the Paladin’s physical exam.

“We must protect her from Zarkon, she is still a child. Her body is just transitioning from preadolescence to adolescence. I’m amazed that she was even allowed to pilot a Voltron lion in the first place.” Ulaz added, seemingly angry at the prospect of such responsibility being placed upon someone so small.

“The Voltron lions choose their paladins, not the other way around. She must be a fierce youth with amazing skills if she was chosen at such a young age.” The Galra in the room were completely baffled.

“Will Zarkon know how to find her?” Thace asked, finding himself more and more worried for the young girl who was pacing restlessly in the infirmary surrounded by guards, attempting to plan her escape.

“The legends say that the Voltron Paladins have strong mental connections to not only their lions, but also each other. All these years, the other three paladins were dead and Sudal’s mind had been dormant, so he has not been able to sense her for all this time. He still assumes she is dead. We have to keep it this way.” Kolivan said, closing his eyes solemnly.

“How should we do that?”

“We must erase her past from her memory. Then her connection will be broken.” Ulaz concluded.

“Thace. It will be up to you to watch over her as she recovers and relearns.” Kolivan commanded. “She will trust you the most, because we will have to rewrite her past. You will be her family now.” Thace swallowed thickly, nodding at his leader.

The meeting ended briefly after this. Ulaz swept immediately back into the infirmary to mend the situation with the young girl. A loud and excruciating cry ripped throughout the entirety of the base as the procedure commenced. Thace’s heart nearly shattered at the sound of the girl’s pain. She sounded all too much like a child.

In place of her original memories, the young girl was planted memories of being Thace’s younger sister. She was made to believe that she and he had been rescued together and were now both members of the Blade of Marmora. She retained all her previous combat and piloting skills and still had much the same serious yet stubborn personality she had arrived with.

Thace took to his new “sister” nearly instantly.

“Sudal, are you feeling better? Ulaz was telling me you’d fallen victim to exhaustion.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. But my body feels like it’s been frozen for about ten thousand years!” Thace tensed, had the operation not worked? When she smiled up at him fangs shining in the light, he knew she had just coincidentally made that comment. He smiled sadly for a moment, eyes growing soft.

“You complain too much. Come, you need to go eat.” He smiled back at her. The young girl jumped onto his shoulders in the blink of an eye, catching him by surprise. They continued talking and laughing as they strolled down the hall.

Since that day, Sudal became inseparable with Thace. Their bond was stronger than that of any other in the Blade. They trained together, they went on recon missions together, and they told each other everything. The memories were so vivid sometimes that Thace himself would forget that Sudal wasn’t truly his blood, but that didn’t matter to him at all.

Time passed and Thace was suddenly becoming an equal match to Sudal’s combat techniques, which were unlike any other Galra the entire Blade had ever witnessed. This was due to her past as a Paladin, but Sudal believed she was naturally gifted. On this particular day, instead of his usual overwhelming defeat, Thace had won.

“You’re getting old, Young Master.” Thace said, smirking mockingly at his sister as he helped her to her feet.

“Psh, whatever you say! If we go one more round, you’re in for it.” She smirked confidently, fixing her hair into a tight bun. “You’re lucky I’ve just got a lot on my mind today.” Sudal said, smile faltering as her gaze shifted away from her brother, focusing onto nothing in particular. Noticing immediately, Thace placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you need to talk about it?”

Chapter Text

Keith was in his new room, curling up on the bed. Said room was still too empty and too foreign for him to be comfortable. It was so distinctly ‘not yet his’ that he couldn’t even find a cozy way to align himself on the minimally furnished bed. He was hoping that no one was coming to check up on him, especially not Lance.

And of course, like clockwork, a knock came upon his door.

He nearly screamed in frustration.

“Keith? Keith, are you in there? It’s Coran, I have come alone.” Praising a higher deity that his prayers had been at least half answered, he rose from his spot on the bed.

“Coran,” he began as the door swished open, “I appreciate your concern, but I’m really not all that upset. Just tired.” When Keith looked at the older man, he noticed his eyes were trained especially hard on his face.

“You know, Keith, I understand that accepting something about who you are is the hardest part about living, in any galaxy. Especially for someone as young as yourself. You don’t have to tell me anything, or prove yourself, or even demonstrate your loyalty. When you are ready to do all of those things, however, this group will be more than willing to listen. Even Allura, no matter what you may think she feels about you. She’s a leader first and foremost and would never want to jeopardize her team.” Coran reached out and placed a warm hand on Keith’s shoulder, having an immense calming effect upon him. “Don’t forget that you’re a part of it.”

“Thank you, Coran. A lot.” Keith tried his best to appear encouraged, but honestly, he just felt… wrong.

“Of course. And if there is ever anything you wish to talk—”

“Perfect! Keith’s still with us? I was really worried you would have bailed or something.” Lance said, squeezing himself past Coran. The older man smiled knowingly at the prince. Lance winked to Coran as he shut the door behind himself. “Hey” was all he said after that. Great.

“Uh… hey.” Keith said, still looking really down despite himself.

“Do you, I dunno, wanna do something? Take your mind off things?” Lance asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Not saying a word, Keith raised an eyebrow in question.

“That must be a yes, follow me.” Lance’s lips stretched into an award-winning smile and Keith just couldn’t help himself.

Lance walked to the other side of the room and knelt down. He began feeling his hands around the frame of Keith’s bed. Puzzled and intrigued, Keith knelt beside him and began trying to locate just what Lance was looking for. Finally finding it, Lance hit a button that was nestled near the foot of the bed, just out of sight. Keith could feel his eyes bulging out of his head as he looked up to see his bed retracting into the wall and an emergency chute open up where it used to rest.

The prince looked over his shoulder at Keith and stuck his tongue out playfully before jumping down the chute. Keith stood still dumbstruck as he watched the other disappear. “This guy is going to kill me.” Keith, without another thought, followed after, ears pressed tightly against his head as the wind thrashed his hair about.

When he landed he noticed they were in the Chamber of Lions, and Lance was already climbing into Blue, leaving her open as he climbed inside. Keith realized that Lance was inviting him to join him for a ride in doing so, and while Keith felt like he really wanted to take the offer; he knew that flying on his own was what he really needed. Turning his head to face Red, he smiled triumphantly. She called out to him with their bond, urging him to just go for it.

Red herself was very much still in a mild state of disrepair. Her paint was dull and chipping, she had minor blasts and scrapes all over her body, and whenever she was started up she seemed to emit a tired groan to Keith. Essentially, she was tired and worn and needed some maintenance attention. That, however, didn’t stop her from wanting to go, go, go.

Lance watched as Keith disappeared into his lion and closed her up, preparing her for flying. He smiled to himself. “This’ll be fun.”

Both lions came to life. The doors to the hangar opened to reveal planet Arus’ grassy hills and blue skies.

“After you, Short-Stuff.” Lance put on the best suave voice he could manage over the communications line. Keith just snorted, shaking his head as he and his lion shot past Lance and out into the open, into the sky. He could see Lance follow swiftly behind him. The Prince was still in his pilot training, where Keith had been doing all sorts of flying while in the Galra Army and the Blade.

“Where to, Princey?” He called cockily to his companion.

“Anywhere you want, beautiful.” Keith slammed the comms line off at that. If Lance had heard the choking noise he had emitted shortly after being called ‘beautiful’ of all things, then he would’ve laughed right in his face. Composing himself, taking a few deep breaths, Keith reactivated communications.

“I uh, think you know this particular galaxy better than I do, wouldn’t you? I don’t think the Galra even know this place exists.” Keith said as he took survey of his surroundings, they were leaving the planet’s atmosphere now, and he could hear Lance humming in thought as they did.

“I guess you’re right. Just follow me and prepare to have you mind blown.” Keith rolled his eyes as he shifted his lion to follow the other’s lead.

After a short bit of flying, they ended up right beside a nebula. The swirling colors and brilliant light emitting from said nebula put Keith in awe. Lance decided to land on the nearest planet, pinkish in color, and Keith was excited to begin exploring. Lance parked and hopped out first, waiting to greet Keith as he left his own lion. He offered his hand as Keith stepped out, and despite his better judgement, Keith accepted.

“Nice flying.” Lance grinned as Keith grabbed his hand.

“Yeah. You too.” Keith watched as the other grew uncharacteristically shy.

“So, uh, I never really got to apologize.” The prince suddenly looked away as he said it, his eyes honing in intensely to the ground.

“Apologize? For what?” Keith asked, curious as to how the wonderful elegant prince had ever wronged him.

“You know… when we first met? The first thing I did to you was, uh, slam you against a wall… and also uhm… get in your face.” Lance sounded appalled at the fact, kicking dirt with his white boots. He was trying to keep eye contact at a minimum as he did so. Keith felt his heart fluttering as he went to speak, making a mental note of the way the flush spread across Lance’s cheeks, seeping to the points of his ears.

“Well… what would you do if I said that I didn’t mind it all that much?” Keith smirked, but his own blush gave him away. Lance stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the young Galra with wide beautiful eyes.

“I’d say you’re wild, but I’m not surprised. No one can resist a prince.” Lance regained his composure and bumped his side playfully into Keith’s as his eyes sparkled with happiness. Keith savored the warmth as they began to walk away from their lions.

They carried on like that for a while. Having landed by a beach, they walked toward the water and sat in the sand. The magnificent turquoise waters rushed over their ankles as they watched the stars and sky overhead. Keith, feeling the emotional exhaustion finally hit him like a brick, threw his body to lay in the warm sand beneath him. He heard Lance rustle beside him, also letting himself lay back on the beach.

“Does Allura know you’re here?”

“She probably does now. Don’t worry too much, Coran will have our backs.”

“Will she be upset?”                                                             

“Nah, she’ll probably be upset that we didn’t bring her with us. She loves getting out of the castle sometimes.” Lance smiled sheepishly.

“Oh…” Keith turned to lay on his side, facing Lance straight on. Lace was watching him intensely, as if there was something pressing he needed to talk to Keith about.

“Can I ask who that woman was? She’s gotta be important if she made you freak like that.” Lance finally asked, voice growing softer. He was always so gentle with Keith, and he didn’t know whether to be thankful or annoyed at being treated as if he was so fragile.

“Do you want the real answer? I think it’ll disappoint you.”

“Do you trust me?”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“Do you trust me enough to tell me about it? I don’t want to force you.”

Keith’s eyes popped open incredibly wide to make direct eye contact with Lance after he spoke. There was a silence between them that was heavy with emotion, heavy with something that was being danced around in order to keep from overstepping any boundaries. Both of them knew exactly what it was. Keith looked at Lance, really looked at him. He saw how beautiful he was and how loving his eyes were. He saw flickers of admiration, genuineness, and hope scattered across his features. He saw life pouring from every movement he made and Keith wasn’t sure what crushes were like but he figured that that must be it.

“Keith? You with me buddy?” Lance asked, leaning in close to wave his hand in front of Keith’s eyes. Their knees were touching now, and Lance was invading Keith’s space as much as he could without being directly on top of him. “You… don’t have to answer that question, you know.” Lance whispered.

Keith felt his eyes slip shut as he pressed his lips onto Lance’s carefully, like a mother kissing a child’s injury. It was small, but sure. As he slowly pulled himself away, he felt a strong hand tug at his waist and suddenly he was colliding with Lance once more, who kissed him back with full vigor and enthusiasm. It was still sweet and shy, but surprising and quick as well. Lance tangled his fingers into Keith’s wonderfully soft hair. Lance’s arm brushed softly against one of Keith’s ears, causing the young Galra to gasp and push the other away.

“Be…be careful how you touch my ears, please.” Keith panted, suddenly feeling way too warm. His chest felt tight as his lungs begged for breath. Lance, whose heart was still racing just as much, looked at Keith with worry in his eyes.

“Sorry…” he replied. As they caught their breath, Lance’s eyes traced Keith’s body up and down as if he were a treasure and a meal all at once. He let his eyes completely soak up the young Galra boy; he was lean and muscular, small at the chest and waist then, BOOM hips and thighs that could rival Shiro’s. Lance was so entranced that when Keith spoke next he nearly missed it.

“I don’t…have any idea who she is.”

“What?”

“The girl… from the mind-meld thing. I don’t know exactly who she is, but I must know her somehow.” Keith said, inhaling and exhaling deeply. “She was also a part of the Blade of Marmora. In fact, I probably knew her incredibly well. That reminds me however, I should probably get in contact with my brother Thace soon and tell him I’m alive.” He stood abruptly, stretching his body before walking rather quickly back to his lion. Red opened up immediately for her new paladin. Lance rushed to his own feet and pursued Keith before the lion closed all the way. Why was he so short on breath all of a sudden anyway?

“Who do you think she was, then? Do you have a sister?” Keith’s entire body tensed and his eyes flashed with fear as he sat in the pilot seat. Red immediately closed up and started her engine. She could sense her pilot’s stress and took action herself to protect him. “Hey, wait! If this is about the kiss I’m sorry! Please don’t go!” Lance called after him. He jumped inside Blue and followed Keith, who decided to return to the Castle.

When each boy exited their lions, they locked eyes once more. Keith was able to calm himself down with the help of Red. He walked directly up to Lance and kissed him on the cheek, the forehead, and finally the lips.

“The kiss didn’t bother me. In fact, it was…uhm.” He paused, flickering his eyes to Lance and then back to the ground, blushing all over again. “Please don’t ask me anything else about my past until I’m ready to tell you, okay? I still have to sort some of the details out for myself.” without waiting for an answer, he stalked towards his room. Lance just stood dumbstruck, still feeling on his lips where Keith had kissed him.

Returning to his room, Keith hurriedly shed the clothing he was in until he was just in his form fitting boxers. Still short on breath (it was the stress) and extremely ready to crawl into bed, a knock sounded upon his door. Groaning out loud Keith leaned his forehead against the cool metal. Did any of these people have a fraction of a sense of privacy?

“Lance, please leave me alone, I need to think right now.” Keith called, heaving a deep sigh.

“Not Lance. Let me in?” Pidge.

“Pidge? Sorry I can’t open the door right now. I’m uh, changing clothes.” Keith (mostly) lied. He was nearly naked at that point, after all and why should Pidge have to see that?

“Okay, I’ll wait until you’re done then.” Shit.

“Uhm. Actually Pidge, I was just going to go sleep once I got dressed.”

“No, let me in. You need to talk to someone who knows what you’re going through. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about either or I’ll kick your ass once I’m in there.” She threatened. Keith could hear her tapping her foot impatiently against the floor before sighing. “Are all teams like this? What is she talking about?”

He let the door swish open after throwing his shirt back on. Pidge stepped inside, adjusting her glasses. She took a quick glance around.

“I guess you didn’t get to bring much with you before you got here huh?” She said, climbing atop Keith’s bed, sitting cross-legged and staring at him with inquisitive eyes. Keith, still utterly confused at her comfortability with a complete stranger, stared right back at her and shook his head before she exhaled sharply through her nose.

“Don’t you think you should take your binder off any time soon? I don’t know how long you’ve had it on but if you were really about to sleep you know as well as I do that you shouldn’t still be wearing it.” Keith opened his mouth to reply nonchalantly, used to the suggestion. Realizing he was speaking to Pidge, someone he hadn’t come out to yet, he choked on nothing. He sputtered and looked at Pidge, eyes unable to focus on one thing as the shock overtook him.

“I… hold on now, what? How…?” Keith couldn’t get all of his questions sorted out properly in his brain as he spoke. Pidge held up a small hand to stop him where he was.

“One: You aren’t obvious or anything. Two: I haven’t told anyone else at all. Three: It’s ok. Me too.” Pidge stated, cool brown eyes offering a sense of understanding behind them. Keith took each small bit and processed it slowly in his head before a little metaphorical lightbulb clicked to life over him.

“You too?” was all he could muster.

“Yes. I was born Connor back on earth. Now I’m Katie, or Pidge of course. It was supposed to be like a cool undercover name but it kinda grew on me.” She smiled a sweet and somewhat crooked smile, confidence radiating from her very center. Keith just sat on his floor with his jaw hanging, still somewhat surprised.

“How could you tell though?” Keith was finally able to ask.

“Well, let’s just call it intuition.” She winked. “Also I may or may not have had Rover scan you.” Her sheepish smile was still in place. “I’m kind of surprised that a super advanced alien race like the Galra wouldn’t have better trans-friendly gear. Then again, they do kind of suck ass at the whole… basic kindness thing.”

“Are you serious?” Keith asked, furrowing his brow at the young girl.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t concealing any weapons or anything. And like I said, I didn’t out you to anyone, I’m not a heathen without morals.” She defensively put her hands up while Keith pouted, but he was thankful nonetheless.

“Well, I guess I have to thank you for that.” Keith muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.

“If you need advice or encouragement for when you do feel safe enough to come out to everyone else, you can come to me. Everyone is okay with me, and I’m trans too. I think you have to get it off your chest.” Keith raised an eyebrow at her.

“Really? Is that a… a binder joke?”

“What?” She paused briefly, realization hitting her face. “Oh. OH!” She started cackling she was laughing so hard. She grabbed her stomach and threw her head back as she figured out what she had said. Keith couldn’t help but start smiling, rolling his eyes a little bit as he did so. Maybe, maybe he was starting to feel okay.

It was nice.

Sudal and Thace left the training deck in favor of the privacy of her room. They were silent the entire way there. The two sat upon her bed, Sudal’s knees pulled snugly to her chest. She purposely was averting her eyes from her brother’s concerned looks.

“What is it, vulbub?” He asked gently, ruffling the locks on the top of his sister’s head. He knew that pet names always grated on her nerves, so he only used them on her when she was being evasive.

“Don’t call me that childish pet name! I’m almost sixteen!” She complained, shooting her head up to glare at the older Galra. Vulbub being the equivalent of ‘little one’ in Galran. She pouted at her brother, brows furrowed defensively.

Thace laughed lightly and resumed patting her hair. Sudal opted to lean her head on Thace’s shoulder, still doing her best to avoid talking about what she had brought him in for. They let the silence grow thicker for an indeterminable amount of time before Thace spoke once more.

“Well, I’m listening to you whenever you’re ready to talk.” Thace laid himself down, resting his head on one arm. He watched his sister continue to fidget with her body, unable to keep completely still as she let the anxiety of it all build up. She kept glancing tentatively at him, as if she was wishing that he would somehow just get it, but to no avail. With one final deep inhale, she allowed herself to just come out and say it.

“I… don’t really know what to say to start… But I guess maybe I should tell you that I’m going with you and Ulaz on the spy mission.” Thace’s entire body went ramrod straight with tension. Noticing this, Sudal continued speaking. “I asked Kolivan myself if I could go. He didn’t want me to either, but I told him if anything happened to you, and I couldn’t be there for you, I wouldn’t want to continue living.” She buried her face into her knees completely and began shaking with tears. Thace sat back up, facing Sudal and wrapping his arms around her small form.

“Sister, it’s impossible. You’re a female. Women aren’t allowed on Zarkon’s fleet unless they know druid magic or enlist in his barbaric breeding program. Period.” He didn’t mean to sound harsh, but he couldn’t stop his defensiveness from coming forth in his speech.

“I don’t know magic… but I decided to go undercover as a male Commander in training. My name will be changed to Keith. With my combat and piloting skills, they are sure to take me.”

“This is ridiculous! What will happen if they discover you, hmm? Will they whisk you away and execute you? Or will they violate you and strip away every ounce of your pride and confidence until they’re finished and then execute you? Is Kolivan even thinking twice about this?” Thace could feel his blood boiling at the thought of his sister in any sort of danger, especially in the hands of the enemy. “Sudal if anything like that were to happen to you. I’d kill every last one of them myself.” He growled. She laughed lightly through her tears.

“Brother, Ulaz is going to help me create the best disguise possible. He knows exactly what to do.” Her tears had finished, her eyes glowed with confidence and Thace already knew that there was absolutely no changing her mind. He sighed and let himself smile, he knew that his sister simply wanted his reassurance and approval, and so he gave it to her.

“Well, they won’t know what hit them when you get your hands on them.” Thace looked her in the eyes once more, and knew that she would be alright. Sudal absolutely beamed with happiness, glad that her brother wasn’t attempting to hold her back from what she knew she wanted.

After the intense part of the conversation was over, they decided to return to sparring.

Chapter Text

Today was the day. They were going to retry the mind-meld. There was only so much time left for them to waste before Zarkon inevitably found them, and Allura wanted nothing more than to be (over) prepared for that moment. They had all been awoken incredibly early, much to the chagrin of everyone on the team, especially Lance, who was complaining mercilessly about the quality of his skin and under eye bags suffering because of the early start. Allura rolled her eyes at her brother, a smile still present on her face.

As they entered the training deck, everyone noticed that Pidge and Keith were extremely perky and friendly with one another. They were wide awake and making jokes and chattering relentlessly. Shiro shot a look between Hunk and Lance, who both had eyebrows raised in surprise. Even Allura noticed the new friendship. The only person that Keith had really interacted with before then was Lance, when had he and Pidge even spoken beyond being introduced to one another?

“You two seem pretty lively.” Shiro commented as he came up on Pidge’s other side.

“Yeah we had a nice conversation last night.” Pidge smiled up at Shiro, and Keith felt happiness bubble in his chest at the memory. He glanced over at Lance, who locked eyes with him on the spot. The prince smiled cheerfully at Keith once he had his attention. He could tell that Lance was just itching to talk to him again, but wasn’t entirely sure how to make his move. Hunk was standing just behind Lance’s field of sight, making kissy faces at Keith from over his shoulder. Keith couldn’t help but smile back, doing everything in his power to not spontaneously combust.

Today they had to focus.

The paladins took their positions sitting in a circular formation as Allura once again handed out the mind-meld headbands. Keith could feel anticipation spread within himself as he watched the others prepare themselves. They could do this. Allura gave the instructions once more before going silent, allowing them to work independently of her. Each paladin closed their eyes, sat up straight, and put their lions at the forefront of their minds.

Despite their eyes being closed, each one could see the lions as they came together with the power of their minds. The torso and legs assembled first, then slowly but surely the arms, and finally, the head. They were complete. They were Voltron. Each person could feel their connection with their lions and with their fellow pilots. The entire group was trembling with excitement and happiness. Upon releasing a breath they hadn’t noticed they were holding, concentration was lost and Voltron disappeared.

Opening their eyes and removing their headbands, however, revealed five indescribably joyous faces who couldn’t help but let out a cheer at being able to finally, finally assemble Voltron without problem. At least… sort of. They stood as Allura approached them, a similar smile gracing her features.

“Are you ready for the real thing?” She challenged, her smile growing and accentuating her ever enthusiastic nature. The group was fired up as they made their way to the Chamber of Lions.

“Allura, please. Did you see how well Blue and I did? I mean our mental connection is pretty strong. We really helped bring the whole thing together.” Lance said, using his cocky voice. Keith rolled his eyes, but laughed nonetheless at Lance’s façade. Allura and Pidge shared a look, winking to one another before Pidge tripped Lance in his tracks.

“We’re making amazing progress, team. Let’s keep it up.” Shiro smiled triumphantly at his younger friends, each feeling excited and proud.

Upon entering the Chamber, the whole group noticed that Red was fixed up nicely. She was in as good a condition as the rest of the lions, who had all gotten some sprucing up done when their new paladins arrived. Gone were her scrapes and dents and chipped paint. Gone were the blasts and holes and dirty spots. Keith was surprised and looked back at his team. Coran and Hunk were beaming.

“You didn’t.” Keith said, everything coming together in his head. Hunk and Coran, puffing their chests out ever so slightly just looked to each other before looking back to Keith.

“We did.” They said in unison. “Pidge was the distraction while Coran and I got to work. Surprise Galra Keith!” Hunk exclaimed, proud of his handiwork. Keith was on cloud nine as his team continued to do their best to make him feel as if he were a part of them, and he was beginning to grow incredibly attached to each and every one of them.

“Thank you,” he began, “so much.” Lance wrapped an arm around his small frame and looked down at him. Surprised, Keith shot him a look.

“Ready, samurai?”

“More than ever.” Keith shot back. He used his wide hips to bump Lance off of him. He threw a flirtatious look over his shoulder before jumping inside Red. Lance stood there absolutely dumbstruck as everyone around him shook their heads and got into their own lions.

“Come on, Casanova we’ve got to get to work.” Pidge called to him before getting into Green.

“What’s a ‘Casanova’?” Lance asked as he composed himself and made his way to Blue.

Once they got outside of the castle, everything happened so quickly. They took to just flying around, getting a feel for the controls of their lions again before trying anything crazy.

That was when Lance started flirting with Keith (again).

“Hey, hothead, are you gonna be able to keep up with me?” Lance goaded over the communications line. Everyone groaned save for Keith, who took the bait and shot back immediately.

“I sure can with that slow lion of yours.” Keith replied with a smirk. From there, he took off at top speed, leaving Lance and Blue to sit there dumbfounded. Blue urged her pilot to get it together and hurry up, taking matters into her own hands as she boosted her thrusters to maximum speed to catch up with the Galra boy.

Eventually, Blue and Lance had gone incredibly far, but they hadn’t seen Keith and Red once. Suspicious, Lance got back onto the communications, moving his lion slower and retracing his tracks to see if he had missed anything as he was rushing through.

“Hey, uh guys? Has Keith gone back to you?”

“Nope.” Shiro said over the line. “Maybe you should head back, Lance. He’ll come back sooner or later.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. Your boyfriend will be back soon.” Pidge snickered.

“It looks like Keith won this round, if my score keeping is correct.” Hunk chuckled. Lance pouted and huffed as he started to make his way back.

Suddenly, Blue was hit by something, causing the entire lion to lurch forward and slam an unprepared Lance against the control panel.

“What the hell!” He called out. Instantly, everyone on the line called out in a panic.

“Lance! Get back here this instant!” Allura’s voice was sharp enough to pierce skin as she commanded her brother.

“Roger!” He squeaked nervously. He turned his lion and used the visual panel on the dash to get a better idea of his surroundings. Where could that hit have come from? Another blast, another lurch and Lance kicked into high speed. He looked all around him, now panicking. What if Zarkon had found them? What if he was all alone and too far from his team and Zarkon took him? No, he had to stay level-headed lest he get caught again like last time.

Taking a deep breath, he lent all of his trust over to Blue, and she did the same with him. Their connection was stronger than ever, it seemed. And when the next blast was sensed by Blue, Lance sensed it along with her and was able to maneuver out of its path to remain safe. He whipped around and saw nothing behind him, nothing beside him. So where, where were these attacks coming from? He went higher and higher into the atmosphere and looked all below him, using Blue’s visuals to zoom in to particular spots. He ignored his team crying out for him to hurry back and let himself really get into the moment.

He remembered suddenly, Keith. Where was he? He hadn’t been taken had he? Lance became alert like he never had been before. He had to find Keith before Zarkon could get his hands on him and the Red Lion. If Keith really had been kidnapped, Lance would blame himself for the rest of time. How could he just let Keith get taken like that? Wait, wait, wait. He wasn’t even sure if Keith had been taken yet. He shook the stressful thoughts from his mind once more, and began using his head clearly.

“Keith is unpredictable. Knowing this, he’s probably not out in the open, but somewhere difficult to navigate and relatively hidden from view.” Looking down, he noticed an incredibly rocky and jagged canyon tucked away at the bottom of a steep cliff. Lance smirked. “Got you.” He headed directly down into the canyon, flying just a tad slower than usual as he was out of his element.

“On your left!” he heard a voice over the line call. Confused, Lance jerked, his motion becoming unsteady as he was hit moments later by another blast. After the fact, someone pulled up to his left, flying slightly above him, and that’s when it hit him.

“Keith!?” he sputtered. It had been Keith stealthily attacking him this whole time?

 “You said something about keeping up earlier, right? Did you perhaps mean anything like that?” Keith smirked confidently at the young Altean. Lance was utterly conflicted. He felt kind of flustered but also frustrated but also incredibly… hot. Keith had no idea what his cockiness was doing to Lance at that moment. If he wasn’t so confused and embarrassed he’d probably just invite Keith to… speak with him privately about what just happened later on. Shaking the initial surprise (among other feelings) off, Lance composed himself before speaking again.

 “Well, like I said earlier, I’m just tired from being up so early.” Lance stuck his nose up even though he knew no one else could really see him. He could hear Keith’s incredible laugh bellow out from the speakers and that was it, done deal. If he didn’t have a huge crush on Keith before, he definitely did so now. Lance was smitten.

“To be fair, I can’t believe you found me so quickly! Maybe next time I shouldn’t make it so obvious.” Keith continued to laugh gorgeously over the line. Lance would’ve given anything to see the look on his face at that moment.

“Lance! Are you alright? We’re coming to you.” Shiro called out shortly following Keith’s melodious laughter. Lance cringed at the sound of their concerned team members and the two began making their way back to the rest of the group to meet them halfway.

When they finally met back up, Lance told them about Keith’s ambush.

“It was amazing! Keith kind of snuck up on me, but since me and Blue are totally bonded we were able to see right through his crazy scheme.” Keith blushed at Lance offhandedly calling him amazing. “Keith’s like this crazy good warrior pilot! It’s like he’s been flying his whole life or something.” Lance continued. Everyone else just shared a laugh at Lance’s impressed attitude.

“That was all good and fun, but now we need to get back to work.” Shiro said, refocusing the group. “Let’s see if we can’t form Voltron for real.”

“And absolutely no more scaring me like that!” Allura scolded the two.

The group forced their concentration on Voltron, on each other. They sensed each person and they sensed their lions. They tried their best to replicate the feeling they had gotten during the mind-meld exercise and overall were succeeding in doing so. However, this just wasn’t working. Voltron wasn’t activating and they weren’t able to seal the deal.

No one was keeping track of how much time was passing as the group sort of just… flew around waiting for something to happen.

“Soooo… is anyone else feeling like this isn’t working?” Hunk tentatively asked. Shiro sighed.

“There’s gotta be something we can do.” Lance added, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Allura is there like a special shape we’re supposed to take or something?” Pidge asked.

“Maybe we should stack up our lions?” Keith added.

“I don’t understand. The bond between our paladins seems strong enough that they should be dancing faster than an angry clanmurel by now!” Coran stated. He anxiously tugged at his moustache as he went along. Allura nodded her head in agreement.

“Pidge, to answer your question, I’m not sure how it works. There isn’t anything specific from what I recall my father describing. Lance, do you remember anything?”

“Nope.”

“Well,” Shiro began, “maybe we should give Keith’s idea of literally stacking the lions a shot. It’s all we have for right now and we need ideas.”

“Whatever you say, you’re the head.” Lance shrugged.

The five lions carefully stacked one on top of the other. Once finished, Allura and Coran looked over the group.

“Something seems… off.” Allura raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“Yes. I do believe Lance and Hunk are switched. And why is Shiro beside Keith? Pidge what are you doing up there?” Coran shouted up at the group from the ground and they miraculously heard him.

“I dunno? I was gonna go where I was supposed to but Shiro didn’t want to squish me so he made me go on top!” Pidge yelled back.

“This isn’t working…” Keith said, exasperation lining his voice.

“I agree, what the heck are we supposed to do?” asked Hunk, slouching in the pilot seat.

“There’s gotta be something. Like a catchphrase or keyword...” Lance muttered.

They got down and took a break after this. Coran and Hunk prepared them actual food in place of the usual goo that they’d gotten accustomed to as a reward for working hard. Allura brought everyone water pouches and nunvil (except baby Pidge) to replenish their energy as well. Lance sat beside Keith as Pidge and Shiro sat across from them. Allura sat at the head of the table as Hunk and Coran returned.

“Like I said earlier, we’re doing really well, everyone. Don’t let this confusion set us back. We’re going to get it soon I can feel it.” Shiro stated, taking a bite of the food. Everyone heaved a sigh, as if attempting to alleviate some pressure from themselves.

They ate lunch in relative silence, each paladin trying their best to come up with a new plan for forming Voltron. Pidge stood during the time in order to excuse herself to the restroom. Allura shot straight out of her chair and followed after her, claiming that she as well needed to go. Everyone eyed Allura in surprise, her abrupt clambering concerning especially since it came from the normally composed and graceful princess.

The two were walking together in a relatively awkward silence before Pidge decided to speak up.

“Hey Princess, you feeling alright?” She asked, “You seem a little bit on edge.”

“What? No, me? Pidge, I am absolutely fine.” She smiled, as they approached the restroom, holding the door for Pidge. The smaller girl shrugged, walking inside.

“Suit yourself then.” She was entering a stall when suddenly Allura whipped her head to look Pidge directly in the eyes, hand grabbing the door before Pidge could close it all the way.

“Pidge. You and I are both aware of Keith, correct?”

“Of course. He’s certainly… here, isn’t he? I’d say we’re pretty aware of him if that’s the case.” Pidge, said, raising a sarcastic eyebrow. The princess was kind of scaring her at the moment.

“Please, Pidge. I’m serious. I had the mice check him when they gave him his new attire… They found that not only was his body consistent with that of a Galra female, but that it was also an exact match of Sudal’s. The previous Red Paladin.” She sounded confused, not so much about the bodily aspect as she was about the paladin aspect as she spoke.

“So… you’re saying Keith’s DNA matches with hers? The original Red Paladin’s? As in… like they’re probably related or something?”

“Well… yes. That’s what I mean. That’s all I’m curious about. I know I have no business intruding on the privacy of Keith’s body without his permission, but he just seemed so familiar when Coran and I laid eyes on him. We thought… maybe Sudal is still alive and Keith might help us…find her.” She muttered off.

Pidge, eyebrows still raised in intrigue and confusion, nodded her head. Allura could see the gears turning behind her honey colored eyes.

“Do you guys have any idea what happened to… Sudal when you last saw her?”

“No! That’s the strange part. I have no idea. Lance, Coran and I were put into cryosleep shortly before my father and Sudal presumably died protecting us.” Allura stated. “But the Red Lion has been saying since day one that Sudal is living, and since she accepted Keith so easily I feel that there must be a familial connection there.” She tossed her hair over her shoulders, Pidge nodded silently as she let it all sink in.

“Okay. I can help you. I will talk to Keith and see if he opens up about his past. You just have to promise to keep this between literally just us. Not even Coran and Lance can know. Not even Shiro.” Pidge pointed, looking intently into the princess’ eyes as she spoke.

“Of course. Yes, I completely agree.”

After emerging from the restroom, the two girls made their way back to sit at the table.

“Are we ready to try again?” Shiro said, looking around at everyone, eyes finally meeting the Princess’. She stiffened her shoulders at him, hoping he wouldn’t be able to notice her awkwardness. He furrowed his brows as everyone stood, confused as all get out.

“Everything alright, Princess?” He asked as they made their way toward the hangar.

“Yes, perfectly. Thank you for asking.” She smiled at him, crossing her arms behind her back as he looked at her. A sparkle in her eye warning him to not ask any further questions. Shiro, still concerned, backed off for the time being.

Once inside their lions, everyone’s vigor was restored. They let themselves warm back up a little bit, doing minor sparring and flying exercises in their lions.

That was when it happened.

Chapter Text

A Galra ship appeared. A small once, but definitely recognizable by Lance, Allura, Coran and Keith as definitely Galra. The four of them tensed, stress from their previous memories overtaking their senses. Allura found herself filled with passionate rage.

“Paladins! Now is as good a time as any to figure out Voltron!” Allura called. Their hearts were all racing, and they could each feel their lions responding to their stress. Suddenly, it was as if a lock had been picked and a new door had opened. They could feel their emotions and energies combining into one task—forming Voltron.

“We’re doing it! It’s… happening!” Hunk cheered, feeling a laugh bubble up from his chest. Everyone else was rapturous, aside from a silent Shiro. He was eyeing the Galra ship with worry as they formed up. His confidence was boosted because his fellow paladins were feeling it, but other than that he was fearful for his team. What good would Voltron be if they didn’t know how to use it?

“Be careful, we need to stay alert. This is a Galra ship we’re dealing with.” His voice was more worried than he intended it to be as he alerted his team.

A distress signal sounded inside each lion. The five answered together.

“Please. I have come on my own. I was not followed. There are no other Galra with me aside from robotic soldiers that are currently not activated and therefore cannot be located via trace. I only want Commander Keith.” the voice calmly spoke. Everyone’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads at the mention of the Red Paladin.

Upon hearing the voice speak his name, Keith himself gasped harshly. He clapped a hand over his mouth and his eyes near instantly filled with tears. Because of this uncertainty, Voltron deactivated and the five were separated once more. The other four, sensing Keith’s distress, figured it was an omen of bad tidings.

“Ah we lost Voltron, guys!” Hunk shouted.

“What’s going on? What do you want with Keith?” Pidge called.

“You can’t take him. He doesn’t belong to the Galra anymore. He’s with us.” Lance spat, glaring the ship down. He moved Blue to hover slightly in front of Red, shielding Keith from the other’s view.

“Thace?” a small voice sounded. “Brother?” Keith. He let Red’s paws meet the ground as he powered her down and hopped right out. Upon seeing this, the Galra ship landed as well, the pilot descending shortly after. The taller Galra ran to his brother, scooping him into his arms and squeezing him tightly as he did so.

“Keith what are you doing?!” Lance called, everyone else was speechless as they watched the two embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, vulbub. I don’t know what I’d have done if I hadn’t found you.” Thace murmured into the top of Keith’s hair. Keith smiled into his brother’s chest, the smell comforting to him as they separated. The other lions landed around them, Lance being the first to emerge and beeline straight for the siblings.

“What’s going on here? Is there something… I should be concerned about?” Lance asked, eyeing Thace up and down. He’d removed his helmet and was sizing the other up as he did so, unknowingly puffing his chest out ever so slightly. Keith looked at him questioningly.

“Lance, this is my brother Thace. The one I’ve been telling you about.” Keith stated offering a confused look to the prince. Thace glanced at Lance, smiling ever so slightly. He had a look in his eyes that said he was reading Lance like an open book, causing the Altean to shudder at the gaze.

“Prince Lance of Altea, right? Good to meet you.” he turned to face the rest of the group as Keith introduced each one by name. The rest had lost their air of cautiousness with Keith’s brother as they welcomed him to the planet. “Thank you all for taking care of my brother. I know how difficult he can be.” Thace chuckled as Keith folded his arms indignantly, a happy smile tugging at his lips. Keith pushed him playfully.

“So why are you here, Thace? How did you find me?” Keith began, nervous yet excited. Lance’s heart throbbed at the absolute happiness in Keith’s demeanor, something that was completely unfamiliar to him.

“Well, I was sent on a mission by Zarkon to come and find you. Looks like I’ve succeeded in that regard.” The smirk he put on matched Keith’s exactly, and Lance couldn’t really tell why, but there was a growing, aching sadness spreading itself through him as the exchange continued on. There was just so much

Allura invited Thace to come into the castle (still with a bit of apprehension, but rightfully so). He explained to the group that once Zarkon discovered that Keith had gone missing, he was beginning to grow suspicious. He sent Thace to find the young Galra, as it was believed by many that Keith was behaving more like a rebellious teenager than a rebel against the empire. Thace was glad it was him that was sent, he had wanted nothing more than to find his brother as well; living and safe.

“Are you going to stay here?” Keith asked, nearly breathless with cheerfulness and anticipation. Thace eyed him sadly, reaching a comforting hand out to touch his brother’s shoulder.

“Keith, I’m sorry. I simply cannot. If I remain here, Zarkon will grow suspicious. If I leave, however, and return with your armor, I can tell them that this was the only thing we could find left of you, and we aren’t sure where you’ve gone or if you’re coming back. That will be more believable. It’ll also help the rest keep their minds off of you for the time being.” Thace saw the sadness in his brother’s eyes, and pain swelled in his own heart, but he knew he had to make the decision and stick with it lest he jeopardize the whole endeavor.

“When are you going to leave, then?” his eyes were hopeful.

“I will take three earth days.” Thace finally announced. “If that’s alright with your team leaders of course.” Allura and Shiro exchanged glances, shrugging.

“You may rest here for three earth days, as you said. We ourselves owe a great debt to the Blade of Marmora. After all, without you we wouldn’t have gotten our Red Paladin.” Allura smiled and nodded as she finished speaking, the mice taking their place upon her shoulder. No one else noticed except Lance, but Thace’s body twitched at the mention of ‘red paladin’.

“If you are able to communicate back to the rest of your organization, please let them know they can contact us for help anytime.” Shiro added, also smiling.

The rest of that day was spent training. Thace even helped at some points, giving away tips and tricks on how to beat the nearly indestructible Keith in hand-to-hand, much to his brother’s chagrin. Up until that point, the only one who came close to Keith’s skill was definitely Shiro.

They kept the training minimized to groups of two for the time being, and often put two paladins of a similar caliber together so there was no obvious disadvantages or upper-hands. Pidge and Hunk always sparred, for example, because Pidge was small and fast but relatively weak, while Hunk was large and slow but super strong. Allura and Shiro always practiced together because they were incredibly powerful and resourceful.

Of course, because they were very close in agility and strength, Keith and Lance were paired together as well.

Lance was still unsure about his feelings. There was something in his gut that was telling him that maybe there was something about Keith that he was keeping a secret, but he couldn’t quite place what that something was, not even as Keith slammed him to the ground, straddled his chest, and got in his face for the millionth time that session. Everyone cheered the red paladin, including Thace. Keith stood up and leaned over Lance’s flushing face, smiling and sweaty as he extended a hand to help him stand back up.

“Thanks…” Lance muttered, smiling small while avoiding eye contact with Keith. Keith raised his eyebrows suspiciously at the prince, but didn’t think to say anything more to provoke him. He was just having an off day, apparently.

It was about 1 AM earth time as Keith carefully removed his binder and set it gently on his bed. He put his shirt back on and grabbed a towel before sneaking out of his room. The rest of the Castle’s habitants were fast asleep, including Thace (who he had literally checked on). This was the safest time for Keith to shower without anyone else seeing him and as a bonus, he could take as much time as he wanted. He made his way quietly through the castle until he arrived at his destination.

Removing his clothes and padding into the shower stall, Keith looked around the entire bathing area, ensuring that no one else could possibly be there. He even perked his ears up to make sure he would catch even the smallest of sounds.

Sighing to himself, he turned the water on and let the steaming hot water rinse his skin clean. The heat around him made him comfortable, and he felt safety and solitude envelop him, drowning out his noisy and stressful thoughts. Steam filled the small space, and Keith let tension melt out of his shoulders, hips, arms, legs, all over. He lathered his hands up with soap he’d brought along, and began running them up and down his own body slowly and softly.

It felt good to be completely alone at the mercy of his mind.

Keith sighed at his own ghostly light touches, feeling heat radiating within himself from more than just the water. Letting his eyes slip shut only let his imagination carry him further.

There, just behind his eyelids, stood Lance right there in the shower with him. He couldn’t help but smile.

His gorgeous grin was inviting and calling out to Keith, ‘come here, come here’. They met under the stream of water, Lance kissing the other’s neck as his hands massaged Keith’s ears. Keith whined lightly in the back of his throat as the Altean did so, feeling his entire body turn to overheated putty in the other’s hands. Keith sucked a harsh breath in through his teeth as the prince let his hands roam further down his body, mouth following shortly behind.

Upon reaching his chest, the part Keith hated most about himself, Lance whispered into the skin.

“I want you, Keith, all of you.” he murmured. Keith’s knees buckled at the praise, causing him to nearly slip and fall on his ass in front of the beautiful boy he was pining for. Lance chuckled low in the back of his throat at Keith’s exasperation, kissing a path down his flat stomach and abdomen to Keith’s crotch. Lance was on his knees now in front of the Galra, holding his hips tightly with each hand, licking his lips in excitement. As his tongue traced a soft line up Keith’s folds to the bud of his clitoris, he felt all the air leave his lungs at once in a loud gasp.

Lance was submerged up to his neck in a hidden bathtub in the back of the shower hangar when he started thinking about Keith. It really had started out innocently enough, but of course it had to go a different direction as he started imagining Keith with him… in the tub.

The Galra had the prettiest smile Lance had ever seen, it was charming and suave and when coupled with his intensely shimmering eyes, Lance could barely contain his desire. They were seated together in the water, facing one another and Keith was letting Lance touch him. The prince let his hands wander down Keith’s front, lightly tweaking the other’s nipples as he made his way to the main event.

Lance ran his hand over Keith’s member, causing the other to gasp harshly, stiffening his entire body in pleasure.

A low moan radiated in the distance almost identical to the one that sounded in Lance’s daydream. After being ripped from his imagination, Lance felt his spine stiffen and his blood run cold at the sound. There was literally no way that he had fabricated the noise in his head. That one was definitely real. His pointed ears perked the slightest bit so he could capture the sound better in the event that it repeated itself.

And boy oh boy, did it.

“Hah! Oooh…” was what followed. Lance tensed once again.

“I knew the castle was haunted!” the prince muttered to himself as he reached for his towel in the dark. He hurriedly dried and dressed and went out of his way to avoid the sound, hoping to make an uneventful getaway. That was until the supposed ghost said something incredibly interesting…

“Oh, Lance please—I” he stopped cold in his tracks. That entity was calling… his name? Breathily? Lance couldn’t believe his ears. There was no way it could have been a ghost if it knew his name right? And come to think of it… those moans didn’t quite sound like sounds of pain, not anymore. The Altean followed the noises, blushing the entire way. Said noises grew in frequency and desperation the closer he crept up on them.

“That voice is so familiar.” He thought to himself. He heard the sound of the water running, and realized that someone, a physical real someone was in the shower in the middle of the night. “AND WHOEVER IT IS THEY’RE THINKING ABOUT ME WHILE THEY—!”

Finally, Lance arrived at a shower stall that was currently in use, steam rolling over and under the door. He didn’t want to look in, afraid of what he’d find, but he was paralyzed in his spot and there was no way he was going to turn back now. His heart was racing and his mind was working itself ragged pondering just what he would do with this newfound information, too scared to take action.

The prince decided to just hang back and listen. Why couldn’t he figure out who it was? It should’ve been way easier as each of his friends had very distinct voices, but this one was just… different. Familiar, yes, but different. He could’ve sworn it sounded a lot like his imaginary Keith, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions (or get his hopes up).

Keith, on the other hand, was on the floor of said shower stall, writhing against his hand as water continued to pour over his body. He couldn’t stop himself or his voice, his brain telling him to go, go, go. He was almost there. Each time his fingers hit that spot within him, he cried out a little bit, and all he could see in his head was Lance. His other hand scrambled for purchase to find something to grab onto as his thighs trembled and back arched. Keith’s entire body finally quivered with overwhelming pleasure as he orgasmed violently.

“Lance, aagh!” he cried at the peak of his release. Lance stumbled backward at hearing what he finally accepted and recognized as Keith’s voice, wrecked and desperate and sexy. His heart was nearly popping out of his ribs it was beating so fast. The pounding was so loud that Lance was scared the other would be able to hear it. The prince stood up quietly as possible, not realizing that he had knelt, ear pressed against the door. He wanted so badly to just run the other way and turn a blind eye, but he was curious and wanted to see Keith so desperately that he was torn between leaving and staying, feet seemingly glued to the ground as his brain fumbled on a decision.

When Keith finally came to, the water was incredibly cold, and his entire body felt totally spent and numb. He caught his breath and came to his senses as he shut the tap off while reaching for his towel. He heard shuffling from outside of the shower stall and felt his stomach drop. The young Galra scrambled to his feet, redressing as quickly as he could before rushing to catch the voyeur. He heard quick footsteps just a few feet ahead of him.

“Hey!” He called, throwing all caution to the wind and chasing after the figure, legs still a little wobbly from his previous endeavor. The figure tensed as if thinking about stopping, but instead they picked up the pace and began running even quicker toward the exit of the showers. Keith panicked. He had to know who had seen him, and how much they knew, but he wasn’t sure what to do to stop the other from getting away.

“Please!” he called as loud as he could, they were passing the other paladins’ rooms now, and he didn’t want to draw any more unnecessary attention. The taller figure never once looked back, never once flinched. Eventually, Keith’s body was too sluggish and slow to catch up to the other, who only seemed to be growing quicker on his feet.

“Quiznack…” Keith cursed under his breath as he watched the other round the corner.

Lance didn’t stop running until he reached his room. Even after he went inside and locked the door, he was still high off adrenaline and couldn’t do much to stop the pounding in his ears and the shaking of his hands. Keith had…touched himself to the thought of him. There was no reason it should have scared him or made him nervous like it did, but Lance felt it. Maybe it was the fear of getting caught that had him so distraught.

In fact, he should have been excited at the prospect of Keith thinking about him as much as he thought about Keith. Hell, he was.

But how was he supposed to bring it up? “Oh hey, Keith. Do you remember that one time you came to the thought of me in the shower in the middle of the night? Good times. We should, like, date.” He was frustrated beyond belief. Maybe he never had to tell him? No that wouldn’t work either. “There’s only so many people on this ship, he’s bound to figure it out at some point.” His thoughts continued to race as he paced his floor.

The only comfort Lance had in his mind was that he finally knew exactly how Keith felt about him. Or at least, he hoped he was getting it right.

He went up to the mirror beside his bed. His face was as red as a Cholav fruit. There was a sheen of sweat marring his beautiful features and he cursed under his breath as he realized he’d have to do an extra facial cleansing later. For the time being, all he thought about was Keith.

Keith lay bundled up in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He still wasn’t entirely sure who had seen him, but he figured it would be such a far-fetched story that no one would really believe it if they tried to share it with someone else. Nonetheless, his entire body felt as if it were racing and keeping still all at once.

There was still so much more to do Voltron-wise, and Keith could feel knots of stress forming in his shoulders already. Groaning, he buried his head in the pillow, hoping to be swallowed up by restful sleep.