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Chapter Text

It gave you a few stretches and yawns before you could be fully awake. You groaned when you realised you're still alive and have to live another training day.

Despite your endless desire to collapse back in bed, you swung your legs over to the side and walked towards your door, which sild open automatically for you.

You didn't care if you looked like a sleep-deprived hag. Your tummy was begging for food and that's all that matters.

Walking into the kitchen and grabbing the hose for the space goo, the first thing Hunk asked you was, "Have you seen Keith?"

What a great way to greet good morning, you say to yourself.

"Probably in the training deck or something. You know how he is." You muttered and sat beside Lance and Pidge.

"He's not there though." Shiro shrugged.

You ate your space goo with eyes that looked like you wanted to die.

Allura suddenly barged in the kitchen. "Good morning everyone! Today we will be training again. After you all eat, go inside your lions immediately and Coran will give the signal. (Y/n), since you finished training level three yesterday, go on level four, alright?"

"Um, objection, I barely finished off the level three yesterday and I don't think I can survive this any longer." You said but Allura just smiled at you.

"Of course you can! You're working for Voltron, (Y/n)!" And with that, she walked out of the room.

"I swear to god these trainings aren't for human beings." Pidge complained and everyone agreed.

Somehow, Shiro and Keith are the only ones who are ready for anything. You can't almost believe that they're humans. You even saw Shiro doing push ups after training and Keith fighting a gladiator in the training deck, also after the lion trainings.

Allura barged in the kitchen again. "Oh right, where's Keith?" She asked.

"His mullet murdered him." Lance said and leaned back on the chair, feeling proud of himself. Hunk chuckled at his reckon.

"No, seriously. Make sure to find him before training starts. We can't begin without a missing paladin." Allura sighed and walked off.

"(Y/n), could you go and look for him?" Shiro asked and placed his plate on the sink.

"Pidge can do it," you said and she turned around from her laptop and scowled at you.

You rolled your eyes and groaned, slumping your shoulders. "Why is it always me?"

Space dad just crossed his arms over his chest and that's when you knew you had to follow him.

You let out another 'ugh' and hopped down from your seat after you finished your space goo and space juice. Thankfully, the food and drink that you just had increased your motivation and now you can move without feeling lazy.

Inside your head, you complained about how it was always you who always does everything whenever there's a problem. It's the similar thing about siblings, the older sibling and the parents ask the youngest to do the chores.

The last time you had ranted out to Hunk about Shiro forcing you to crawl in and clean the air vents when there's Pidge, who can fit really well inside those air vents. And this is a castle-ship with super duper high technology, who the hell needs air vents in a place like this?

Looking for Keith made you think about all the moments you had together, which was really rare because he's so unapproachable. The first time he said a word to you was when he asked you to train with him, because he was getting bored of fighting a robot, apparently.

Last week, you bumped into Keith in the middle of the night while you were trying to steal snacks from the fridge. Since he was with you, the both if you decided to watch the stars instead.

There was actually a time where he ranted to you about how much of a douchebag Lance is, and that's probably the most words he had said to you.

"Hey." Suddenly out of nowhere, Lance whispered near your ear that made you squeal a bit. He chuckled at your reaction.

"Found him yet?" He asked and you sighed, shaking your head.

"I don't even know why we should worry about him. He seems like a guy who can manage by himself." You observed, heading for the pool.

"You have the hots for him, don't you?" He said as his eyebrows wiggled. You hit his shoulder with your fist and grimaced.

"That's disgusting."

"Stop hiding it. We all know, (Y/n)." He winked. You hit him again.

"Maybe it's Keith who has a crush on me, but we're not dating." You rolled your eyes. Dating Keith wasn't a problem to you and you would like him only if he was more kinder.

"Right." Was all he said as he stepped in the elevator that brough him to the pool. You asked if he's there and he shouts from the top that he isn't. You let out another groan-sigh.

Since he wasn't in the training deck, said by the space dad, all you could think of was his room. Probably he overslept, but that has never happened before.

You knocked on his door thrice and waited for an answer. When you had none, you knocked again.

"Keith?" You said as you continued knocking. You had a feeling that he was in here, in some way that you don't know.

Finally, you heard a sound from the inside, a sound as if he dropped something heavy.

"Keith? Are you alright?" You yelled, hoping that he'd hear you.

"(Y/n).." he said with a frail and quiet voice.

"What's wrong, Keith?" You asked him, trying to sound as calm as possible

"(Y/n), go away." He wailed but you noticed the crack in his voice.

"Keith please. I'm here for you." You were never a person who's good at kind words. You learned some from Hunk, but you still had the difficultly to calm people down.

You had never seen Keith like this. Mostly he's just emotionless so it's hard to tell what he's feeling.

With the long pause, you stepped away from his door and decided to just go tell the others that he locked himself in.

Before you could go, he said hesitantly. "Okay, but promise me you won't tell the anyone."

"I promise."

The door opened and it was dark inside. Keith sat at the farthest corner from the door. You could tell because of two glowing things looked you and on the floor immediately.

"May I turn on the lights?" You asked quietly and you saw the figure nod. You slowly reached for the light switch beside the door and when you did, he flinched at the brightness.

Keith sat with his legs near his chest and his head down, hiding himself from you. You knew this was Keith, but with purple skin and large, fluffy ears.

You walked over to him and kneeled down, taking his arms off of his face and placing your hands gently to either side of his head, lifting it up.

He looked at you with sad, glowing yellow eyes as tears ran down from his face to his chin.

"You're still Keith, Keith," you said and gave him a small smile as you wipe his tears away with your thumb.

"I'm Keith, but I had become what everyone wants to destroy," he sobbed.

"Look at me. It doesn't matter if you're Galra, human, or somewhere in between. You are Keith Kogane, the red paladin of Voltron." You told him and his eyes widen at his full name being pronounced by you.

"And nothing, not even cute alien genes, will ever change that. Okay?" You smiled and he sobbed again, harder, and he nodded his head vigorously and wrapped his arms around you.

"I love you, (Y/n). Thank you so much." He buried his head at the crook of your neck.

"I love you too, Keith."

EXTRA SCENES:

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing." Pidge said nonchalantly, elbowing Lance as Lance nodded emotionlessly, not believing what they're seeing.

"OH MY GOSH DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, (Y/N)." Hunk said excitedly, and balls his fist.

"WE HAVE A CAT!" You and Hunk said in unison, jumping into the air.

You pet Keith's head and scratched the back of his ears as he tries to act like it's not bothering him.

"Here are all the cat toys I have!" Coran entered the room, bringing a bag overflowing of yarns and sqeaky mouse toys. Allura's mice hides behind Allura.

"I'm not a cat!" Keith exclaims and blushes but purrs at your touch behind his ears.

"(Y/n)... is a furry?" Lance whispers and Pidge chokes.

Chapter Text

Your eyes shot open and felt a bead of sweat drop from your forehead, suddenly feeling heat throughout your body and your heart pounding fast.

You had just woken up from a terrible nightmare. In fact, it wasn't a nightmare, but a memory of when you were kept by the Galra and forced to battle. You've been having these kinds of memories in your sleep for the past few days.

The clock glows in your dark room on the nightstand beside your bed, getting your attention when you noticed you overslept.

Swearing under your breath, you quickly sat up and swung your legs over to the side but as you stand, a headache shot through your head that made you slightly dizzy. Your surroundings blurred and you immediately tried to calm yourself down, saying that it's only a headache for the meantime since you woke up unexpectedly from a nightmare.

You walked over to your closet, slipped your suit on and rushed toward the lounge. It's passed breakfast, so you thought they were probably in the lounge, and you were correct.

"(Y/n)! What took you so long? We were all waiting!" Allura said, completely disappointed with you.

She continued on rambling about how early you slept last night and what were you doing but none of them seemed to really process in your mind because of the headache. Instead, you just apologise.

She sighed. "It's alright. Shiro's finished with lion associations. Shiro, spar with (Y/n) for today. Make sure she eats properly before going. Paladins! Go back to your training now!" She commanded and you nodded, your head hurting with each movement you make. Shiro escorts you to the kitchen.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asks.

Seeing you not waking up early was rare. It never happened before.

"Yes I am," You answered, feeling annoyed by some means.

After eating, you both go to the sparring area and stood opposite to each other, beginning with a ready stance.

Shiro was the first to make a move, attempting to trip you but missed when you stepped to the side. Normally, you wouldn't step to the side but jump then kick the opponent at the stomach. That has always been your tactic when someone tries to trip you and you had no idea why you didn't do it.

It was your turn to make a move, throwing a punch to hit his eyes although before you could, he grabbed your fist with his hand.

"Too slow," He smirked and you scowled.

You remembered what your father said back when you were little. He was a very good fighter.

"Always go for the knees, throat and eyes."

Shiro noticed you spacing out and decided to take advantage, kicking your shoulders that sent you behind to hit your back on a wall. You immediately stood up and saw him running towards you and you're waiting for the right time as an idea popped up in your mind.

When he was close enough, you ducked to dodge his expected attack, which was a punch. While you jumped up, you used him to make yourself climb furthur up on the wall before doing a backflip and kicking his non-robotic arm. He fell back and watched you laugh at him.

However, you felt your legs go jelly-like after your feet got in contact back on the ground, causing you to stumble a bit. This also made your headache hurt much more from all the movement you did. Being so focused on winning made you forget that you even had a headache in the first place. You were panting; gasping for air quickly as your heart beats fast.

You didn't notice Shiro going for you and when you did, you looked up at him and somehow an image of a galra from your past was in front of you. Letting out a shriek, you squeezed your eyes shut and crouched down, putting your hands above your head as you awaited for the pain that was about to hit you.

That pain never came, apparently.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked, voice full of concern. His hands held the both of your shoulders.

You looked at him to see his eyes full with concern, too. Sighing, you brushed his hands off of you.

"Yeah, of course," You relieved him and yourself but your heart was still pounding hard.

"Don't go easy on me," You told him nonchalantly and he nodded, starting to throw you sudden quick attacks and you dodged all of them.

Shiro knows you, and he knows that you don't fight like this at all. By his observations, he noticed that your attacks were steady and fast. You don't dodge, you block, and the only time that you would only dodge is when the attack is too strong or unexpected.

Whenever you would fight your eyes always shines with determination but this time sparring him, he saw that your eyes weren't shining at all, no hint of power in them but exhaustion.

The both of you had been battling for a while now and you were so tired but Shiro was still pumped. He worried about you a lot yet he didn't hesitate on not going easy on you.

Then, as you were lifting your leg to kick his head, he grabbed it just in time before it could hit him and twisted it. Luckily, only your ankle was damaged though it hurt enough for you to grunt quielty.

You didn't see his robotic hand coming for your stomach so you just watched in slow-mo how it hit you and sent you tumbling and rolling back.

"Shit," Shiro muttered.

He rushed over to you as you coughed blood and the impact of his fist still burning on your stomach.

You knew that Shiro likes you, a lot, actually, but he doesn't know that you know.

"(Y/n), I'm- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- I really didn't," He panicked and helped you sit up.

"I'm fine," you tried to reassure him.

"You aren't! You're coughing up blood!" He exclaimed.

Suddenly, he scooped you up with his buff arms and walked out to the hallways.

"Shiro, I can walk. Put me down," You demanded, only to be ignored.

You glared at him. "Put me down. Now."

"No," He refuses and you hit his chest and struggled out.

Another shot of agony throbbed through your head. You shut your eyes and buried your head in the paladin's broad chest. You groaned and massaged your temples as Shiro glances down at you.

You passed the 3 Garrison crew paladins before proceeding to your room.

He places you down gently on your bed and gave you a glass of water, which you took and drank quickly.

It doesn't even matter anymore. It didn't matter whether they saw you like that. You always hated being looked down on because it proves that you're weak.

You take in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Did something happen? You seem really off," He asks with a wet towel in hand.

"I don't know, honestly. For the past few days, I've been continuously waking up with a nightmare followed by a headache and I don't know why," You explained as he runs the towel over your face and to the small cuts from the spar.

"A nightmare?" He remarks and you nod.

"Not really a nightmare, but memories from when I was with the Galra."

"Oh.." he sadly sighed.

Someone knocked on the door and it opened, revealing Allura with a worried look on her face.

"I heard from Lance. (Y/N), do you need a pod?" She asks you.

You smiled at her. "No, I'll be fine. Shiro's here."

She nodded at you and told you to tell her if anything happens before exiting the room.

"I'll just excuse you in the training starting today until you feel all better. For the meantime, you rest here and don't do anything stupid when I'm gone. I'll stay here for now and tomorrow, I'll be visiting you from time to time," He said while walking over to the bathroom then giving you another glass of water. You nodded at all the commands he told you.

"Oh, and also, if you need or want anything, don't move an inch from this bed and call for me, okay?"

You loved seeing him like this. You just enjoyed how he cares about you a lot. Not to mention from this angle, he looked insanely hot.

An idea got into your head and you lifted up your arms and reached for the collar of his shirt, pulling it briskly to you and smashing Shiro's lips on yours.

His elbows rested on the bed on either sides of you to avoid squishing you with his weight.

It lasted for a good 10 seconds before the both of you pulled away. His lips tasted sweet and was very soft, just as you imagined.

"(Y-Y/N)?" He stuttered, his face turning into a shade of red. You giggled at his astonished look.

"I knew about your little crush, Shiro," You smirked.

"F-for how l-long?" He stammered at his words again.

"For a while," You said. He turned more red and kissed your lips twice more, loving the feeling of it, before burying his head down on your neck in embarrassment.

You giggled at his reaction and enjoyed his company.

Chapter Text

FLUFF !!!!!
Pidge's pronouns here are they/them as well. I hope you guys don't mind

Slipping on a tank top and some shorts, you ruffled your hair aggressively with the towel as you exit the shower, the door closing automatically behind you.

You are met with frowning faces as you stepped in the lounge, seeing everyone sweating and groaning because of the heat.

The castle needed to reload and restock some crystals, again. Coran was getting worried that the castle would suddenly power off, so now, everyone was settled on the closest planet, a really really hot planet to get some resources.

"Gosh, you took so long, Y/N!" Keith exclaimed as you rolled your eyes at him. He gets off on the couch beside Lance and hurriedly runs off to shower.

You plopped yourself between Lance and Pidge with a huff to notice a floating circular robot in front of Pidge, giving off a f/c glow.

"You're almost sitting on my lap, Y/N," Pidge says in an annoying tone before fixing back their leg from under yours.

"Hey, what's that?" Ignoring them, you poked at the robot; it had a circular form but completely hollow in the middle.

Pidge pushes their glasses up in confidence. "I programmed it to circulate some air, just like an electric fan, but more advanced. I approximately took about 32 hours to build it."

You cooed in awe as you pointed the robot to yourself, earning a deadly glare from Pidge.

"Ahhh! That feels much much better. You're so talented, Pidge!" You moaned as the cold breeze hit your skin. You just got out of the shower, but because of this planet's temperature, it felt so humid inside so you were all sticky and sweaty.

"F-for the record, I built this! So it's mine," they pointed the robot back at them, but you were surprised to see a small blush spreading from Pidge's cheeks.

Pidge is... blushing? Was it because you complimented them? Or because of the accidental moan maybe? Anyway, you've never seen Pidge blush and become so tsundere like this.

Disrupting your train of thought, Lance let out a sudden grump before yelling, "Hunkkk! When will the ice cream be ready?"

Your attention was then turned to Lance, "What?! We'll have ice cream?!" As you finished your exclamation, the door slides to reveal Shiro and Hunk carrying a tray of ice cream cups on it, and with different flavors! Oh Hunk, everyone's saviour!

"Wow Hunk! You're so amazing!" Lance's expression changed from lifeless to twinking eyes. You can say that you're the same because damn! These ice creams just look so good! There were only about 9 different flavors and the other tray is just for a double of the flavors.

"Thank you Hunk!! You remember our favorite flavors so well!" You smiled at him, which he returns with a warm big smile and scratching the back of his head.

"It's no biggie. This temperature reminds me of the summer back on Earth." Hunk sits beside Shiro.

Lance nods excitedly, his mouth already filled with his caramel ice cream. "Mhm. I used to buy popsicles for my cousins during this season."

Keith came out of the shower fast, probably because he heard all the commotion about the ice creams. It also wasn't long until Coran and Allura came back to take a break and to try out some delicacies.

Shiro takes the cookies n cream cup, Allura takes a berry swirl ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, Hunk takes the cookie dough with MnMs, Keith takes... basic vanilla? Isn't he lactose intolerant? Anyway, Coran takes the mint chocolate cup.

You scanned the tray for your ice cream of choice, until your eyes have finally landed on your one and only, (fav ice cream name)!

Taking the cup of ice cream before any one else does, you hummed happily while you scooped up a small amount of ice cream, moaning in satisfaction when the flavor sparked in.

Pidge grunts and hastily snatches their cup and stands up, marching to their room as the robot follows suit.

Everyone glanced for a second before going back to chatting about their ice creams. Except you, because you were actually getting worried. Did you tinkering with Pidge's robot make them mad? Did you take their favorite ice cream flavor? You didn't know what it was that made them so grumpy today. Or maybe it's just the heat.

You sighed and stood up, biting your lip nervously as you ambled towards their room. You took a deep breath before knocking slowly on their door.

"Um, Pidge? It's Y/N," it took some seconds for the door to finally slide open. As usual, Pidge's room was a mess and there was clutter everywhere. The f/c light from the robot and Pidge's laptop screen were the only things that were giving the room some luminosity.

"What do you want, Y/N?" Pidge nonchalanty states without looking up from their screen. You slowly and quietly sat on the other edge of the bed.

"You've been acting weird lately. Did I do something wrong?" You tilted your head in genuine wonder. Pidge turns red again, but you suspect it was because the room was warm.

"You're the one who's being weird! I mean, why'd you have to- you know, make all those sounds and your actions and- whatever nevermind it's nothing!" They stammered with furrowed brows, facing away from you. You couldn't help but to burst out laughing because of how they tripped over their words.

You snuggled closer to Pidge, closing their laptop to see a better and full view of their tomato-red face.

"So that is what's this about? Is that also why your robot color is my favorite color?" You smirked jokingly.

"That's- that's just a coincidence!" Pidge retorted back, clearly embarrassed.

"Y-you're even redder than Red himself!" You snickered again, comparing Pidge to the red lion. They just growl at you, hugging a pillow.

When you're finally done, you wiped your tears of joy and gazed at Pidge's nearly melted ice cream. "What flavor is that?"

"Just coffee." They uttered quietly.

"Really? Try mine and guess what it is." You took a small scoop of your ice cream and spoon-fed Pidge, which they surprisingly accepted. While they were lost in thought trying to figure out the flavor, you took your chance and gave them a gentle kiss on the lips.

Pidge's face grows red again. "Y/N!! I- what-"

"Maybe that will help you guess? If you want more, you can just tell me." You chuckled softly at the sight in front of you.

Pidge calms down at last and leans in for another one. "I'll get the flavor right this time for sure."

Chapter Text

Playful laughter filled the table as Shiro's mature aura ruined the atmosphere.

"And then she-," Lance let out a snort, banging is palm on the wooden table.

"She tripped on Keith's foot but Keith fell as well, and- and-," he wheezed while Keith becomes flustered with his arms folded on his chest.

You snorted so hard that it actually hurt your nose and throat. "K-keith hit his crotch on the bars and he was on the floor for, like, 20 minutes in pain."

Lance, Pidge and you officially couldn't breathe.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I suck at DDR! It was my first time ever in the arcades," Keith pouted.

Shiro sighed. "That is not a matter to make fun of. Keith could've lost his abilities to make a child."

At this point, you had a hand on your stomach as you began to laugh even more after what Shiro had said and so did the others. 

"Another funny thing is, that it exactly happened to Matt too, except he was literally crying on the floor, while holding his crotch," Pidge told everyone as Matt, who was beside Shiro, had a face of betrayal.

Despite Shiro's dad resolve, he couldn't help but stifle a laugh hearing Matt's side.

The bell rang and you could barely stand from the pain in your stomach from laughing. Lance wiped away the tears in his eyes.

Shiro and Matt are seniors, so they headed off to their own building and classes. The rest of the group are sophomores. Meanwhile, you and Lance are in the same period, chemistry. You walked off with him and laughed about Keith's accident again as well as Matt's.

"H-hey, could you give that back please? I'm almost late for chemistry..." just as you were turning to the first door on the wall to the corner, you heard a quiet and troubled boy ahead of the hallway.

It came from Hunk, your, (ex-) best friend, though you guys hardly talk anymore. You frowned at the scene infront of you; four tall guys were surrounded around him, one had his wallet and one was holding his bag, searching for more stuff in it.

"Oh, that's Sendak. He always bullies Hunk and a couple other guys," Lance glared at the tallest and bigger male, who was holding Hunk's bag.

"I think we should help him," you turned to Lance.

"What?? Who? Sendak???" He whispers, making sure the bullies don't hear him.

You rolled your eyes. "Duh, no, you idiot. I meant Hunk."

"Oh," Lance chuckled at his own stupidity and nodded right after.

"Hey, you giant furby!" You yelled as you approached Sendak, keeping your chin high so you could look down on him but it was really hard to do because your neck hurt but you still did it anyways.

He glanced down on you. "Stay out of my way, (Y/n)."

You find it creepy how he knew your name but you didn't know his, although it's probably because you were close with Hunk back then.

You scoffed, did he really expect you to follow him? You kicked him in the groin and snatched Hunk's bag out of his grasp. His mates were too shocked because of what you just did, so you simply took Hunk's wallet and handed his belongings back to him.

He smiled at you. "Thanks, (nickname)!"

Hearing that name after years made you flinch. You felt bad because truthfully, you didn't consider Hunk as a best friend anymore, but more of an acquaintance now.

You fake smiled and nodded anyways.

"Boom! I got that on camera. He looks exactly like how Keith did at the arcades!" Lance laughed and you run up to him to see the video for yourself.

After chemistry, you start to see Hunk more often now, and you agreed when he asked if he could walk home with you, since both of your houses are really close to each other.
You made sure to text the group chat that you'll be going home earlier with Hunk, but after that, unfortunately the huge Furby was in front of you again with his slaves.

Locking your phone and putting it in your pocket, you glared up at him with Hunk behind you. "What do you want?"

He cracked his knuckles like a cliche bad guy and you rolled your eyes. "You have to pay for what you did earlier."

While two guys held Hunk back, you turned and punched one guy and kicked the other, setting Hunk free. You grabbed his hand and ran away. There was no point in beating up Sendak because you wouldn't win against him anyways and it would lead you to a higher chance of being suspended or expelled and it just wasn't worth it.

While running out the gate, you heard Sendak yell a curse and you and Hunk couldn't help but laugh your assess off.

This one particular situation somehow made you sad, remembering all the times that you two had run away from bullies back then and laughing about it after.

Just since when did you start not hanging out with Hunk? When did you start ignoring him and not talking to him? When and how did you guys start to become strangers?

Your pace slowed down with Hunk following beside you. The pain in your hand when you punched that dude was still lingering, but you paid no attention to it.

"Just like... old times, huh?" He chuckled and you did too, but the both of you could feel the awkward aura from triggering the flash back.

"Hey... uh, when did we start, like, not talking to each other..?" As if he was reading your mind, he asks with his head down and smiling sadly.

You felt a pang of guilt when you glanced at him. "When I started having more friends, I guess? I mean, it's high school and all."

Not realizing it, you both had arrived at Hunk's house.

"You wanna come over? I got some new games and stuff," he opened the door and you nodded, stepping in his house and removing your shoes. The place felt nostalgic, the same smell of his house from middle school is still here. Smells sweet like newly baked cookies and a fresh bouquet of flowers. You both headed right away upstairs to his room, which you already memorised.

Setting down your bags on a chair, you sat on the edge of his bed as he prepared the controllers and etc.

"Oh right, thanks for earlier." He said while setting up his console.

"Your welcome, I guess. Sendak's a toilet kissing asshole, anyways," you shrugged and he laughs.

You gasp when he put the game in. "Tekken? Oh my god."

Hunk grins and hands you a controller. You snatched it and immediately picked your favourite character before he does.

You stayed over for dinner with his family and continued playing until midnight, freaking out when it's 2am and you both just remembered that there was school tomorrow.

Chapter Text

"Everytime I come home from school, my dogs would always jump on me."

"I used to take care of my baby cousin. She must be so grown now."

"My mother and dad would always cook together. I'd be there just chopping vegetables."

Everytime Lance expresses his homesickness, you couldn't help but feel annoyed. Don't take it the wrong way, you and Lance are best of friends.

However, you couldn't help but feel annoyed by his remarks. Everyone misses their families. Everyone obviously wants to go back to Earth and their own planets. Everyone else is dealing with homesickness just as Lance is, why can't he just deal with it? Why does he always need to complain about wanting to go home?

"I found out a new recipe!" Hunk cheerfully entered the kitchen with a tray on his hand and small plates on the other.

"Is it cake? I smell cake!" Pidge set her laptop aside and paid attention to the tray that was now being set on the table along with the plates. Hunk went out again to fetch some forks for everyone.

"Cake?" Allura questioned, curiously staring at the dessert.

"Oh gosh, I haven't had this in a super long time!" You excitedly say, taking a fork once Hunk went back.

Shiro grabbed the tray and served everyone a slice, including Coran and Allura's plate as their eyes lock on it.

As you got the plate in front if you, you immediately stabbed it with your fork and bringing it in your mouth. "You're amazing, Hunk."

Allura and Coran watched the both of you and did the same thing with the fork, eyes gleaming.

"Ah, this makes me remember the time when me and my parents baked cakes for all of my cousins' birthdays," Lance smiled, as he savours his food with his eyes closed and clutching on his fork.

You mentally rolled your eyes. Here he goes again.

"Really? When's your birthday, Lance? I can't believe I never knew," Keith's eyes were wide as he chews on his cake.

Lance chuckled. "On the 28th of July. My mami and tia would always gossip while me and my sister Rachel would fight, and that's when my abuela keeps us in our place. I was always scared of her."

Everyone was silent, chewing on their desserts while listening to Lance talk about his home back in Cuba. You're sure Allura and Coran don't have a clue about the Spanish in Lance's speech, but their faces remain interested in what he's saying eitherway. At first, you also didn't know other languages on Earth, but hanging out with these earthlings made you learn.

When suddenly, he was cut off by the lights flickering and the castle starting to sway as if there was turbulence.

"Um, Coran, whats going on?" Shiro said defensively, readying his stance and looking around for danger. Everyone followed him and cautiously looked around as well.

Allura simply laughed. "Everyone, calm down. It's just the castle that's low in central energy. Oh, that reminds me, we have to gather materials for the power source and for ourselves as well," she put her plate on the sink.

"We would normally go to Balmera but we're kind of far from it as of now," Coran said, caressing his moustache.

They all put their plates on the sink as Lance ate his remainings in one bite. They followed Coran and Allura to the control room while you waited for Lance in the kitchen.

"So, which planet are we closest to?" Shiro asked, standing behind Coran with his arms crossed as the Altean male swipes through different planets.

He stops at a very familiar planet. "Well..." he hesitantly says. Both the Alteans lower their heads.

You realized what planet it was and a small gasp escaped your lips.

It looked so different from before the Galras thrashed its resources. The vibrant glow is gone and all that's left is a desaturated color of green.

Lance walks beside you and squints his eyes. "Planet Inoria?"

"It's the planet where (Y/N) came from," Allura zoomed in on the hologram.

The paladins gasp. "What?! Seriously?" They all turn to you with gaping jaws.

Allura turned to you as well with a sad smile. "We can look for other nearby planets, or you can stay here in the castle if you'd like."

"Oh, no need. It's fine, really." You returned back the smile and looked down.

"Well, um, alright," she said and nodded after patting you on the shoulder. "Everyone, go to your destined lions. We will go there using Voltron while the castle, since on low power, will stay here. Coran will scan the area for any dangers before we go out." The paladins immediately followed her and proceeded to run off to change into their armors.

"(Y/N), wanna come with me on Red?" Lance smiled with his helmet in hand.

You put on your own helmet, refusing to look at him. Him talking about his family reminds you too much of your own, especially now that you are about to set foot on what was once your home.

"No, thank you. Im- uh, I'm going with Green!" You said while turning to Pidge, who furrowed her brows.

"Wait what?!" Pidge exclaimed. You mouthed a beg to her and she sighs in defeat.

Inside Green's cockpit, you stand behind the chair that Pidge is sitting on.

"What's with you and Lance? You normally would go with him. He's your closest friend," Pidge looks at you with worried eyes while waiting for the signal.

You look away. "I like him a lot, but whenever he talks about his family, I just- I mean, I'm not saying it's annoying, but it's..." somehow you couldn't get your words out so you wrapped your arms around yourself.

Pidge lands a hand on your shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I... kinda know how you feel," she smiled.

"I'm glad he has a family and all but, I guess I miss mine too. I've tried so hard to forget them because they're gone, but whenever he talks about it, it's kind of hard," you fought back the tears that were about to spill out.

Pidge held your hand tight. "Believe me, I know how you feel. But also, understand Lance's point of view. Before I found Matthew and my dad, I was kinda like him too."

"Thanks, Pidge," you smiled and pet her fluffy hair. In return, she growled at you before Coran signaled that the coast was clear.

Inoria's getting pretty close, so you swallowed and feel your stomach turn. You knew they were gone, everyone is gone and that you have to be mentally prepared for this and learn to accept it.

You take a deep breath and cheered yourself on. You can do this! It's been years, you surely have moved on from it now.

"From my research, Inoria is a habitable planet that works just like Earth, except the time," Allura said into the mic which you can hear with your helmet. You were surprised at how quick she found that information.

"Also, when dawn comes, different kinds of critters are active during the night time and only some of them are dormant during the day."

Her information was more than correct. You've never been to Earth, but you saw pictures and videos from Lance and Pidge and it exactly works just like it. They have what they call "animals" and "insects" but in your world, they are called critters. They are what resides the majority of Inoria besides your kind. Most of them are harmless, but some, called the guardians, are ferocious unless you respect and prove that you're not gonna hurt them.

Allura sent a pinpoint location of where you all were gonna land, assuming that's also where the materials are.

"Guys, when we land there, we will be greeted by a large critter called Guardian, they look scary but don't freak out," you warned them and grabbed your bag, coat and weapon, getting ready to get off.

The lions softly land on the grass and their mouths open. You all meet in a circle while Allura scans for the materials. Around you, theres a circle of tall, big old trees that shade you from the sun and it seems as if you landed in a meadow. Goldrenrod and other astereae grow wide around the meadow and even yonder the forest.

As expected, a giant creature with an owl-like head and a horse body emerged from the woods behind the lions. It has wonderful large wings and long legs with fur covering its hooves. Its coat was of a silky grey and white, with a bit of blue. Teal glowed from its eyes even though it was still daytime.

Lance screamed frightfully, completely forgetting your warning and everyone just sighs and shakes their heads. The creature began to react to Lance's loud voice but before it attacked him, you stood between them with your arms extended out.

"Sorry," you whispered, putting a hand on the middle of its head.

It makes a noise as you watch it calm down from your familiar touch.

"We need to get through that forest, if you'd allow us." You whispered again, smiling at the creature.

The guardian makes one more noise before it stands up and walks past the lions. Despite its humongous size, its steps are shushed by the tall grass. Smaller critters hop on its back and tail and everyone watches as the leaves envelop them and eventually disappear into the forest.

Now, you turned to Lance, who had a face that shows he was ready for your scolding.

"Lance! It's still day and Pidge just told you about how they're asleep until dark." You yelled in a shushed voice, frowning at him with your arms crossed. This is your planet- was, your planet, but the accidental disrespect still offends you somehow.

"Wow, I'm sorry for getting scared when a large monstrous creature just pops out of nowhere. This is nothing like Earth!" The paladin declared, and it fueled you up in anger.

You balled your fists and tried to control yourself from punching him.

"They are not monstrous! They protected every living thing on here, including my kind. Ugh, when did you become such an asshole, Lance? This was my planet," you frowned and finished your rant. Your face heated up and you felt tears starting to well up in your eyes.

He scowled at you and stepped forward. "Me? An asshole? You're the one who's been avoiding me all this time!"

You were about to retort when Hunk butted in.

"G-guys, let's not fight. We still have to find materials before the sun sets," he shyly pointed at the end of the meadow into the darkness.

Shiro gave you both a warning by clicking his tongue and walked off as Keith just sighed, following him with Allura trailing behind them. The rest of the paladins follow suit except for you and Lance.

You looked at your feet, feeling sorry for yelling at him. But instead of apologising, you turned on your heel and ran off to catch up with the rest of the team, making sure not to step on the flowers and smaller critters.

"Guys, just saying we better hurry up, night is gonna approach us around after twenty minutes," Pidge affirmed and all of them dropped their jaws.

"But we've been here for like, what, 5 minutes?!" Keith asserted, making gestures with his hands and arms.

You chuckled at their reactions. It's true, night comes fast but you didn't mind.

"If you're looking for crystals and spare parts, those are wasted off on the beach. Beyond this forest are the villages, then after the village is the beach," you announced, and they all nodded and began to walk faster.

Beyond the forest.

The villages.

An unpleasant feeling starts forming up in your stomach. You slowed your walk until you came to a halt, Lance also stopping right behind you.

Staring at the dirt and weeds on the ground, your thoughts were interrupted by Lance. "Hey, hurry up," he takes a step forward, looking away from you. Taking a deep breath, you mentally prepared yourself and walked after him.

But that didn't last until you and the team have reached familiar rectangular shaped stepping stones, leading the path to the village. For a second, you forgot that this world had been damned by evil aliens, and that you were just a child jumping on these same stones as you were about to come home after playing with your friends. Your mother would scold you for going too far into the forest while your dad pours some food in a bowl outside your house for the critters.

Then you came across a familiar old dark oak tree. It striked a place in your heart as you reach out and run your fingers gently on its trunk. Your name was still carved onto the tree and below it was the name of your favorite pet.

Before you know it, ahead of you is a line of wrecked houses. You immediately knew which was yours and which ones your friends' houses. The team went to the north part of the beach because that was what Allura's scanner said so. You told them you'd be staying here for awhile and they agreed out of sympathy. Everyone went except for Lance, it was silent but you enjoyed his company.

Gliding your fingers along the broken fences of what was once a warm home, you finally came to a stop. The bowl outside your house still had food at the bottom. It has been so long, everything feels different but familiar at the same time. You looked up at your home, which was now a wreck of broken wood and concrete. Moss and vines grow around the wreckage,

and it will soon be a part of the soil and nature, long forgotten, like the bodies that lay beneath.

You put an arm around your stomach as you start to slightly shake, feeling nauseous and sick.

You strode above the wreckage of houses. You just walked, walked and walked until your feet reached the sand of the beach. Thoughts filled your head that you almost couldn't hear Lance screaming your name. You threw off your helmet on the ground, staring at the sky as dusk start to show from the horizon.

The light from the sun and moon illuminated the fine sand and the sea turns calm, mimicking the colors of the sky.

You rip off your coat and your armor and dropped it behind you, the breeze from the beach softly hitting your face.

"(Y/N), stop!" Lance called out, also ripping off his armor and revealing his tight turtleneck suit.

Before the water could reach your ankles, Lance grabbed your arm, his face angry.

"Are you crazy?" He demanded but you just pulled your arm back to you and continued walking forth as you feel the water go above your ankles.

The pain you were feeling was indescribable. This was a bad idea, you shouldn't have came with them, you should've just stayed in the castle.

Lance ran in front of you and extended his arms. "Stop!" His eyebrows were furrowed deep, though you can't see much from the tears blurring your vision, so you try to push him away but he caught your wrist and pulled you to him with a grunt. The sand sinked under your feet, causing you to fall. You growled and tried getting yourself up only to be pushed down by Lance on your shoulders. You kicked and pushed him away, sobbing messily but he pinned down your wrists and legs painfully.

"Enough, (Y/N)!" He said with his teeth gritted but you still thrashed everywhere, letting out ugly sobs.

"(Y/N)! Stop, please." he panted, and now you had just noticed how the moonlight illuminated his face. His hair was wet from the sea and grains of sand was on his cheek. You felt his breath on you and every breath he takes makes a little fog, the night was already here and the wind is starting to become cold.

You paused your thrashing, eventually getting tired. "I should've died here, along with my family. They should've just shot me instead of keeping me in the Galra ship. I shouldn't have come here, but I thought I was ready. Maybe I'll never get over this after all," you cried out, seeing Lance's pained face above yours.

You gently push him off as you sat up, your legs sinking a little in the sand in the ocean. You slowly regain your composure after wiping your tears.

"You don't know how jealous I am of you, Lance. I've been avoiding you because all you talk about is your family, and I just- mine are just all gone," you played with the seashells under you, your tears falling little droplets in the water. There was a short silent pause, only the waves going back and forth could be heard. Moments later, he brings his index finger to your chin and lifts your head up, putting a strand of hair behind your ear at the same time.

"They're not all gone," he smiles, holding both of your hands in his. "I'm going to bring you back with me on Earth, and there, you will meet my whole family, then I'm going to introduce you as my alien lover."

Surprised by his reply, your eyes widen with a blush on your face. "That... would be nice."

He smirked. "Te amo, (Y/N)."

Despite the cold, you feel your face burn with a deeper blush. "Anyway! I'm really cold, so can we go back now?" He suddenly stands up as the ocean glowed teal from the movement.

He takes out his hand for you to help you up. You hesitantly take it, still taken aback by everything that just happened.

"Hey guys?" Lance spoke through the mic after you put on your own helmet, and you wish you hadn't after numerous voices of the paladins screamed through the speaker.

"Lance! Where have you been? Is (Y/N) with you?" Shiro's voice sounded worried, so you picked up your armor and your coat as Lance copied you.

"Um, yes I'm here. Sorry for worrying everyone. We're on your way back now though," you tried to reassure them and you hear several sighs.

You and Lance reached the other end of the forest, not turning back to look at your "home".

"Do you know how dark it is? We almost flew the lions to look for y- why are you both soaked to the bone?!" Allura gasped at the sight of both you and Lance.

"Oh sorry, we were busy with our honeymoon," Lance winked and gave the team his usual finger guns.

You smiled but smacked the back of his head with your palm.

"We had some fun on the beach," you replied, immediately regretting it when Pidge, Hunk and Keith groaned, saying they wanted to swim too.

"Get in the lions, everyone," Shiro rolled his eyes, disappointment in his voice.

This time, you went in Red with Lance, desperate to return quick for a warm bath.

Chapter Text

It has been weeks, maybe two or three, long, long weeks, since you were captured by the Galra from your home that they destroyed. Instead of being kept as a bait for them to get their hands on the lions, you became one of their entertainment, one of their fighters in the Gladiatorial Arena. You had beaten the chosen champions and not long did you become the Champion of the arena after beating the strongest. How did you do this? You don't even know, but it was fairly easy.

Your body was full of scars, old and new, and some raw wounds that are still bleeding but you didn't even have time to care about them. They hurt, a lot, but didn't hurt as much as they used to when you got chosen and started to fight for your life for the first time ever. You were more disgusted about yourself, killing so many aliens when they're just living; trying to survive with a life like yours. It's not like you had a choice, after all, this world is an eat-or-be-eaten kind of world. Only the strongest and the fittest are able to survive.

You thought about how they probably had a family in a planet somewhere, waiting for them to get home, and thinking about the countless alien lives that once could have been so full of life and dreams, is the part that hurt you the most. You crush their dreams and erase them out of existence. No one deserves a fate like this, and yet you have become what you have despised the most for your entire life.

Still, you have to deal with it because this is how you will be living until- well, maybe until you die.

During the last battle, you had a terrible wound that stung more than the rest. It was a slash at the side of your head near your ear running to your forehead, stopping just right above your eyebrow. You also had a deep one on your right arm that would've been cut off if you were only a second slower and hadn't pulled it back next to you.

After that day, you received treatment for your throbbing wounds; it'd be a problem if they were left as they were. You were given then two days to rest, but those two days seemed to have gone very fast, as today, you're scheduled for another spar, but with your best foe.

Your opponent for today is (best friend's name), your closest friend from your home planet that had been also captured by the Galra with you.

When you were in the infirmary during the last 2 days, you smuggled a few random syringes. You don't really know what they do, however you don't care enough anymore if this is the life you will be living, sparring and fighting forever. The needle pricks you like an ant bite. You take a deep breath then closed your eyes tightly as you pushed on the plunger, feeling the drug flow through your veins with your blood. The barrel of the syringe had almost been empty, however, the sounds of your jail lock clinging made you abruptly hide the syringe under your pillow.

You relax when you saw a large figure with huge pointy ears. "Oh, Sendak, it's just you."

He grunted, stepping into your cell.
"Your wounds haven't healed," he took ahold of your arm rather harshly yet he gives the wound under your bandages a gentle brush. As he stepped closer, he caressed the new wound beside your eye, and you lean at his touch.

Your relationship with Sendak was... weird. Sometimes he'd be so rough and mean but other times he's really gentle and vulnerable. You knew you were the only one to see this side of him and you knew he's just unable to accept his feelings. He seems to take a liking to you and you used it to your advantage, asking for items that other prisoners wouldn't normally have, and he complied with every single one of them in exchange that you should win the spar after.

You push his hand away and took a step backward, in which he scowled at your movement. "I know, but I'm fine. You're going to watch my fight today, right?"

Behind your fake smile was a drop of sweat, wishing he wouldn't notice that you injected some random drug into your body for preparation for the fight.

He stared at you while keeping the same scowl. "You're fighting with your friend, aren't you? Do you want me to list you off?"

You gave him a sad, fake smile, shifting your eyes away from him. "No, but thank you. We knew this was about to happen somehow, and we made a promise to finish each other off."

It was truly a sad fate for two best friends. The both of you never knew it was going to turn out like this but when other planets stopped getting in contact with yours, you immediately knew something was wrong. Deep down, you hope that they, your best friend, finish you off, and end this life long suffering.

You gasp lightly at the sight of his metal hand in contact with your chin, turning your head and your eyes back to him. Its monstrous claws had always scared you. "There is no such thing as friendship, only associates. People are traitorous, stop believing in that," the way he said it had angered you and the drug pumping in your veins almost made you punch him.

You pushed his hand once again but this time way more rigid. You glare at the floor and muttered with gritted teeth.
"I feel sorry for you."

He snarled at you loudly, shoved you hard against the wall and towered over you with his eyes glowing yellow. "What was that?!"

You remain glaring at him and the both of you stood like that growling at each other until one of the sentries passed by with (best friend's name) trailing behind.

"Commander Sendak? It's almost time. I have come to collect (Y/N L/N)," the sentry claimed and Sendak put a hand on his face, sighing lightly.

The Galran roughly turned you around, put the handcuffs on you in a swift motion and pushed you to the sentry, keeping the same stare as you walk away from your cell.

"The hell was that about?" Your best friend asked with an eyebrow up in wonder. You could tell they took the drug too from seeing their pupils dilate.

"Don't know. Had a small talk with the asshole and he got angry for some reason," you rolled your eyes, more and more inmates for the fight follow behind.

They smiled, head dropping slightly. "Well, are you ready?"

Both of your parents are dead. Your relatives are dead and everyone is dead. Children of your kind are either killed or captured by the Galra to turn into weapons and laborers. This fight is the end, now or never. Both of you will be fighting to the death and whoever ends up the winner must be really unlucky.

Your head throbs. "More than ready." At least this drug makes it easier.

At the arena's waiting line, your mind starts fogging and it felt like you weren't in control of your body, just sitting around and watching yourself move beyond your wishes.

The fighter finished the match. The slaves clean up the arena quickly then before you know it, you were pushed into the ring with your best friend ahead of you. You could tell they weren't themselves either from how they're taking deep breaths.

The crowd's cheers and applause were blocked out as if you were underwater. Your body began to take the first strike with your dagger, aiming for your opponent's neck but as expected, they step back, swinging their sword to block the blow you aimed. It was their turn to launch themselves and striked your dagger measly with their sword, loud clangs coming from the collision. Wasting no time, you ducked the third swing, swiped your foot under them and slashed a long jagged line on their chest. They grunt and leaned on the wall, holding the slash you made but just before you could finish them off, they swiped their sword under your feet as you jumped instinctively, but it distracted you and you weren't able to see the punch that was about to land on your stomach.

It sent you flying back and stumbling on the ground and now you were in immense pain, coughing up blood with your stomach still burning from the blow. Your best friend having super strength? Normally, the slash you made on their chest would be enough to keep them down then you realized it was the effect of the drug. The crowd's laughter and yells became louder as your consciousness start to come back. Your opponent's sword dragged on the floor, creating a line on the sand as they walk toward your way. Taking a deep breath, you were prepared for your defeat yet you stand on your feet anyway with your arm clutched around your stomach, but it was too late as they were already swinging their sword like they were about to behead you.

The cheers and their cries turn loud. You guessed the drug was already wearing off. You stared your best friend in their glazed (E/C) eyes, dark and dilated.

Your fate came into a halt as a metal hand came flying out of nowhere and hit the sword that was right above your head, causing it to clink on the wall then to the ground.

The crowd stopped and whispered complaints while you look over to see who interrupted your match.

"Stop this fight at once!" Sendak roared, his voice deep and ragged echoed around the arena and his metal arm retracting back to the purple orb. You saw two syringes in his hand but before you could explain yourself, you heard a small thump from in front of you, seeing your best friend collapse. Your eyes became so dilated that your vision was really blurry, and in no time did you pass out as well right after them.

You awaken on a more comfortable and softer bed, at least softer than your cot back in the cell. Coming to your senses, you felt the now uncomfortable huge tubes that connected to your arm and mouth. At the corner of your eyes, you see Sendak sitting beside you really quietly.

You hurriedly sat up and looked around the room, seeing your best friend lying two beds away from you with the same tubes. Looks like they were alive and breathing, so you plopped back down with a sigh.

You removed the tube on your mouth. "Um, Sendak?" your throat was dry and raspy but you paid no mind. More importantly, you caught Sendak again looking vulnerable; his huge armor was off and he was in his tight black suit. Now you can clearly see his actual toned body instead of being hidden behind the eyesore armor.

"Prisoner (L/N)," he grunted back in a formal manner and obviously avoided eye contact with you.

"Come on, don't be like that," you laughed at his attempt as you turned your head in front of his.

The soldier furrowed his brows and looked down. "You know, if you took more than one of these, you could've died. Good thing I went to your cell before it was too late."

He then turned to look at you with his glowing galra eye. "That drug was made for galra soldiers only! When we get hurt badly, we inject that thing to numb ourselves. How could you be so stupid?!" He growled, banging a fist on the wall right above your head, making you flinch a bit from the vibration impact.

You gave him an unsure smile and combed your fingers at the fur on the back of his neck.

"C-calm down. Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" It was a really awkward feeling, you weren't used to talking with Sendak like this, but still, you enjoyed the company and his really fluffy fur.

He grumbled something under his breath before resting his head on your stomach, purring from you petting him. You closed your tired eyes and smiled, and continued the action of stroking his fluff.

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