Chapter Text
Lance had almost completely forgotten about Keith, then they had to encounter him again when the ship containing Shiro crashed into earth. He was hit with the pain in his heart again, feeling just as fresh as the day that pain had been inflicted. Lance didn't understand why he hurt, he was the one who violently forced Keith out of his life.
"The name is Lance?" A pause, had Keith already forgotten the incident? "Y'know, Lance and Keith neck in neck?" He didn't believe that Keith could have forgotten.
Pain was evident in Keith's eyes as he turned his head away from Lance, lowering the violet orbs to look at the ground. Another pang of pain hit Lance in the chest.
"Uh, guys. We should hurry! Those garrison guys are on their way back and they don't seem that happy!" Hunk shouted, snapping both their attention back to the situation at hand. They quickly loaded Shiro on to the hover bike that Keith had driven there and headed back to the cabin Keith had been living in for the past year.
-
The world was sometimes a confusing place when you could only see in black and white. Pidge was the only one out of the five that was born being able to see colour.
"It's... Blue." Pidge mumbled when they first found Lance's lion. The tall tanned male flinched, a memory flooding his mind.
"How do we get past this barrier?" Keith asked, seemingly unfazed by the memory they both shared. Lance followed Keith's lead, trying not to let the past bother him. He knocked on the shield and it shattered at his touch, feeding all five of them the same image of Voltron.
-
It wasn't too difficult to find the other lions, the problem was trying to get everyone to the right ones when they were in their hangars.
"So, it's a human thing that one doesn't see colour until they touch the person that they are destined to be with?" Allura asked Pidge, the only other one that could see colour aside from the Alteans.
"Right, but since I won't ever fall for someone in a romantic or sexual way I have been able to see colour since I was born." Pidge clarified, pushing their glasses back up to the bridge of their nose. "It's amusing watching these fools try to figure it out themselves."
"I think I've got it!" Lance shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "I go here," he pointed to the yellow lion's hangar on a map. "Keith goes here," pointing at the blue hangar. "And Hunk goes here!" He finished, pointing at the red hangar. Pidge loudly face-palmed at that.
"Wrong Lance." They stated, correcting the colourblind fool.
"Oh, got it. So I'm heading this way?" Lance asked, pointing towards the red hangar.
"No, that way." Pidge corrected.
"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to go that way though."
"No, I just told you where to go." Pidge just wanted to scream, boys were so stubborn and dumb.
-
A real problem occurred when the five Paladins were supposed to 'mind meld' to form a greater bond with each other. Pidge was thinking about their family and Keith and Lance wouldn't connect themselves to one another. The only two that were in top condition to attempt the 'mind meld' were Hunk and Shiro.
Pidge eventually threw the machine sitting on their head onto the floor, making Coran flinch and hope it wasn't broken. Lance and Keith both let out a shallow sigh of relief.
-
When all the Paladins went off to do their own thing, Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder.
"Keith, I think you and I have to talk." He said in a 'dad voice' and Keith flinched. He could guess what Shiro wanted to talk about, and he really didn't want to. The black haired male froze for a minute before sprinting away from the father figure of Voltron.
Shiro didn't even bother running after him, he wouldn't be able to get far on the ship. Allura wouldn't let them off the ship during their training, so Shiro would find him later to talk. For now he was going to grab Lance.
And so he did. Literally. Shiro wasn't going to let both the troublemakers escape from him, so he grabbed Lance by the back of his battle suit before nearly dragging him to a more private area.
"Pidge! Hunk! Save meeeee!" Lance wailed, reaching his hands out towards his two teammates. Hunk looked sad and just waved goodbye while Pidge being the little shit they are laughed their ass off, saying something about a 'space dad'.
-
"What's going on between you and Keith?" Shiro demanded when he let go of Lance in the observatory. "I want you all to be able to talk to me. I know we don't know each other that well yet, but we have to get along if we want to protect the universe. If we want to protect Earth."
Lance looked away from Shiro sadly as soon as the older male mentioned Earth. Lance missed Earth much more than the other Paladins.
"Shiro, I can't. Not yet." Lance said softly, uncharacteristically. "I'll let you know this, Keith and I used to be real close. I want to be friends again." Near the end, Lance sounded like he was going to cry. He rushed out of the room, vigorously rubbing at his eyes to stop the tears before they even came out.
"Lance is just upset about what he's done, y'know?" Hunk said to Shiro when he walked out of the observatory. "Being around Keith is a constant reminder of his past."
Shiro was definitely surprised to see Hunk standing outside the doors. At the garrison, Shiro had never seen Lance and Keith together. Nor did Keith talk about Lance. Had they really been that close? And Keith didn't share it with Shiro?
"Do you know something I should know about the two of them?" Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow at Hunk.
"Nah, Lance kept what happened to himself. What I do know is that Keith used to smile all the time." Hunk looked down at the ground as he spoke. "I want to know what happened too." He added softly, staring at his interlocked fingers as if they were the most interesting thing.
"They'll tell us with time."
-
"Hey, Shiro," Keith said with a pause, seeking Shiro out after a while. "I'm.. Sorry for running away. Things between Lance and I are... Complicated to say the least. And now being forced to live in close quarters with him? I'm stressed and I can't face him." He explained, his eyes looking everywhere but at Shiro.
The older male rested his human hand on Keith's shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright Keith, though I do believe you should try facing him soon. We need to work together as a team so we can protect the universe and our home." Shiro said softly at first, and got more stern as he went along. After that, he turned to walk away.
"Wait, Shiro." Keith said suddenly, stopping Shiro in his tracks. "There's something else. Do you... Think someone can change their soulmate?"
Shiro stared in shock. "Why do you ask that?" He asked Keith, but the other male stayed silent. "I don't think it's possible, Keith. The universe picked our soulmates for a reason, so we will be happy with them forever."
Keith didn't seem happy with that answer, glaring at the floor. "Thanks Shiro." He said quickly before turning around and quickly walking off to his room.
-
Lance hadn't heard the entire conversation, but he did hear Keith ask Shiro if he thought someone could change soulmates. Admittedly, Lance's heart hurt.