So, I discovered this thing called Voltron this summer...and I guess I got trapped. But in a good way! So this comes with the usual, please forgive any horrid characterization or maybe plot holes I just messed up or missed. I'm still getting a feel for it. But this takes place just after the 4th episode of season three so a bit of spoilers. This is very Lance and Keith oriented, but not really a ship. If you REALLY squint, maybe. But not really my intent here.

Disclaimer: VLD is not mine and is owned by its rightful owners.

War.

It was an ugly thing. Ugly, nasty, despicable, awful, gut wrenching. A war on Earth was no different than the war against the Galra in space. It changed things. Sometimes for worse, but sometimes, rarely, it changed them for the better.

It was something that was surprisingly on Lance's mind lately be it from the mysterious, disastrous disappearance of their team leader, Shiro, or from the sudden shift of team dynamics, he didn't know. Either way, his mind was swamped with the thought of this war they were waging against the Galra and how not too long ago he was stressing about passing his flight tests.

Rolling his shoulder to massage the pain from their latest and greatest mission, he stole a glance at their substitute team leader, by greatest he meant greatest failure, but he tried not to let that get to him. After all, he could see it in his teammates eyes how downcast and defeated they were at the loss of the crystal, he couldn't afford to let himself drown in those same worries. Not like he didn't worry about his teammates enough, he didn't need failure to be added to his list of worries.

While it was obvious that Allura beat herself up the most over the loss of the crystal to Lotor, Lance knew that it wasn't her that he was really worried about. It was the darned boy who sported a messy looking mullet, quite proudly he must add, who stood just across the room that held Lance's trepidation. Enough that even Lance wanted to comfortingly wrap his arms around the boy and assure him that everything was going to turn out alright. Not in a romantic way, of course. That's crazy!

Keith let out a noticeably loud sigh, one that Lance could even hear the frustration and anger in. He resumed the pacing he had paused only minutes before in favor of staring listlessly out into the vast sea of stars the ship travelled past. He was mumbling something incoherent to Lance's ears, but the blue Paladin didn't need to hear to know what had the new leader in knots.

"Keith," he started, standing up to face the pacing Paladin.

He was only spared a glance as the other resumed his usual act of ignoring the blue paladin—he supposed he was currently the substitute red paladin—and paced all the same.

"Keith," he tried again this time stepping closer as if to reach out and stop the boy's incessant pacing. "We'll find him."

Keith finally stopped in his place only a foot away from Lance, but avoided eye contact. "How'd…?" words seemed to evade the boy's mind.

"You know just as much as I do that we'll find Lotor and get the crystal back," Lance said, his infamous smirk finding itself on his lips. "I mean a few pow pow pows and maybe a kabloom or something and we'll have him beat!"

Keith threw an irritated glance Lance's way before resuming his pacing, no longer interested in Lance's words. "Whatever."

"Shiro was my idol, you know," Lance tried again, this time more serious. His attempt to lighten the mood obviously failed as it always does. This time Keith stopped moving and actually turned to face him, arms crossed, but relatively attentive looking.

"You're point?" Keith inquired.

"You're not the only one who lost someone," Lance said. "And you're not the only one who want's him back."

"Sometimes it feels like it," Keith snapped. "I mean, I never wanted to be leader. Shiro should be…"

"Shiro's not here," Lance pressed cautiously. "And the black lion chose you."

Keith's fists clenched. "Well I wish it hadn't! It would have been so much easier if it had just chose you!" I mean, you wanted to be leader so bad, it was almost as if you were happy Shiro was gone!"

The corners of Lance's mouth twisted downward, his eyebrows furrowed almost achingly down, and his arms fell limp at his sides. This war. This darned war with the Galra has gone so far as to distort Keith's own view of his friends. Even to the point where he see's them as the enemy, or at the very least as road blocks.

"I'm going to go train," Keith announced when Lance found himself responseless. He stormed off faster than the Red Lion in the heat of battle. Faster than Lance could even contemplate what was so wrong with Keith's words.

Lance fell back onto the couch behind him, not even caring that the pillow was on the other side. Why could he never comfort anyone on this ship? Pidge found him more of a nuisance than a comfort, unless they were sharing their despair over no connection from a game system to a TV. Hunk was pretty laid back and easy to comfort, but he often liked to work out his stress on his own via cooking or maybe working on something with Pidge that Lance couldn't hope to understand. Shiro wasn't there. Keith, well, Keith probably hated him. Allura didn't listen to anyone. While Coran didn't seem to need anyone's help. He was pretty upbeat for someone who's been through as much as he has. Leaving Lance incapable of helping anyone through this trying time.

Maybe he'll go take a shower to clean up, after all, he didn't get the chance too after their last, miserable mission. Maybe that was why Keith stormed away so quickly. He gave himself a quick whiff and half winced.

Yeah, he affirmed, it's me.

Dinner rolled by and Lance was more than surprised that everyone had showed up. Maybe they didn't show up looking their very best, but Lance wasn't complaining. He was expecting another dinner with just the three Garrison boys—er, and girl. But this time, albeit reluctantly, everyone showed up for a tasty meal made by everyone's favorite resident chef Hunk.

As per usual, or what became usual at some point in time, Lance sat between Keith and Hunk. Which made it easier to keep a worried eye on the mullet boy beside him. Not that he only cared about him! But his earlier outburst had been running through his mind all afternoon along with how this war was changing everyone, apparently for the worse.

Dinner continued in silence for the most part. Lance tried to lighten the mood with jokes and crazy stories from back home—which only broke his heart slowly, piece by piece, but hey, Pidge seemed to enjoy them—but shockingly, nobody wanted to hear it. Coran joined in at some point, but everyone was too downhearted still from their recent mission, they weren't too into his stories either.

Plates empty and stomachs no longer growling in hunger, dinner was done. Done, yet nobody left their seat. They only sat in silence, as if mourning something, someone. Maybe they were. Lance wouldn't blame them. There was an empty seat at the table and it was never so obvious than at the dinner table. Aside from when they got in their lions and formed Voltron, of course.

A soft, barely noticeable voice breaks the silence. "I'm...sorry."

It took lance point two seconds to realize the tiny, barely coherent apology was directed towards him. "Sorry?"

The whole table's attention was directed on the two now, but Lance only had his eyes on Keith, the owner of the apology.

Louder this time, "I'm sorry for earlier."

"But why?" Lance blinked.

Running through his mind for the billionth time that day was the conversation he had with Keith earlier. And not once did he catch was Keith needed to be sorry about. If anything, he supposed he should be the one saying sorry. He knew the subject was sensitive, yet he pushed it onto the newfound leader. He demanded an understanding from Keith that was impossible. Keith would never be able to accept that Shiro was gone and that Keith now had to be leader. To him, this was always temporary and something he never wanted to do. Lance knew that, yet he tried to comfort him where he wasn't welcome.

"I was being insensitive," Keith announced. "I forget that you were close with Shiro too. It was rude to assume you didn't want to find him."

Caught off guard, Lance could only wave off the apology. "Nah, it's all good. You don't need to apologize."

"And I'm sorry for suggesting that you were happy he was gone," the true red Paladin continued. "You'd be a good leader with or without Shiro."

Lance realized then that this war they were caught in did more than just cause misery and pain. It did more than change things for the worse. Keith here apologizing to the one person nobody expected him to, was proof of that. This war created bonds. Bonds forged in these trying times may be rocky sometimes, but are often the strongest. And these are bonds Lance never wanted to let go, even if the universe decided to split them up one by one.

He found himself smiling; a true and honest smile that he can't remember smiling for a long time. "Aw, how sweet!"

Any sincere look on Keith's face was gone. "Seriously?"

"What?"

"I say sorry and you could only call it sweet?" Keith demanded.

"But it was!" Lance defended. Leave it to him to ruin that small bond they just had. A small part of his mind jumped back to the 'supposed' bonding moment Keith claimed they had. He'd ruined that one too… "I," he paused and looked sincerely back at Keith. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have pushed you to being the leader. I just thought that Shiro would have liked that. I mean you did say…"

"Enough with the apologies," Keith interrupted.

Lance gave his best offended face. "But I was being sincere!"

Suddenly there was a collective laugh at the table. Lance's eyes met with everyone's almost at once. And he knew then that everything was going to be alright. War or not, they would always have each other. And yes, that included Shiro, wherever he may be.

He just hoped that everyone else realized this as well.

Short and hopefully sweet. Let me know if I should leave now or if it was decent enough to try again. Thanks!

SilverPedals~!