Hello my lovelies!
So, I'm back with a one-shot this time. It may possible turn into a series with the McClain family, but I'm not sure yet. I still need to finish a bunch of other stories, as many of you know. Anyway, Over the summer I fell into Voltron Hell, where they have space goo, purple monkey aliens, and the purest thing in any galaxy/planet/universe, Lance McClain. So, I wanted to do this little one-shot for you all about his family, because it says that he has a big one, and how it affects all the McClain family with Lance gone.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything pertaining to Voltron: Legendary Defender. It all belongs to Dreamworks.
Paladin POV
They had been sailing through space for who knows how long. Altean calendars were nothing like Earth ones, and they didn't even have months. So, Lance could never tell what day of the week it was, or what month it was. All he knew was that it had been a while.
"Guys! Get to the lounge now!" Pidge's voice rang over the intercom. Lance stood from his bed, where he had been lying, thinking about his family. In his hands, tightly gripped, was a small photo book, something always kept in his jacket pocket. Inside it held pictures of Lance's family, plus dates in the back for their birthdays. He met up with Hunk halfway to the lounge, casually slipping the book into his pocket.
"What do you think she's made this time?" Hunk asked, and Lance put a smirk on his face, hiding his sadness.
"Who knows? Maybe she found a way to hook up her game." He replied, making his best friend laugh. They reached the lounge, where Pidge and Coran were standing, large grins on their faces. Keith, Shiro, and Allura walked in after them, and they looked at the two.
"What is it?" Keith asked, and Pidge's grin grew. She pulled from behind her back six pads. She gave one to each of the paladins, and one to Allura. Lance looked down at his, and the first thing he saw was one word. March. His eyes widened.
"Pidge, is this what I think it is?" Shiro asked, and Pidge nodded excitedly.
"Coran and I were able to connect the Altean calendar with the Earth's calendar, and we managed to make an accurate calendar for us humans!" she said happily, and Lance smiled, looking at the dates.
"So, it's March 3rd right now on Earth?" Hunk asked warily, his tone surprising his teammates.
"Yeah. Why?" Pidge asked, and Lance froze. Tears filled his eyes, and he ran from the room, the pad clutched tightly in his hands.
"What is wrong with Lance?" Allura asked with concern. Hunk sighed.
"In a week is his mom's birthday. Hers is the first of his family's during the year. He's got his parents, then he has his six siblings. He's the middle. Since her birthday is the first, they normally have a big party. My family is always invited, since Lance and I met when we were little. Our families have always been really close. Lance has always sung for his mom during her birthday. He's never missed one, not even at the Garrison. He's always video called her. Now…" Hunk trailed off, looking down.
"He can't." Shiro finished sadly.
"Lance's family means everything to him. Not even being able to call his parents kills him. He was homesick at the Garrison, but here… it's much worse." Hunk explained. Pidge and Coran looked at one another.
"There may be a way for Lance to get a message to his family." Pidge began.
"We have a teleporter on the ship that can only teleport small objects. We could have Lance record a message, and send that message to his family." Coran finished, and Hunk's eyes lit up.
"That would mean everything to him." He said.
Earth
"Feliz cumpleanos, mama!" Nineteen-year old Samuel McClain said, approaching his mother, and kissing her on the cheek. Maria smiled at her oldest son, appearing happy, but her eyes showed her sadness.
"Mama, come into the family room to open your gifts!" Diego, the second oldest McClain at seventeen. called. Maria took a breath, and felt her husband's hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him, and Mateo kissed her forehead.
"Don't worry, mi amor. He'll find us." He said softly, and Maria felt tears fill her eyes.
"We can only pray." She replied, and walked out of the kitchen, and into the family room where six of her seven children were sitting. The eight-year old twins, Sofia and Julia, sat on the couch as her mother and father sat together. The second pair of twins, Gabriela and Daniela, who were just four-years old, sat on their brothers' laps.
"This is from all of us, Mama." Julia said, handing her mother a brightly wrapped gift. Maria smiled at her daughter, and opened the gift, revealing it to be a statue of San Jose.
"Gracias, mi amors." Maria said, tears in her eyes. Sofia hugged her mother tightly as she held the statue.
"Will Lance ever come home, Mama?" Daniela asked, and Maria sighed.
"I pray, Danny. I pray that he will." She replied. There was a sudden knock at the doors that made the family jump.
"I'll get it!" Sofia said, jumping up. She ran to the door and opened it. Sitting on the ground was a small box, addressed to the McClain family. She picked it up. "It's to all of us. You open it, Mama." Maria carefully opened the box, and saw that there was what appeared to be a disk sitting within. On, it simply read, "Play Me".
"Sam, put it in the DVD player." Mateo said, and Samuel nodded, taking the disk from his mother's hands, and putting it into the player, turning on the television as well. The screen fizzed for a moment, before showing a white and blue room, and a single chair.
"Alright, it's recording!" a voice said from behind the camera. A person approached the chair, their face not shown until they turned around.
"Feliz cumpleanos, Mami." Lance said, his signature smirk on his face. Maria gasped, tears immediately falling from her eyes. The rest of the family was just like her. Mateo had tears filling his eyes, while Julia and Sofia stared at their brother in awe. Daniela and Gabriela were crying at the sight of their third brother, and Samuel and Diego had the same expression as their father. On the screen, Lance's smirk was shaky, and his blue eyes were filled with tears. "I know, it's been a long time. Almost a year, if Pidge's calendar is right. There's so much I need to tell you. I guess I'll start at the beginning." So, Lance told them his story. From the attack on the Garrison, to finding a blue metal lion in a mountain, going to an alien ship, and becoming a Paladin of Voltron. "I miss you all so much. I miss sharing a room with Sammy and Diego. It's weird, having my own room here. It's too quiet. I miss waking up to people shouting in the bathroom, or having clothes thrown at me." Diego and Sam both let out watery chuckles at this. "I miss Julia and Sofia coming home from school, and begging me to help them with their homework. I never thought I would actually miss homework. I miss chasing them around the yard, pretending to be an evil wizard going after the princesses." Julia and Sofia looked at one another, grinning widely. "I miss my hermanitas, playing tea party with them, and going on walks. I miss point out the stars to them at night on the beach, and teaching them to swim. I miss helping them when they get sunburn, and getting the sand out of their hair and eyes." Gabriela and Daniela began crying again, leaning onto their brother's. "I miss Mami and Papi, waking up every morning to a home-cooked meal, something I haven't had in a while. I miss watching soccer with Papi, Diego, and Sammy, screaming at the television. I miss learning to dance, and the nights where Papi would pull out his guitar, Julia would sing with Mami, and Diego, Sammy and I would dance with the girls. I miss all of you so much." Lance looked down, his shoulders shaking as tears fell from his eyes. Maria and Mateo cried with him, holding one another. His siblings stared in pain at the screen. When something like this happened at home, they would simply smother him in a massive sibling hug, but they couldn't. Not this time. "Each mission we have as Voltron, against the Galra, I never know if I'll make it. I never know if I'm going to be good enough. There are times during the mission that I wonder if I can really do this. Then, I think of you. You all, still back home. Earth is one of the only places untouched by the Galra. If I can do whatever I can to keep them from getting to you, then I will. No matter what happens to me, as long as every one of you is safe at the end of the day, I promise I will do whatever I'm possible of doing to keep the Galra away from you. Even if I have to face Zarkon myself. Te quiero con todo mi corazon, my familia." Lance took a deep breath, and a small smile appeared on his face as he looked back at the camera. On the other side, his family was crying, holding one another tightly. "And now, Mami, it's time for your birthday song." Knowing what he meant, Mateo brought his guitar from where it always rested, beside the couch, and began to play a familiar tune. Maria let out a sob as he began to sing, his shaky voice sounding like the most beautiful music to his family's ears.
A la nanita nana nanita ella, nanita ella
Mi niña tiene sueño bendito sea, bendito sea
A la nanita nana nanita ella, nanita ella
Diego stood, and walked to the piano that sat against the wall, beginning to play as well.
Mi niña tiene sueño bendito sea, bendito sea
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora
Ruiseñor que en la selva
Cantando y llora
Maria's eyes shut, as Samuel and the girls joined Lance in singing, the girls with small smiles on their faces.
Calla mientras la cuna se balancea
A la nanita nana nanita ella
A la nanita nana nanita ella
Nanita ella
Maria looked at Lance, who was crying slightly as he sang, his voice shaking worse, but joined by his family.
Mi niña tiene sueño bendito
Sea, bendito sea
Fuentecita que corre clara y sonora
Ruiseñor que en la selva
Cantando y llora
In the last lines, the McClain family sang together for the first time in nearly a year, eight of them on Earth, and one on an alien ship thousands of miles away.
Calla mientras la cuna se balancea
A la nanita nana nanita ella
"I hope I can see you soon. Feliz cumpleanos, again, Mami, and I love you all so much. Adios, mi familia." Lance said, and the screen went dark.
"Lance? Lance, come back!" Gabriela cried, running to the television. She placed her hands against the screen, tears in her eyes. "Mami, where did Lance go?" Maria looked at one of her youngest with teary eyes, but a small smile. She opened her arms, and Gabriela ran to her. Maria pulled her into her lap, while the other McClain children gathered around their parents.
"He's in the stars, Gabby. He's being our little angel." Maria said, and Mateo smiled, putting an arm around his wife.
"He'll always be with us, and he will come home." He said, and the McClain family smiled in contentment, knowing that their brother and son was safe.
Neutral POV
A large, metal, blue lion landed in front of a house by the beach, and the head of the lion lowered, its jaw opening, and a young man walked out. He was dressed in jeans, sneakers, a grey t-shirt, and a green jacket with a white hood. He had tan skin, bright blue eyes, and brown hair. His eyes scanned the area, a smile spreading across his face. The air was colder, the only indication that it was December. He walked up to the house, hearing the songs coming from the inside. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, taking out the key that had been there for months, that he had fallen asleep holding. He slowly unlocked the door, the sound of the lock quieted by the singing family within. The song they were singing was one he had learned within his family for years, the first English song he had ever heard and sung. He quietly shut the door behind him, and walked into the family room, making sure he was unnoticed. His parents sat at the piano, with his mother playing, and his father strumming his guitar. His youngest sisters were held by his brothers, while his other two sisters sat on either side of their parents. A smile widening on his face, he joined in the singing.
"Heavenly hosts sing 'Alleluia, Christ the savior is born! Christ the savior is born!'" he finished singing, and the music came to an abrupt halt, the family slowly turning, some with tears already in their eyes. His brothers lowered their sisters to the ground, and Lance knelt as they were the first to turn.
"Lance?" Gabriela whispered, walking towards him.
"Is that you?" Daniela asked, biting her lip. Lance looked at his baby sisters, tears filling his eyes.
"Si, hermanitas. It's me." He replied softly, and the twins let out cries of joy, and leapt at him, wrapping their arms around his neck. Lance hugged them back tightly, crying as their arms tightened their grip. "Hush, chiquitas. I'm home." Julia and Sofia slid off the bench, and ran at Lance, hugging him from either side, crying like their brother.
"You're alive!" Sofia said happily, and Lance grinned at her.
"You're okay!" Julia cried, and Lance touched their arms lightly. Diego and Samuel knelt, joining the large group hug as they wrapped their arms around their brother and sisters.
"You owe us so many soccer games." Diego said teasingly, making Lance laugh brightly, and his family smiled widely.
"And many wake up calls." Samuel continued, and Lance's laugh grew into another smile at his older brother. He looked at his parents, who were still frozen with shock.
"Mi amor?" Maria asked softly, and Lance's eyes filled with fresh tears.
"Mami. Papi. I'm home." He said, his voice shaking much like it had in the video he had sent so many months ago. Maria let out a sob, and fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around her children as Mateo did the same.
"Hijito." Mateo whispered. Lance was crying, but had a huge smile on his face. The family did not allow him to leave their embrace for a while, none of them saying anything, just hugging and crying. Lance didn't mind it at all. He was happy to be back with his family. Maria was the first to pull back, wiping her eyes. She stood, and the others followed. Lance stood, and Diego put his arm around his younger brother, while Samuel stood on his other side, Sofia and Julia stood beside them, and Gabriela and Daniela attached themselves to his legs, making Lance grin.
"Where have you been, Lance?" Maria asked, and Lance looked out the window.
"Follow me." He said, and grabbed Gabriela and Daniela's hands, pulling them outside as they giggled. The others followed, and gasped when they saw the large lion sitting in front of the house. "Do you remember the story I told you, when I sent the message for Mami's birthday?" They all nodded, and Lance's smile widened. He looked at the lion. "Well, this is my lion, Blue. Blue, this is my family." The lion suddenly sprang to life, and looked at the humans surrounding her paladin. She could sense from him a feeling that had never been as strong as it was in that moment. Love, and happiness. She slowly lowered herself, as to not scare the younger ones, and rested on the ground, her eyes level with Lance's.
"She's beautiful." Samuel said in awe, and Lance laughed at Blue's proud purr.
"Don't make her ego more inflated, Sammy." He replied, making his brother grin back at him. The entire family was nearly bursting with happiness at being reunited, but some had a single question in their minds.
"Lance, are you leaving again?" Julia asked, looking at her brother. The rest of his family looked at him, some with hope, others with sadness in their eyes. Lance looked back at them and knelt, placing his hands on Julia's shoulders.
"The reason I came home was because we defeated Zarkon, the mean alien I told you about before. My leader, Shiro, stayed back at the castle with his lion. If Voltron is ever needed again, they'll call me." Lance told her, and he looked back up at his family, tears of happiness shining in his eyes. "But now, I'm home, and I'm staying home." Julia's eyes lit up, and she threw her arms around her brother. Lance stood, swinging her around, and perching her on his hip. He smiled happily. "Feliz Navidad." The family once more converged around Lance and Julia, a massive group hug filled with love and family.
"Feliz Navidad."
Well, I hope you all liked this little story, and please review if you want me to keep going!
I love you all, my brave paladins (And Galra, if you like them)
Love always,
Enchantress