All his life, Lance had been water, cool and adaptable. So it was understandable that he struggled with his new role, being the Red paladin. The role required him to be hot-headed yet volatile, an odd combination if you had asked him. Instead of water he needed to be fire, an element he had never been able to relate to. Perhaps this was why he and the Red Lion had never gotten along. At least, as well as he and Blue had. Lance had been able to relate to Blue, both of them being water. They both were as flexible as water, playful as the sea, and as deep as the ocean. A match made in heaven!

But it appeared that even in heaven, mistakes could be made. Since Lance and Blue's partnership did not last long. Now he was stuck with Red, a creature of fire and molten lava, one who only brought destruction and misfortune along with it. He had no idea what to do, even his mind wasn't safe from said misfortune. This was due to the fact that Red had already made himself home, in the deepest corners of Lance's mind. Every thought that Lance had was seen by the lion. Nothing was left untouched, memories of Varadero Beach, his Abuela's stories, his Mama's hugs, Red had access to them all.

However, this was not the worst of it. The feeling of Red in his mind was like that of a forest fire, destructive and dangerous. Fire spreading, burning everything it touched into a crisp. It hurt, it really did, Red was nothing like Blue. Where Blue had brought a comforting cold, Red had given an unbearable heat. The gentle guidance Blue had used was similar to the push and pull of the tide. With Red there was no guidance, there was no thinking, it was a do or don't situation. Instead of being told to "hold back and think things through." He was told to "just follow his instincts, and not care about the consequences." Yeah… Red gave the best advice.

Piloting Red was a nightmare, the dang lion didn't even listen to him! He wouldn't even give Lance the chance to collect his thoughts during battle, instead he would lead the both of them into another area to fight.

"Stupid, stupid lion!" Lance screamed as Red did a (very unnecessary) nose-dive, seemingly on some sort of auto-pilot. "You're going the wrong way, the battle is taking place over there, not here!" He was fed up with Red at this point. "Are you purposely trying to endanger the team?" Suddenly the sound (was it really a sound if he couldn't physically hear it?) Of Red's voice echoed throughout Lance's mind.

"Shut up boy, and let the real men do the work." Lance blinked, disbelief showing on his face, did he really just get scolded by a disembodied voice? But was it really disembodied, if Red did in fact, have a body? Oh my gosh focus McClain, Red is on the move!

They were moving, pretty flippin fast, it felt like they were flying! Oh wait… they are flying. Nonetheless the rush of adrenaline Lance felt, was quite refreshing. He felt like he could destroy the whole Galra Empire single handedly!

"Alright Red let's go and destroy some enemy ships!" Lance yelled, as he took control of the Red Lion, pumped up for battle. Red roared in agreement, finally giving the controls over to Lance, allowing him to pilot. Lance and Red zoomed between enemy cruisers, blowing them into little pieces. From an onlookers perspective it'd look like fireworks going off, but to Lance it was merely a symbol of his achievements.

Sure, he and Red were different, but if they could find a way to work together, then what was the point of worrying? All they needed to do was form Voltron, and bring peace to the universe. The two had the first part down, now they're working on the second…

Even though Lance would always be water, he could pretend to be fire, if only for a little while.

The End