What Is Missed
It was a quiet morning. The ship drifted effortlessly through space many light-years from any planet or civilization that could detect the castle under their radar. Assured the previous evening by Princess Allura that any threat was well out of reach for now, the paladins of Voltron slept soundly in their quarters. Everyone, save Hunk, who was up and about preparing himself an Earth inspired breakfast when the castle's jarring alarms provoked him into dropping his plate piled high with questionable slimy substances.
"Huh? What's happening?" Hunk was ready for action, but it was early. How prepared could you be?
Then Hunk heard the screaming. It was getting higher and higher—no, it was getting closer!
He looked to the doorway just as a streak of green and white rushed passed, arms outstretched as if reaching for something.
A moment later, three figures clad from head to foot in polished ingot pursued the flash of green and white. Purple beams shot like missiles ahead of them, causing the fleeing green streak to scream higher.
"Pidge?"
The screaming continued; now sounding further away, like it was headed through the labyrinthine hallways and twisting corridors.
"Pidge!" Hunk abandoned his culinary mess underfoot, taking off toward the screaming at full speed. "Hold on, Pidge! I'm coming for you!"
The sirens blared unfettered for what seemed hours but in reality were only seconds.
Just as Shiro forced on his helmet and bolted for the door, Coran's voice boomed throughout the castle, "Paladins, we've been boarded by the Galra!"
Coran's voice fizzled out, breaking like a radio tuning in and out of range, "The helm's been compromised! To the training deck!" His voice was overrun with static and the alarms over the speakers violently flooded the halls once again.
Lance rolled over in his bed. "Training deck?" He hmph'd groggily, "I bet it's just another drill." He threw his pillow over his head to drown out the noise. "You're acting is terrible, Coran," his spiteful words were reduced to muffled mumbling under his pillow.
Next, Lance's ears were met with the sound of Keith's bedroom door opening and his armored footsteps speeding passed his door toward the training deck.
Lance gripped his pillow and launched it into the air. "Oh no you don't."
Lance kicked off his blankets and rocketed out of bed…
Shiro and Keith were the first ones to make it to the training platform. The room was empty.
Shiro's hand glowed purple. "No Galra," he whispered, scanning the room.
Keith's grip on his sword slacked only slightly. "Maybe this is another surprise training simulation."
"Maybe. But it's best to stay alert. Just in case."
Suddenly, the door opposite Keith and Shiro opened and in spilled Hunk.
"It's not a drill! I repeat. This is not a drill!" Hunk huffed. He hunched over, out of breath, "I was in the galley when the alarms went off—making myself some breakfast, 'cause you know it's what I do. And here they come, guns blazing!"
"Who?" Shiro asked.
"W-who else? The Galra!" Hunk exclaimed, "And they were running after Pidge!"
"Okay guys, I'm ready. Bring on the drones, but I'm not doing the maze thing with Keith again," Lance ran into the room, bayard in hand. He stopped short. Confused.
"This isn't a joke, Lance," Keith said, a hint of annoyance in his tone. "Pidge is in trouble."
"What?" Lance's bayard activated and transformed into his energy rifle. "Where's Pidge?"
"Coran didn't lead us to the training deck for nothing. Why did he do it?" Keith went deeper into the room, trailed by the rest of the paladins. They formed defensive positions in the center, facing both exits.
"Are we surrounded?" Lance questioned.
"Coran said we were boarded, but there's no sign of the Galra anywhere," Shiro reasoned.
Hunk was shocked to hear Shiro doubted him. He shouted, "But I saw them! They're here! There could be an entire fleet out there!"
"I'm not saying they're not! I'm just saying it's quiet," Shiro's voice lost its edge, "Too quiet."
Without warning, the lights malfunctioned and the team was unexpectedly immersed in darkness. A tar-black void encased them from every angle.
Noises of surprise escaped everyone. A sharp ping of fear struck them. Tension was at an all-time high. Hunk shrieked.
"I can't see! I can't see! I've gone blind! Goodbye sweet summer sunsets! Goodbye steamy slimy green food goo, though I found your appearance suspiscious at first, I think I've grown very fond of you—"
Shiro stepped back, encouraging the rest of the paladins to form a tighter circle. He cut off his distressed teammate, "Hunk, calm down. You aren't blind. The lights were just shut off. No one can see."
"Oh, that makes more sense. Good, good. That's good, and I take back what I said about the food goo. I'm not sure I can entirely trust that stuff."
Keith spoke up, "So, what now?"
"Shh. Guys. Do you hear that?" Lance shuffled a bit, pushing everyone's attentions be directed to hearing.
"Lance…" Shiro warned.
"No I'm being serious this time. I swear! I'm—"
"Wait guys. He's telling the truth," Keith calmed everyone down enough to listen.
There was a low rumbling coming from overhead. Could that be the footsteps of the swarms of Galra now on their ship? The sounds of their equipment being defamed and destroyed?
"That sounds like…" Lance's voice trailed off. He looked skyward.
The first droplet hit his visor. Then a second—ptt—hit the crown of his helmet. A third drop fell cool and wet on the exposed part of his face, drawing a moist line down the curve of his jaw.
"Rain," he finished breathily.
The noise thundered and rolled, growing louder and louder as a few raindrops turned into thousands upon thousands and fell in one long rush.
The shadowy ink-like room regained its power by small increments, lightening into a dull gray. The room was filled with the sounds of the rain hitting the walls and the floor—pebbles hitting a tin roof.
"How…is this happening?" Keith asked anyone.
"I don't know," Shiro managed an answer, equally as awestruck as his fellow paladins.
The atmosphere was nearly recovered to its default setting, though now the team could see a knot of heavy clouds blocking their view of the ceiling. Not that it mattered. They were too entranced with the sounds of the heavy downpour. Of the hordes of scattered raindrops plinking into widening puddles. Of the feel of the rain when it hit their skin.
Somehow, everyone's helmets were removed and bayards plopped and fell to the damp ground. Shiro's hand relinquished its purple hue. Hunk removed his shoes and tossed off his socks, reminiscing in the way his earth clothes clung to him, wet and heavy with water.
Everyone branched out from each other; unaware they were moving at all. The rain drew them about the room.
Rain.
How they missed the rain.
Shiro stated softly, "I don't think we're under attack at all."
The thunder rolled and cracked and the downpour let up. Now it was a mild pitter-patter upon the metallic walls.
The spell had been lifted with Shiro's words. Everyone simultaneously turned to see Pidge standing in the doorway below the observation deck. A small satisfied smile spread across Pidge's features, and it slowly dawned on the group.
"Wait, you did this?" Hunk asked, "But I saw them. The Galra were after you."
Pidge raised their arm and pressed a button on the forearm of their suit. In response, three Galra sentinels manifested beside Pidge. Pidge sliced their hand through them, their hand sailing easily through the soldiers. Holograms. Their images disintegrated and Pidge stood taller.
Pidge explained, "One night I was up in the control room," they jerked a thumb upward, "to take a look at the controls because I wanted to learn the extent of the training deck's abilities and because that kind of tech is amazing an—and I noticed something. The system was just a more advanced version of the weather simulator we had back at the academy, so I just rerouted a few programs, flipped a few switches, a little rewiring, and bingo," Pidge adjusted the glasses on their face, "Planet Earth precipitation."
There was a pause. Pidge's teammates were still caught in the rain.
Pidge cleared their throat, "Of course I had a little help. I asked Allura if it was okay—the programs can easily be reset—and she and Coran both helped with getting you all here."
Shiro smiled affectionately at Pidge. He understood the impact Pidge had. On the entire crew. On himself. This was a profound gesture whether the green paladin knew it or not.
Keith couldn't help but to blurt, "You're a genius!"
And Hunk shortly followed, "I know my face looks pretty stupid right now but you have to know I was just thinking the same thing. Thank you Pidge."
Keith and Shiro also thanked their friend. Hunk ran up to Pidge and took them into his arms, lifting them into a humongous bear hug. Pidge laughed, face turning pink and eyes squeezing shut with glee. Hunk set Pidge down and Keith joined them to ruffle Pidge's hair.
Grin fading, Shiro turned to Lance, who still stood behind the rest of them.
Shiro's voice was fortified with impatience. "Lance, isn't there something you would like to say to Pidge?"
Lance stood motionless. Frozen in the very spot he was in when the room went dark. His hand was out before him, fingers splayed slightly, palm barely cupped to catch the rain on his skin. His neck craned toward the clouds, every strand of hair he possessed sticking so close to his skull the two looked inseparable, his eyelids closing slowly once every few ticks. Rain swept down his cheeks, collected and overflowed in his hand, and danced a shimmery dance upon his eyelashes. Lance had not heard a word anyone had said. He was suspended in a dream-like state.
But this fact was yet to reach Shiro's cognizance. "Lance!" Shiro exclaimed.
Lance's head fell forward. His damp hair shrouded his eyes from view. It was as if he was contemplating his hand and the rain that had accumulated there for the first time. He faced the other paladins, his hand still languidly outstretched, and he lifted his head.
Lance had never been so silent and yet he had never spoken so much. The tender achey look in his eyes affected everyone in the room, but not so tremendously as Pidge, who'd been hit hard in the chest because the look was meant just for them. Years of being emotionally inarticulate and lighthearted about the most serious of subjects had reached its peak in that moment. Only Pidge could identify the moisture on his face was not due to the rain.
Lance took a broken step forward.
Shiro's momentary frustration fell to the wayside as Lance made his way step by step to confront Pidge.
Hunk and Keith stepped to the side, seized by the urge to witness what would happen next.
Pidge thought Lance was angry. Never had they truly seen Lance burst with outrage, but the building silence made them feel like they'd really done it now. It was coming. Pidge only wanted to make their friends happy, even if it was only temporary…
Lance looked down at Pidge—first with a thousand yard stare, as if Pidge were transparent. Then it morphed with the undetectable drop of his eyelids into something akin to the recognition of something newly discovered. A silver tear slid down his face and suddenly Pidge was wrapped in Lance's arms.
Their brain stalled—only registering what was occurring when Lance choked out a raspy emotional 'thank you'. Pidge reciprocated the embrace gladly.
A moment later, it was as if a lighting bolt struck the blue paladin because in the next tick his grin was a mile wide and he held a befuddled Pidge at arms' length. "Now," he said, a cheery lilt in his voice, "Does anyone know if we can turn this joint into a pool?"
"Maybe," Keith smirked, "But who needs a pool when you can do this?" Keith swung his arm toward the floor; hooking into the four inches of water they all stood in, flinging water up and pelting Lance in the face with it.
Lance flung himself at Keith, yelling, "You can do that in a pool too, Keith!"
Keith bolted, splashing rainwater everywhere and chuckling.
"Get back here!" Lance angrily shouted. They were running circles around the room.
Shiro pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling.
"Hey," Hunk dropped an arm across Pidge's shoulders, "You know something I've always wanted to do?" He raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"What is that?"
"Sing in the rain," Hunk answered.
Pidge smiled and together, Hunk and Pidge jovially frolicked about the training deck.
Though the rain had let up tremendously and no one knew when the alarms had stopped, the paladins continued to play in the water. Making up games and things to keep this moment in time going for as long as it would last.
Overhead, overlooking the entire display, Coran and Allura smiled fondly down at the paladins.
"So this is rain. It isn't Altean, but I do see the appeal. Something so peaceful would only naturally be missed by Lance," Coran commented.
Allura replied, "It seems he wasn't the only one who missed it."
They watched on as the team disrobed to nothing but their t-shirts and underclothes to continue dancing in the spray they kicked up with their feet and chased each other and horseplayed and were happy.
"They have good hearts. A real catch, they are," Coran exposed his innermost thoughts.
Allura's smile deepened, and she was happy, too.
The paladins' laughter could be heard even through the walls.
*Please review! Thank you for reading!*