Project runway: Space edition

Lance complains about Keith's fashion, only to be roasted by the others.

It's been relatively quiet in the universe, there had been no need for The Legendary Defenders in about week. The paladins of Voltron and the last Alteans took this as a blessing and used the calm for some much-needed R&R.

Everyone gathered in the common room of The Castle of Lions. Allura and Coran are playing what appeared to be an Altean version of Old maid. Shiro is doing pushups while Pidge is working on some tech on top of his back. Hunk is devolving another recipe for tonight's dinner. And, Keith is sharping one of his many knifes.

All was calm and quite with the comforting hum of the castle as it flew through space. That is until Lance barges in.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming to this meeting." He said as he confidently struts to the others.

"Meeting what meeting?" Allura asked confused, "I don't remember calling a meeting."

"That's cause I called this meeting, Princess." A wink was thrown her way.

Shiro gets up from the floor causing Pidge to tumble off his back in a comedic form and on to the floor. "Lance what meeting are you taking about?" he said in his natural leader tone.

"The Intervention, of course."

"Intervention for what?" Came from Pidge on the floor.

"The Intervention for Keith's Fashion sense or, lack thereof" Lance gestures at Keith.

Keith was visually offended by this, "What the hell, Lance?!"

"Now Keith we're all friends here, we just want what's best for you." Lance said in a fake comforting tone.

"You're the worst kind of friend!" Keith yells back.

The once quite room now exploded with noise, questions and yelling, mostly from Keith whose temper was growing.

Coran gets up from the couch to Lance. "Lance, my boy, what's the meaning of all this?"

"Yeah what gives?" Hunk chimes in.

"Seriously what the hell?!" yells Keith still steaming.

"Keith, calm down." Shiro glance back to him. "Well Lance?"

Lance paces around the common room in a very seriously manner like what he says holds any gravity. "It's a problem that's being plaguing this entire ship for weeks? Months? However long we've been in space." He stops in his tracks to point an accused finger at Keith. "Keith's cloths have been stinking up all of space."

"Well it's quite impossible to 'stink up' all of space, my boy" Coran pops up Lance's bubble.

"Thanks, Coran. But it's more of an expression." Lance corrects him "Never the less! Keith has crappy style!"

If Keith had a tea pot on his head, the tea pot would be set a flame. He sits quietly with his arms crossed, plotting how to murder Lance and make it look like an accident. Maybe the air lock?

Hunk raises his hand in question. "How so, man?"

"Well for starters my dear Hunk," Lance gently pats Hunk on the head. "He has two fanny packs. I mean one is bad enough, but two!? And on either hip, what do you keep in them?"

"My knifes."

"Knifes? As in more than one? How many knifes do you need?"

"Enough." Keith deadpans. His's eyes shoot daggers- or in this case knifes- at Lance. "Besides I'm not the only one with two fanny packs, both Shiro and Hunk them."

"What?" Lance says dumbfounded.

"Yeah man," Hunk gleams. "These are my snack packs." He pulls out something out of one of his fanny packs that looks like a bunch of wires. "Wait no, that was my tech pouch. But why does it have pudding on it."

"And I keep band aids in mine" Shiro holds a package of bandages as well as a bag of food. "And trail mix."

Lance nods, "I'm not about to fight space dad. And Hunk your perfect. So you both get away with it"

"Wait so, it's okay for them to have them, but I can't?" Keith pipes in.

"Uhhh, yes."

"How is that fair?!"

"All fair in love and fashion." Lance winks again.

"The hell, does that mean?!" Keith yells.

"Yeah Lance. Love and fashion. What does that mean?" Pidge says wriggling their eyebrows

"Pidge, shut up." Lance spits at them. "And you keep those eyebrows under control!"

"Are we done here?" Keith says getting up from the couch.

"Not even close, sit back down."

Keith groans and crosses his arms as he plops back down on the couch.

"Anyways, let's talk about those gloves. Fingerless gloves stopped being cool after middle school, my dude."

"I have fingerless gloves, well glove." Shiro raised his Garla hand. "And doesn't Hunk wear fingerless gloves as well?"

"Yep, they keep my hands warm but still let allow me to use touch screens."

"To be honest I wear it because I think it looks cool." Shiro rubs his neck out of embarrassment.

"Same." Keith throws in.

Lance looks quizzical at the group. He points at Shiro, "Shiro can pull it off." Then to Keith, "but Keith can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"Shiro has that Winter Soldier style, he's naturally cool. The one arm, the hair job, and his natural charisma make him the perfect leader. Keith is trying too hard."

"Oh, thank you Lance." Shiro says with a bashful smile.

Lance snaps finger guns at Shiro, "No prob, Dad."

All the while, Keith is having none of it. "I'm trying hard, really? Says the guy who flirts with every feminine figure he sees."

"Burn!" Allura yells out of the blue, she looks over to Pidge, "Did I do it right, Pidge?"

Pidge gives Allura a small golf clap. "Beautifully done, I have taught you well."

"Can we please stop roasting me and get back to the real prime roast here. Like Keith's silly half jacket."

"I happen to like my crop jacket! Hunk wears one too!" Keith points to Hunk who was unaware of what was happening until now.

"What's happening?"

"Man Lance, what did Hunk ever do to you to deserve such ridicule?" Pidge tisks at him.

Lance runs over to Hunk and holds his head to his chest. "I would never! Hunk is a beautiful, perfect cinnamon roll who deserves better!"

Hunk tears up, "Aw bro!"

"I got you bro!" He kisses the top of Hunks head. "Besides it's more of a vest and not like a silly jacket!"

"Your jacket is silly!" Keith voiced his anger.

"Le Gasp!" Lance drops Hunk's head. "My jacket has an actual purpose, thank you very much!" Lance says wrapping his lanky arms around his jacket covered body. "It keeps me warm!"

"Yeah? Well for someone who hates being called a cargo pilot, you sure do love your cargo jacket!"

"Fight, fight, fight" Pidge and Hunk chant in unison banging their fists.

"Hunk. Pidge. Stop encourage them." Shiro says in his dad voice.

Pidge and Hunk exchange a look. "Make out, make out, make out"

"Shut it you two!" Lance yells pink in the face. He clears his throat after collecting himself. "Last and certainly least, Keith's mullet."

Keith rolls his eyes, "Oh, boy here we go."

Lance ignores him. "The only man who can pull off a Mullet, was Uncle Jessie on Full House. Everyone else is just a failed attempt to be cool."

"He's got you there Keith, the Mullet is out dated." Pidge says looking up to Keith.

"Pidge whose side are you on?!"

"I don't pick sides, I just love drama."

"Thank you," Lance directs to Pidge. "Seriously dude do you cut your own hair?" Lance continues.

"Yes" Keith said bluntly with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah, it's just easier to deal with."

"But why I Mullet?" Hunk asks.

"I don't know. I can cut it off, if that's what it takes to shut Lance up-"

"No don't!" Lance cries out interrupting Keith.

Keith double takes."What?"

"Why not?" Allura asks wondering why she's still here.

Pidge grins sinisterly, "Yeeeah Lance, do you actually like Keith's hair?"

"Deez Nutz!" Coran yells then looks to Pidge for approval. "Did I do it right, Pidge?"

"We'll work on it, great energy though."

"Ppft." Lance scoffs "I don't like it, it's just that if he cut it off then I have nothing to make fun of anymore."

"Nice save, dude." Hunk says.

Keith on the other hand, as had enough, he pushes himself off the couch and makes an angry bee line to Lance. "Seriously, what's your problem with me?"

"Keith calm down." Shiro intervenes but to no avail.

"No, I won't," he directs his anger back to Lance pocking in in the chest. "It's not the packs, the gloves, the cropped jacket or my hair. So what is it really? Why do you hate me so much!"

"I don't hate you!"

There was a long pregnant silence as the tension rose in the room. No one said anything in fear of adding to what is already an extremely awkward moment. Everyone but Pidge of course.

"Fuck," Pidge finally spoke up.

"Pidge! Language." Shiro ever the dad.

"I'm just saying what they should do." Pidge retorted back defending themselves.

"That's it," Keith says throwing his hands up in, "I'm leaving." He bumps shoulders with Lance as he makes his grand exist.

Shiro looked to Lance. "Apologize now."

"What, why? He's the one who got his mullet in a twist! It's not my fault-"

"Now Lance." Shiro wasn't joking around.

"Alright. I'm going, I'm going." Lance exist the common room and after walking the corridors of the Castle he finds Keith in- where else? - the training room.

"Freaking predictable," Lance whispers under his breath.

Keith is already battling a robotic enemy, bayard in hand. Lance takes notice to the other boy's movement, he was erratic. Usually Keith was more calculated and would have a determined look on his face. But his fighting and face was angry and unstable. He was the Red Paladin alright.

The gladiator dodges one of Keith's attacks and knocks his blade out of his hand. Keith can hold his own without his bayard, but not for long. The gladiator knocks Keith to the ground with a thud. Keith isn't stopping though, he throws punches and kicks as the robot looms over him. Lance couldn't keep watching from the sidelines anymore.

"End simulation!" Lance yells from the entrance.

The gladiator immediately freezes in place and is sucked back into the floor. Keith looks around surprised only for his anger to rise once he sees Lance running towards him.

"Oh, it's you." Keith said emotionless.

"Yeah it's me! You trying to get yourself killed?" Lance holds out a hand to Keith still on the floor.

Keith ignores the gesture and raises by himself up. "Since when did you care about my wellbeing?" He turns his back on the other boy to pick up his discarded bayard.

"Chill, I came to apologize-"

"You mean Shiro told you to apologize."

Lance stood slacked jawed, "He did, but I came here on my own accord."

Keith scoffed, "Sure." He disarmed his bayard and attached it to his belt.

"Can you stop being a dick for a second, and let me-"

"I'm the dick?" Keith's voice rose, "That's rich coming from the guy who critiqued my clothes in front of every one!"

"Hey don't blame me for you fashion sense." Lance defended himself.

Keith pushed his bangs back out of stress, "God you never change!" Keith yelled as he angrily marched around the field. "You were just like this back at the Garrison-"

"Woah, woah wait." Lance flares his arms around to stop Keith. "You said you didn't remember me."

Keith stuttered in disbelief, "I didn't-don't. I just meant-"

"You knew me back at school!" Lance's confidence was growing with his cocky smile plaster on his face. "You lied!"

"Of course I knew you!" Keith gives up his ruse. "Everyone knew you! Lance McClain, the cargo pilot with a big ego!"

"So why did you pretend you didn't know me when I rescued Shiro-"

"When we all rescued Shiro," Keith corrected.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, answer the question."

There was a small pause as Keith thought on his next words. "I didn't want to give you the satisfaction." He replied bitterly.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Lance spat back, "and I'm not the one everyone knew back at the Garrison."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Oh please. Keith Kogane, star pupil, top of his class, best pilot the Garrison has to offer. Right after Shiro of course-"

Keith snapped "Don't you compare me to Shiro, you don't know what's like to live in his shadow!"

"Yeah well, I know what it's like being in yours!"

Keith was silent with shock. There was a look of concern in his face. "What? Lance, I-"

"Lance and Keith, neck and neck. I was always second best compared to you!" Lance sniffed and looked as though he would start crying. "The only reason why I'm a real pilot is cause you dropped out to live in some shack in the desert!"

It was silent between them again. Keith looked at his feet, he held his head in his shaking hands. "I thought we were getting better," he whispers so soft that Lance barely catches it. "After everything that's happened to us, and nothing's changed." Keith charges out of the training room without a second glance at Lance.

"Do you always run away from your problems?!" Lance yells after him, but Keith is too far gone to hear him. Lance runs after him and yells louder, "Do you hear me Kogane?!"

Lance sighs, he fucked up he knew it. How was he going to tell Shiro?

"Lance?"

Speak of the devil. Shiro jogged up to meet Lance with a look of concern.

"Look, Shiro I tried apologizing, but mullet-head was having none of it."

Shiro opened his mouth to speak, but Lance stopped him before he could utter any words of wisdom.

"I'm sorry, I'm too tried to try again."

Shiro places his human hand on Lance's shoulder. "It's okay Lance," he reassures him. "Keith is-" he stops himself. "Keith is complicated."

Lance scoffs at his words of wisdom. The way he was feeling was just that, complicated. "Yeah, your telling me." He tells Shiro

"But you still have to apologize to him." Shiro continued pointing a stern finger at Lance.

Lance sighed, "Yeah, yeah." He made his way to his room leaving Shiro behind, muttering on the way.

"Stupid Mullet, thinks he's so great at everything." Lance says under his breath as he walks down the hall.

He suddenly stops before a door that isn't his. Keith's door. It was closed and locked obviously. There was a sharp pinch in the middle of his chest as he begins to reach out to knock on the door. Keith's words echoing in his mind.

I thought we were getting better.

After everything that's happened to us, and nothing's changed.

Lance's hand freezes just millimeters before making contact with the metal door. His face had grown exponentially warmer. His hand starts to shake followed by the rest of his body. He question's Keith's words. What had he meant by them?

Lance snaps out of thought and puts his hand back down to his side still in a fist. He then scoffs at himself. "This is stupid." He says to no one in particular. Lance gives up and continues on to his own room.

Before he enters he looks back to Keith's door like he's waiting for Keith to come out. But Lance knows that Keith is to stubborn to come out on his own. "He's hopeless."

Lance thinks back to how he humiliated Keith in front of the rest of the team. He doesn't know why he did it, he and Keith were getting along better. So why did Lance mess it all up?

Lance sighed looking down to his floor. "I'm hopeless."

And with that the mechanical door closed behind him, leaving both boys isolated from the rest of the ship and each other.

Oh hello angst didn't expect you to show up, and yet here you are. Think I might write a second chapter, maybe, maybe not. Hope you all liked it.