Halfway through Keith and Shiro's game, a loud pop! sounded from across the room, shortly followed by the faint scent of hot metal. Shiro looked up, mildly concerned, and saw Hunk staring down at the controller.
"I think it just shorted out," he said.
Lance and Matt were staring in frozen horror at the screen, which had turned black. Pidge flopped backwards on the couch with a despairing wail. "We were that close to killing him! What happened? I thought for sure my wiring was foolproof!"
She and Hunk set to work dismantling the controller immediately, while Matt and Lance slumped over to join the other two.
Keith was staring intensely at the checkerboard, apparently trying to figure out which move would take out more of Shiro's pieces. Lance flicked idly at the cocoa tray, which sat next to Shiro, and said, "This your drink, Shiro?"
"Hmm? Oh, no; I guess it's an extra."
Lance raised his eyebrows happily and reached for it, but Matt's fingers latched onto it at the same time.
"Hey!" said Lance. "I had it first!"
Shiro gave him a look, but before he could say anything, Keith jumped three of his pieces and smirked up at him. Shiro narrowed his eyes, removed the jumped pieces, and stared hard at the board, rethinking his strategy.
Some sort of scuffle was going on to his left. He sighed, jumped over one of Keith's pieces, and looked up to reprimand whoever was fighting.
Lance and Matt knelt just beside Shiro, facing each other with grim intent in their eyes. Each of them was using both hands to grip the cocoa cup, despite its lack of handles, and their arms were shaking as they strained to pull it out of the other's grasp. Keith sat there, watching them with an almost impressed look on his face.
"Guys, what are you doing?" asked Shiro, honestly surprised.
He may as well have been speaking to the wall.
Lance hissed at his opponent. "The marshmallows are all melted. You won't even like it!"
Matt, his voice rather strained, replied, "Any cocoa is better than none. Give!"
Shiro opened his mouth, but just then Lance gave a satisfied sneer and released the cup. Cocoa sprayed everywhere, a good deal of it catching Matt directly in the face, and Lance was just enjoying a good laugh when he caught sight of Shiro.
The leader of Voltron was sitting perfectly motionless, hair plastered to his forehead, wearing a bemused expression as rivulets of cocoa dripped down his face.
Lance clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorr –"
He obviously wasn't sorry, thought Shiro wryly as the blue paladin burst into laughter.
Keith stared deliberately over Shiro's head at the opposite wall, his mouth twitching. Shiro stared at him for a moment, then leaned over and flicked all the red pieces off the checkerboard.
That done, he caught Lance by the scruff of the neck and pinned him in a headlock. Lance yelped and struggled, but Shiro grabbed a pillow and faceplanted Lance in it.
Matt was still in a state of shock. "You – you wasted it!"
Lance said, "I's'our'ault."
Shiro loosened his grip. "What?"
Lance lifted his head and repeated, "It's your fault."
Matt let out a wordless yell and dove for the nearest pillow. Pidge and Hunk watched interestedly from the couch, game controller forgotten.
Keith got to his feet and kicked the checkerboard aside as he grabbed a pillow of his own. Matt stood, a look of terrible vengeance on his face, and held up his weapon. His threatening appearance was a little ruined by the streaks of dried cocoa still trailing down his face and shirt.
Shiro let Lance up, deciding that he deserved a fighting chance, and the blue paladin streaked for the lounge, Matt in hot pursuit.
"Pidge, grab him!" Matt yelled.
Lance rushed behind Hunk, who stood up and braced himself just as Matt reached them. The thinner boy slammed into Hunk and bounced off.
Pidge stood on the couch, one fist in the air, and yelled, "Garrison Trio unite!"
Matt paused. ". . . That sounds suspiciously like a cheesy one-liner from some kids' show."
"Well, it's not," said Lance. "It's a cheer that should make you start running."
Matt backed up a little. "What – Pidge, you, and Hunk against me?"
"Uh, no, no way," said Hunk. "It just means that us three are gonna be against your team. Keith? Shiro?"
"Actually," said Shiro, snagging the bean bag. "It's the Garrison Trio against the Original Garrison Trio."
Lance shook his head. "Wait, what? Keith entered the same year we did!"
"Yeah . . ." said Keith, tilting his head. "I did."
"Okay," said Shiro, obviously not really caring. "Garrison Trio against the Almost-Original Garrison Trio."
Lance blinked at him.
Pidge turned to Matt. "When you and Shiro were chosen for the Kerberos mission, you guys and Dad had to get used to living together, right?"
"Yeah," said Matt, backing up until he stood between the other two. "The Garrison doesn't send crews on long missions unless they know how to live peaceably with each other."
Shiro looked sidelong at him. "With Matt, 'peaceably' was a relative term, but yes, that was the idea. Keith hung out with us weekends."
Keith swung his pillow experimentally. "Yeah. This one time, Commander Holt and Shiro had a meeting, and Matt and I tried out the hoverbike."
"You never told me about that!" said Pidge, turning to her brother.
Matt, who was somewat preoccupied with trying to unstick his cocoa-soaked shirt from his stomach, replied, "I didn't want Dad to find out. Shiro was mad at us as it was."
"I wasn't mad at you. . . It was just dangerous," said Shiro, swatting him with the bean bag.
Keith snorted. "Says the guy who routinely drove off a cliff to get to town."
"Yes, but I knew how."
"Wait," said Lance. "You mean Shiro did the same crazy stunt you pulled when we left?"
Shiro glanced levelly at Keith. "You drove off the cliff?"
"Didn't have much choice. The 'bike was too slow with all of us on it, and the Garrison was catching up."
Shiro bent his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. "You drove off the cliff with all five of us on a two-person hoverbike."
Keith shrugged.
Hunk raised a hand. "Yeah, I thought we were all gonna die. That was pretty scary. Actually, it was a lot scary."
"And all Keith said was 'Shut up and trust me'," Pidge added, rolling her eyes.
"Hey!" said Keith.
Shiro swung the beanbag into his stomach. "Maybe it's just as well I was unconscious. I have enough white hair as it is."
Matt gazed critically at him. "It's not actually white right now. . . It's sort of a light brown."
Shiro cast his gaze upward in an attempt to see his hair. "Well, that's beside the point."
"Either way," said Lance. "Me and Pidge and Hunk can beat you guys without even trying."
"Yeah, right." Keith dropped into a fighting stance.
"Shiro," said Hunk. "You said the bean bag was off limits."
"That was for last time."
"Not fair!" squeaked Pidge, but Shiro only smiled.
"ATTAAAACK!" hollered Lance.
He and Pidge charged. Matt jumped back with a yelp and clobbered Lance, knocking him flat. "That was for the cocoa!"
Lance rolled onto his back and tripped him. Pidge got in several good blows before Keith judo-flipped her onto a pile of blankets. Lance tackled Keith into the lounge. Matt recovered and tossed Pidge in after them. Shiro and Hunk fought for control of the beanbag.
Okay, be honest - how many of you just tried to look up at your hair? ':)
One more update, and this story is complete! Hmm, what kind of story should I write next . . .?
