Chapter 7

Hunk awoke warm and comfortable in his own bed and not in the middle of a desert with a name he could barely pronounce, spending the night fighting off large reptilian monsters that wanted to kill him.

Why couldn't he ever get the nice planets like Pidge and Lance? They got to spend a day on their own in a jungle full of colorful flora and friendly fauna and on a planet that was basically a giant ocean populated by mermaids.

He was determined he was not leaving his bed for any reason until at least noon. The others would just have to deal with food goo for breakfast. And maybe lunch. He hadn't decided.

Hunk snuggled deeper in his blankets with a happy sigh. He'd sleep for a few more vargas and then get up.

As he started to drift off back to sleep, his bedroom door slid open with a quiet sound and Lance stepped inside with a tray of food. It was the delicious aroma which rouses Hunk from slumber. He made a questioning sound, opening his eyes to watch his boyfriend move around to his side of the bed, where he placed the tray on the end table.

"Hey, babe, I made pancakes," Lance said, his voice full of warm affection. He leaned down to kiss Hunk's forehead, but was unprepared for his boyfriend removing one arm from under the blankets to pull Lance into bed with him.

Lance went down with a yelp of surprise, somehow avoiding kicking the nightstand or elbowing or kneeing Hunk in any unfortunate places. He huffed as he settled down on his side of the bed, brown hair mussed. "So this is what I get for bringing you breakfast in bed?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Hunk apologized with a small smile. "You look cute like this."

Lance's cheeks darkened slightly. "You haven't even said 'good morning' to me yet."

Moving slowly enough that Lance would have time to stop him if he wasn't in a playful mood like he seemed to be, Hunk scooted over until he could easily move his head and kiss him softly on the lips. "Good morning. Thank you for making me breakfast."

Lance smiled as he moved in for another kiss. "I even put in that fruit you like."

Hunk made a pleased sound. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Hunk was happy to make an amendment to his plan. Instead of sleeping until noon, he wanted to spend the morning cuddling with Lance, exchanging kisses, and eating the food his boyfriend had thoughtfully made for him.


Keithir hesitated at the door to the training deck, unsure if he would be welcome inside that morning, even though Shiro had told him numerous times that he was always welcome to join him. He knew the other paladins were back from their three day long exercise and were less likely to be as accepting of him as Shiro. And if he was being honest, he wasn't ready to see Lady Katherine yet.

"You can't avoid her forever," he quietly reminded himself as he punching in his temporary code and went inside.

Shiro was there, sparring against one of the gladiators, his new prosthetic limb glowing with a faint violet light as he punched his fist straight through the robot's chest. By the look of surprise on his face, Keithir guessed it wasn't something he'd expected.

"It looks good," Keithir called out to him.

Shiro turned to greet him, ordering the program to shut down as he did so. "It feels good. Better than the old one," he said with a smile. "I almost wish I'd asked one of them to look at it sooner."

"So you're not mad about mother taking away your arm anymore?" Keithir asked teasingly.

It was so easy to relax around Shiro, to make jokes and let a sliver of himself shine though without the worry of being judged. Around Shiro, he wasn't the younger prince of Daibazaal, he was just a normal person.

Shiro chuckled. "Not anymore. Though I think I was in the right to be annoyed. I spent three days trying to do everything with only one arm and had to send my team off without me."

"I think you did pretty good," Keithir said. "So, what are we doing this morning? Hand-to-hand?"

Shiro looked uneasily at his arm. "I don't know about that. I'm still learning what this thing can do. And no offense, but your hand-to-hand could use some work. You could get hurt."

Keithir had grown fond of Shiro's obvious concern for his safety in the short period of time they had been training together, but sometimes he felt like the man was trying to tread too carefully. He wasn't going to break from a little rough treatment – he'd been training with Thace and Kolivan since he was just a cub.

"I can handle it. Galra are tougher than you think," Keithir said confidently, as he stepped into the center of the room. "You want to find out what your limits are, right? You're not going to do that by fighting robots all morning."

Shiro looked like he wanted to argue, but Keithir held firm, waiting for the Black Paladin to agree. After a minute, Shiro sighed.

"You're not going to change your mind, are you?"

Keithir grinned. "Not a chance."

Shiro took up a position across from Keithir. "Computer, activate intermediate training protocols."

There was a shimmering effect as a barrier went up around them, giving them enough space to move freely, but providing safety to anyone who happened to enter during their match. Keithir also suspected that there was a safety net in place to prevent any lethal blows from being dealt, which was Shiro's biggest concern with his arm.

And so they began.

From his build, Keithir hadn't expected Shiro to be as fast or graceful as he was. He almost wished he had agreed to gladiators, if only so he could watch the paladin fight. It was more than just his form. With every adjustment Keithir made to try and best him, Shiro adapted as well, never once breaking his stride.

He found himself dodging more and more, moving as fast as he could, trying to find some advantage, some weakness. There had to be something. A chink in the armor that he could exploit. No one was that good.

Except for Kolivan. Except of course Kolivan was that good. He was the leader of the Blade of Marmora, a secretive organization dedicated to the preservation of peace for all worlds. Thinking that Shiro was near that level was crazy.

Right?

The longer they went and the more winded he got, Keithir started to think it wasn't such a crazy thought. Shiro had barely broken out in a sweat and they'd been going for some time. Not to mention that Shiro had been running a program before Keithir showed up.

The door to the training deck slid open to reveal Princess Allura and Lady Katherine, which distracted Keithir just long enough for Shiro to land a hard punch on his right shoulder, knocking him off his feet and crashing into the floor.

He was aware of Shiro cursing and the sound of footsteps racing across the room. Keithir's entire shoulder radiated with pain as he struggled to push himself up using only his left arm. He caught sight of Lady Katherine rushing to the supply room, before Shiro was at his side, blocking his view.

"Prince Keithir, are you alright?" Allura asked, her voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Keithir replied, even as his arm throbbed in protest. He looked to Shiro and tried to grin, but it came out as more of a grimace. "I know I teased you about your arm earlier, but dd you really have to show me what it feels like?"

Shiro stared at him for a moment, a bit shocked by the joke, but then caught on and started to laugh.

Allura continued to worry as she hovered nearby. "Are you certain you're alright? We could have a scan done, just to be sure. Maybe you could spend a few doboshes in a cryo-pod?"

"They might still be offline. Coran mentioned it before we left," Lady Katherine reminded the princess as she approached with a lightly glowing, blue pack in her hands. She tried to pass it off to Shiro, but he frowned at her and refused to take it.

"Pidge..." Shiro said gently.

She struggled for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet Keithir's gaze. He couldn't even begin to guess at what she was thinking, her expression unreadable to him.

"Lady Katherine," he said, breaking the tension.

"Prince Keithir," she responded. There was a moment when he thought she had more to add, but instead she held out the glowing pack. "It's for your shoulder. It'll help."

"Oh... thanks." Keithir took it from her, feeling the mild chill it emanated. He wondered how it would help, but placed it on his shoulder anyway. A numbing coolness spread across his skin, penetrating into the forming bruise and bringing immediate relief.

"I should go. I have to check on something," Lady Katherine told Shiro. "It won't take long."

There was something important.

The reason he'd been reluctant to see her again.

It was more than just the awkwardness between them. More than how nervous he felt when he thought about telling her that he was the half-Galra servant she'd been talking to.

"Lady Katherine!" he called out to her as she began to walk away. When she stopped, he knew he had her attention. "Would you like to go on a walk through the gardens later? After dinner?"

She turned her head to look at him and nodded in acceptance. "I'd like that."

Keithir felt relief unrelated to the dissipating pain in his shoulder. "I'll pick you up at your room at seven."

"I'll see you then," Lady Katherine said.

And then she was gone.


Pidge had no idea what she was doing.

She thought a little time away from the Castle, bonding with the Green Lion, and putting a little distance between her and everything else going on would help her see things a little more clearly, but she felt just as lost and confused as she did before she left.

She hadn't even fawned over Shiro's new arm! It was sure to be a beautifully crafted piece of technology, but the sight of Prince Keithir being knocked to the floor had driven every thought of examining it from her mind. And then she'd frozen up when she brought him the ice pack, like she was incapable of handling even something so simple.

Pidge groaned in frustration as she stopped in the middle of the hall.

Why had she just agreed to a walk in the gardens with him? They couldn't even handle a walk from the dining all to her room without her mucking things up and overreacting to the mention of a color!

Pidge could feel a sleepy purr from Greenie rumbling through their bond, soothing her and reminding her to calm down.

"Maybe I'll go work on Rover," she said to herself. It would calm her down, and while she was tinkering she would be able to think without her emotions getting in the way and clouding her judgment.

She turned around and began to walk back the way she came, taking the elevator down to the hangars rather than up to the training deck, her mind already calculating all of the changes needed to make Rover work properly.

The elevator stopped sooner than she expected, jarring her from her thoughts and then further knocking her off track as Empress Honerva stepped inside with Coran and a Galra she assumed to be Ulaz.

"Ah, back from training, I see!" Coran said by way of greeting. "Good to see you're in one piece!"

There was something about his tone of voice that set off alarm bells in her head. "Are the cryo-pods still out of commission?"

Coran's mustache drooped. "I'm afraid so. We've tried to boot them back up, but now two of them are no longer working. I'd hoped shutting them down would prevent this from happening, but..." He put on a smile that was meant to be reassuring. "Nothing to worry about! We'll have this figured out in no time!"

There was a soft 'ping!' as they arrived on the bottom floor and the doors opened.

"Good luck, Coran," Pidge said as she went to step off.

"Lady Katherine, may I have a word in private?" Empress Honerva asked, catching the doors before they could close. She patiently waited for permission before leaving the elevator.

"Sure," Pidge agreed, her nervousness returning twofold at the prospect of being left alone with Prince Keithir's mother. "We can talk in my hangar."

Promising to catch up to Coran and Ulaz later, Honerva followed Pidge the short distance to the Green Lions hangar. Once inside, she spent a few long ticks looking around in interest.

"You wanted to talk, your majesty?"

Honerva laughed softly. "Just Honerva, please. We're to be family in just a few months. There's no need for such formalities."

Pidge thought she might be able to manage calling the Empress by her first name, but doing the same for Emperor Zarkon was almost unthinkable. "Then please call me Pidge. Or Katie," she requested.

"Katie," Honerva tested the name. "I wish to speak to you about my son."

Pidge's heart rate picked up. "About Prince Keithir?"

Honerva shook her head, locking eyes with the young paladin, her expression serious. "I wish to speak to you about Lotor."