I'm so sorry that this chapter was late! (And also quite a bit shorter than the previous two. I promise I'll do my best to make up for that next week.)

I got a suggestion to make it more clear which universe I'm writing about, so I'm testing that out with this chapter. Let me know if you think it works or if I need to keep experimenting!

Chapter 3

ORBITING OLKARION – CASTLE OF LIONS

Nine vargas, forty-seven doboshes, and twelve ticks had gone by since Katie last saw Keithir, and while there had been times they were apart for much longer, it hadn't been without warning or without their bond active to check in with each other.

Katie glanced at her friends. Or rather, the younger, alternate reality versions of her friends. (And boy, was that going to get tiring fast. She was just going to call them her friends. Or maybe Pidge's friends?)

Hunk and Lance were hanging back, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty, like they wanted to talk to her, but weren't sure if it was appropriate. Katie understood; she wasn't sure how to approach them either, however much she wanted Hunk's support and Lance's method of cheering her up.

Coran was by Allura's side, occasionally glancing back at her with a sympathetic expression, while the princess had given her a reassuring smile before standing to wait for Kolivan's arrival.

That all at least felt normal.

Shiro was... different.

There was a distance to him that she hadn't expected, and maybe it was just because he'd had different experiences from her Shiro, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. It wasn't just the hair. There was something about his eyes. The way he stood away from everyone. He barely looked at her.

The doors to the bridge opened and all thoughts of Shiro fled Katie's mind as Kolivan and several members of the Blade of Marmora walked in, along with the one person Katie had been waiting to see.

"Keithir," she breathed, already moving forward.

He met her halfway, just as eager to see her, and swept her up into his arms, holding her to him tightly. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. Katie clung to him, her eyes tearing up from overwhelming relief.

"I missed you," Keithir said quietly and kissed the top of her head.

A choked laugh escaped Katie's throat as she tilted her head to look up at him. "I missed you too. I was so worried when I couldn't feel you. I thought..."

"I know. Me too," Keithir told her. He drew back slightly to get a better look at her. "Are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm alright, I promise. I think being sent here affected me worse than I thought, but I'll be alright after some food and rest." Katie rose on tiptoe to kiss him.

Keithir didn't look any less concerned, but he didn't argue. "Can we both agree to never help Slav test one of his machines again?"

"Agreed," was Katie's soft response.

When they separated, Katie looked around to find the paladins gaping at the two of them. Lance in particular seemed to be struggling with what he saw.

Ah, right.

She hadn't exactly told them her relationship with Keithir, choosing to let Allura think he was just a friend. She supposed the others thought the same.

"Everyone, this is my husband, Keithir," she introduced.

Lance unfroze. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Husband? You married Keith?! What kind of – Ow! Hunk!" He turned and glared at the yellow paladin, rubbing his side where Hunk had elbowed him a little too hard. "Oh, like you're not just as surprised by this!"

Hunk looked flustered. "I am, but we don't have to be rude about it!"

Allura quickly stepped forward to calm everyone down and restore order. "It doesn't matter what they're relationship is. We're here to determine the best way to get them back to their reality and return Pidge and Keith to our own."

"Actually, I've been thinking about that and I don't know if there's much we can actually do on our end. Everything relies on that machine Slav built and whether or not he's able to pinpoint our location in this reality," Katie explained as she leaned against Keithir. His steady warmth at her side ebbed away the discomfort she'd felt for the past few vargas. "If there's some way to get a signal through or just make this universe stand out, we might have a better chance, but I don't know where to even begin making something to do that."

"Do you think Slav would know?" Kolivan asked.

Katie thought about it for a moment. "It's possible, but- wait, is there a Slav here?"

Shiro grimaced. "Unfortunately."

Katie tried not to grin. At least that was another common thing they shared. Slav really was a universal constant. "Great! So can we talk to him?"

"I will get a message to him and see what he has to say," Kolivan promised. He turned to Allura next. "In the meantime, princess, there's something I'd like to discuss with you and Shiro, if you have a moment."

"Of course," Allura spoke for both of them. "Coran, would you mind showing Katie and Keithir to a room they can use?"

Coran nodded. "Of course, princess."

"We'll come too!" Hunk blurted out, grabbing Lance's arm.

Lance put up no protest with the plan, clearly at ease with tagging along to see where Katie and Keithir would stay. They all followed Coran, leaving behind Shiro, Allura, Kolivan, and the members of the Blade.

Katie could only assume they were talking about their war against the Galra and were sending them away so they wouldn't have to hear about it. Which also made her wonder: Had anyone told Keithir?

"So you two are really married?" Lance asked.

"For eight deca-phoebs," Keithir responded, glancing over at the boy. "Is it really that surprising?"

Lance shrugged and then shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess I've just never thought of either of you being interested in dating or romance. You always make a face whenever I talk about girls."

"Probably because you're pick-up lines are so bad," Hunk teased.

"I can't really speak for your Pidge, but I wasn't all that interested when I was younger," Katie told them. "In fact, I still wasn't interested when we started dating, but he won me over before too long."

Keithir chuckled and lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss on the back of it.

Hunk quietly cooed over how cute they were. "So if you've been married for eight years, how long have you been in space?" he asked curiously.

"Twelve deca-phoebs?" Katie responded, unsure of the exact amount of time. She'd been fifteen when they left Earth, eighteen when she met Keithir, and nineteen when they got married. Looking back, they'd all been so young, it was hard to believe it'd been so long. "But Keithir left Earth when he was a baby."

That started up a whole round of questions from Hunk and Lance s they abandoned their previous shyness in favor of learning more about their accidental visitors. Keithir let them talk, knowing there was no interrupting them once they got started.

They arrived at the room before Hunk and Lance finished talking. With Katie looking more and more like she was going to pass out, Keithir brushed them off in favor of taking care of his wife.

"We can talk later," he told them, not caring how rude he sounded. He quickly thanked Coran for showing them the way and then shut the door behind him.

The three stood there for a moment longer.

"Do you think it was too much?" Hunk asked, worried.

"Give them a little time to adjust. It must be scary, being in a place so different from what they're used to," Coran advised. "I'm sure they'll be more open to talking once they've gotten some rest. Now come along, you two! There's much to be done! With Pidge away, I'll need some help rewriting the script for our next demonstration!"

Hunk groaned. "I thought we were done with the Voltron Show."

"We are! This is different."

Lance and Hunk each made a face, but had no choice but to follow.

.

.

ALTEA – CASTLE OF LIONS

Allura gratefully sat down in the chambers she shared with Shiro, after spending a number of hours talking to Keith and Pidge, learning about the universe they came from and filling them in on the basics of the reality they'd been transported into.

They'd been lucky with the similarities shared between the two, but the differences were troubling, to say the least. And looking at the two of them made her heart ache. They were so young to get caught up in such a terrible war.

Unsure of what else to do with them, she and Shiro agreed that they would stay in Katie and Keithir's room, at least until they could find a better alternative.

Shiro sat down next to her and wrapped an arm across her shoulders, offering comfort. "Koichi is fast asleep, though Romelle says he'll probably be waking soon. I told her she could go for the day."

"We'll have to thank her for watching him on such short notice," Allura said, happy to lean against Shiro. "I still can't wrap my head around all of this. I knew Slav was working on something big, but I never imagined it could cause something like this. Katie and Keithir are gone! What are we going to tell Emperor Zarkon? Or Thace and Ulaz? Katie's family?" She couldn't think of another time when she felt so helpless. With any other situation, there had always been something she could do to help, but they had no choice but to wait.

"We'll take it step-by-step. The Emperor and Empress should be told first, then Katie's parents and Keithir's father. Until we know how long it's going to take to get them back, everyone else can be told on a need-to-know basis," Shiro said, trying to think logically about it.

"Hunk and Lance return from Nalquod in three days," Allura murmured.

"Then we will tell them then," Shiro said. "Let them enjoy their – what is it now? Fourth honeymoon? I hope they know I was only joking when I told them they should marry in the traditions of each of the planets we're allied with."

Allura giggled. "It is a rather effective form of diplomacy. They're showing that they have an interest in getting to know the people of different planets and its for a happy reason. People love getting to celebrate." Her amusement quickly faded as the seriousness of their situation took hold once more. "We we tell their families. And perhaps... my father? He may have some knowledge to contribute and I'm certain that Emperor Zarkon will tell him if we do not."

She could shake the feeling that they were forgetting someone important. Allura wracked her mind, trying to figure out who they missed.

Kolivan, perhaps? She doubted Thace and Ulaz would keep such a thing from their leader, but she also felt telling him could wait until they knew a little more.

Keithir's human father was on Altea with Katie's family, choosing to live outside of the Castle, but nearby. He'd be informed along with Colleen, Sam, and Matt.

Matt.

There was something important with Matt.

Someone very important with Matt.

"Oh no..." she whispered, looking up at Shiro with wide eyes. "What are we going to tell Yorak?"

She could feel Shiro's sharp intake of breath as sheer panic raced through the bond they shared. While not as strong as the one Katie shared with Keithir or Hunk with Lance, powerful emotions always came through clearly.

It made Allura's own worry worse. "Shiro, what are we going to tell their son?"