It's OK

by DeetsViBre

Lance is not OK. He needs to reach out to his teammates for help, but hes afraid. Rewriting yourself cost something, a deep pain with every edit. When Keith walks in on Hunk and Lance talking late into the night, things begin to change. Space is dangerous. (written during season 3, canon divergent after that) COMPLETE!

4. All or Nothing

Part 4- All or Nothing

Lance had once read that it only takes 48 hours in complete darkness to induce insanity. Now he was wondering if anyone had ever actually tested that theory, because after only an hour -at least he thought it was an hour- he was ready to rip out his own hair. A constricting heat plagued his lungs, and each breath helped less than the last. Lance couldn't figure out if it was anxiety, or the air thinning, which only stressed him out more.

A warm, firm body, curled against his side, was the only thing that kept him together. After the unknown spacecraft had begun to tow the Castle, no one anticipated how slow the process would be. The excited chatter from the first encounter had trailed off, and everyone floated in muted darkness.

If Lance was being honest, it wasn't the silence, or the dark, that was driving him up a wall (literally at this point). It was Keith. Specifically, the fact that Lance wanted to talk to him about the hot kissing that had occurred. A pin drop could be heard in the control room, and Lance wasn't willing to announce his private business for the rest of the team to hear.

AND, why didn't Keith tell him earlier that he wasn't straight?! It would have saved them both a lot of trouble, and pining, at least for one of them… what an asshole. Lance fumed, and hugged Keith tighter to his chest. Stupid, beautiful, asshole. He pressed his face into Keith's smooth hair, and was rewarded with a nuzzle against his neck. A little speck of red was forming in Lance's heart, and it burrowed deeper, the same as the hum in his mind.

A hot, wet, open mouthed kiss, pulled a surprised squeak from Lance. Soft heat curled up from his toes, and then Keith bit down where he'd kissed. Sharp pleasure speared downward. Lance held his moan in the best he could with his hand over his mouth.

"Everything OK over there?" Shiro called, with an edge of worry.

"YUP!" Lance hollered back, high pitched and strained, "Just bumped into a wall…" he covered, and it sounded lame, even to himself.

Keith pressed his face into Lance's neck to cover his snort.

Lance would get his revenge. Maybe after his stomach stopped flipping. Excitement and anxious joy vibrated through him, and he wasn't sure he would ever calm down. The implications of Keith kissing him were heavy, Lance felt weighed down by all the possible outcomes… or was he actually being weighed down?

"I think we're entering a planet's atmosphere!" Pidge yelled. The entire Castleship began to shake, and the cold of space was replaced by heat.

Keith pushed away from Lance, and they floated a few feet apart, just in time for gravity to yanked them down. Lance's stomach dropped out, and he screamed involuntarily. Various thumps and yelps echoed through the dark, as all of team Voltron met the ground, hard. In only a few minutes the control room was almost unbearably hot.

"Brace yourselves!" Shiro called out, over the violent rumble of the castle cutting through the stratosphere.

Lance scrambled around for anything to grab onto. The floor vibrated through to his bones, and hurt his teeth. The Castle couldn't take much more of this, it wasn't made to land without its barrier. Hunk was yelling something, and all Lance could hear were the words "shaking" and "apart". He spread out his arms and legs, becoming as flat as possible. A warm hand brushed his fingers, and he grabbed it. Lance didn't know whose hand it was, but the person squeezed back. He began to count, focusing on keeping track of the time to distract himself from his fear, and Hunks continuous scream. At one minute and fifty five seconds they began to decelerate, and the rumbling stopped, punctuated by the sound of Hunk vomiting.

Lance had to admit, he also felt like being sick, but he held it down. Only twenty seconds later the ship came to an abrupt, and jolting stop.

"We need to hide!" Allura shouted.

Nobody questioned her. Without any idea of what they were about to encounter, hiding was a sound plan. Lance grasped the hand he held tightly, and crawled until he met something solid. Keith buzzed in his mind, confused and reaching. The hand gripped so hard it almost hurt. 'It's me, it's me it's me,' Lance pushed the thought out, and Keith's frantic emotions mellowed. The hand loosened, confirming who it belonged to.

Lance pulled Keith close, and together they shimmied around a curved surface. They slipped behind what Lance recognized, by touch, as the stack of batteries Pidge had strapped down near the main control panel. Keith pressed into his side, and wrapped a comforting arm around his chest. Lance could smell Keith's hair, and tipped his head down, meeting the smooth strands just below his chin.

Now they waited, in an oppressive and thick silence.

This moment would be everything Lance wanted, if they weren't hiding in the dark from potential space pirates. The pulse of his heart, that ran down his limbs, was unfortunately a product of their tense situation, rather than the attractive man in his arms. But if he was going to hide from ruthless killers with anyone, Lance was glad it was Keith.

The still air rippled with a screech of tearing metal, and grinding similar to a power saw. It was muffled by distance, and many walls. The noise started and stopped, each time getting closer. Then, mumbled voices could be heard.

"This should be the control room, I think." Lance heard a low gravelly voice, barely distinguishable.

Keith pressed closer to Lance, as if he could protect him from the coming danger. The metal grinding, and scream of power tools picked back up. This time, the room was strobed in orange light. Lance nudged Keith, and they leaned to the side, peeking around the batteries. Bright sparks rained to the floor, bouncing and spreading. A beam of light began to form where a jagged saw blade punctured the control room door.

Lance squinted through the painful light, looking for his team. They were all hidden as best as they could be with their limited choices. He could see Shiro and Allura peering around the many open draws and cupboards on the other side of the room. He also spied Hunk and Coran under one of the red blankets in the corner.

Lance frantically looked for Pidge. As the pillar of light grew and crept across the ground, he followed it with his eyes, and found his missing teammate. They were limp in the middle of the floor, glasses skewed, and bleeding. Lance began to move, his reflex was to go to Pidge and pulled them out of sight. But Keith held him back with the arm around his chest. Lance's muscles coiled, prepared to rip himself away, but the main door fell in with a crash. The orange light of the sparks was washed out by bright yellow, that flooded from the newly cut hole.

Three large silhouettes were framed in the doorway. One of them dropped a large saw. It clattered to the floor.

Lance wanted to snap at Keith. They couldn't leave Pidge there, so exposed! Wasn't the Red paladin supposed to be the impulsive one? Keith's hand curled into Lance's shirt, and the fist pressed into his chest. Keith was shaking, barely restrained, and Lance realized that this was hard for all of them. Shiro was looking in their direction from the far side of the room, and was slowly shaking his head. A signal to wait.

The three figures entered the room. The dark shroud lifted as they walked farther from the door. They were big, and looked surprisingly human. If Lance were judging by human physicality, he would say they were male. What made them different was their skin, and hair. They were each a different color. The tallest was dark purple, with matching shaggy hair, the thinnest was hot pink with short, light green hair, and the smallest one was forest green with black hair in a bun. Lance caught a glimpse of the pink ones eyes, they were brown, but the pupil was square like a goat's.

Even the smallest of the three, was over six feet, with muscle on a broad body, and topped with glaring eyes. Lance took in their mismatched clothes, as if someone put together many different partial shirts and pants to make one set. The patchwork didn't hide the weapons that were clearly visible. Lance counted five in total, two old swords, and three macgyver looking, earth like guns. The smallest had both swords, the pink one had two pistols, and the largest had a big gun with a wide ended barrel, similar to a blunderbuss.

The pink one noticed Pidge first. "Hey, I think we got a quincy," He called to his companions, and came to a stop directly above Pidge. The other two joined him.

"Is 'et dead?" The large one asked, unconcerned.

"Not sure," The pink one nudged Pidge with his boot.

Pidge didn't stir. Lance wasn't sure if they were playing dead, or still knocked out. Cold fear squeezed his heart, and slowed his thoughts. He tried to smother it, and focus. He needed to find the perfect opening to act.

The smallest alien shoved the pink one, "Then make sure, idiot." He complained.

"Fine, fine," The pink alien drew a sword from the smallest one's belt, and raised it above Pidge.

Lance had hardly registered what was about to happen, and Keith was already gone. He flung himself over the stack of batteries, and charged. In the time it took for the three aliens to turn in surprise, Keith was on them. He jumped, and gracefully kicked the pink one in the face, the sword clattered on the ground. Kaith landed on the ball of his right foot, already twisting to punch the big one in the face, interrupting his attempt to swing the blunderbuss around from his back. Keith followed the motion of his punch, ducked low, and scooped up the sword. He turned as he stood, swooping over the pink enemy, still flat on his back, and pulled one of the pistols from its holster. It all happened in a beautiful, seamless, swirling movement.

"ACE!" Keith yelled, and threw the pistol, before he spun low to the ground, sweeping the big ones legs, then he rose up to block the small ones sword slash.

It only took a tick for Lance's mind to catch up, all his training with Keith kicked in. muscle memory was a hell of a thing. He vaulted himself over the pile of batteries, caught the gun mid air, and fired a shot before his feet touched the ground. His aim was true, and his shot pierced the arm of the pink guy, who had recovered enough to aim his second gun at Keith.

Pink collapsed, curled around his injured arm. Keith was engaged in a sword fight with the small one, so Lance shot the big one in the leg as he tried to pull himself up, and then without a pause, he shot the small one's sword from his hand. Three sharp, and accurate movements, in less than two ticks.

Keith lunged forward when his opponent's weapon twirled away, and pressed his sword to the alien's neck, ending the fight.

"I give up!" The pink guy pleaded, with both hands up.

It was over in a matter of seconds. Shiro had only made it halfway across the room, with Allura close behind. They both stood, slack jawed. Hunk and Coran were half covered with the blanket, as if they started to get up and stopped, and wide eyed.

Lance didn't notice his team staring, his focus was on Pidge. He handed his gun to Keith, who kept it trained on the enemies. Lance dropped to the ground and rolled Pidge onto their back. Their face was streaked with blood, a cut on their forehead continued to slowly bleed. He didn't panic. Instead, a deep dent his heart ached with fear, worn in from overuse. His hand shook as he carefully pressed his fingers to Pidge's neck. A light pulse pressed back, and Lance sagged. Fear loosened its grip, and he took a deep breath, "Pidge is alive."

The announcement reanimated the team. They all gathered around Pidge, and their new captives. The three native's were huddled together, nursing their wounds, watching only Keith and the gun in his hand.

Shiro knelt across from Lance. With a gentle touch, he smoothed back the bloody hair plastered to Pidge's forehead, revealing the gash. Coran scurried over with a white metal case, and placed it on the ground. With a click, it popped open, and he began to gather basic first aid supplies. Lance watched, cradling the little bit of fear still plaguing his heart, as Coran started to clean the wound.

"We was only jokin' 'bout killin' the little quincy, I mean it, bub!" A low gravelly voice claimed, followed by a nervous laugh.

Cold fury swept over Lance's heart, and it hardened with ice. He was angrier than he had ever been. He had seen it clearly, the intent to kill, no amount of back peddling would change that. Lance passed Pidge into Shiro's good arm, stood, and slowly turned. Keith was at his side, and silently handed over the second pistol. Together they approached the three cowering, unarmed combatants. Keith kept both a gun and sword leveled on them.

With an unwavering, frosty glare, and a steady hand, Lance placed the gun between the pink ones eyes.

"Lance?" Keith questioned, a nervous waver in his voice.

Lance ignored the call, and stared directly into the alien's square pupils. He could feel how cold and hard his own eyes were, and saw the fear he inflicted. It was time for some else to be afraid. Lance wanted to be the tidal wave of events out of their control, he wanted to see them panic. He wasn't going to just fight against the current anymore.

Lance pressed the barrel of the gun harder against the pink skin, and was satisfied when the alien flinched. "What planet are we on?" he demanded, with no inflection.

"We're on… Ye- Ye- Yeppeuda, in Yeppeo fi- five…" The Pink one stuttered, his eyes crossed, looking at the gun pressed to his head.

A curl of sick pleasure rolled in Lance's chest, and he ignored the frantic clawing of his morality, threatening to rise up. He was in control, and he was going to get the information they needed.

Lance leaned a little closer, hovering over the kneeling captives. "Good, now tell me why you took our ship here," he commanded.

The big purple one spoke out of turn, pleading with the tone of his answer. "We're scrappahs! et's what we do! We haul in quincy ships that drift in the dead space. We din't know anyone was alive, we waited unt-" He stopped abruptly, realizing his mistake.

Lance turned his gun on the big one, and pressed it under his chin. The pink alien whispered louder at the sight of his companion under the barrel.

Lance spoke in a barely contained yell, "You waited?! You watched us until you thought everyone was dead, before towing the ship here!?" He pressed the pistol into the alien's neck, hard, and the alien only choked in response, "AND what the FUCK is a quincy!?" Lance barked, overwhelmed by frustration and disgust. He wanted to kill them, and it made him so cold that it burned.

"Lance!" Keith snapped, but the hand he placed on Lance's shoulder was gentile. It coincided with the swell of red, buzzing, warmth that washed over Lance's mind, thawing his fury. He melted, letting his shoulders sag, he was so tired.

The gun pulled back, and the purple alien gasped for breath. He answered in a raspy, sore voice. "Quincy's are quintessence use'ahs, 'ets what we call 'em," he coughed, and rubbed his neck. "I'mma need som' Rira's Song after dis," he muttered to himself.

Keith slowly pulled Lance away by his shoulder, but didn't try to take the gun. Lance looked at him, and saw fiery anger, but it was barred behind worry. Keith pressed him into someone's arms, and Lance was enveloped in a hug, it was Hunk.

No one commented on Keith's handling of Lance, or the soft touch on the shoulder that was very unusual for him. If they thought it was odd, they kept it to themselves, and quietly watched Keith take over the interrogation. Allura stepped forward with him to create a united force.

Shiro was still cradling Pidge in his working arm, Coran was almost finished stitching their wound, muttering about archaic healing methods. Lance tucked himself physically into Hunk's grounding presence. His conscience surged forward and crashed into him, searing and hateful. He wasn't sure what he would have done if Keith hadn't pulled him back, he was so angry. They were going to kill Pidge, who had been helpless. Unlike the dead space, these people were a threat that Lance could touch, that he could dispose of, as if that would rectify his mistakes.

Lance would have fallen, wrapped in his melancholy, and let himself go in a puff of mist, if not for Hunk holding him, keeping him solid and real. He was ashamed, not just for what he did, but for not being able to stand up for his actions, not even against himself. Because, he would have done it again, if it meant saving Pidge, or any of his team.

Allura picked up the questioning, demanding from the captives, "Are you three the only ones here?"

The small green one spoke up for the first time, "Yeah, this is our scrap yard. It's always been the three of us," he spat, and glared defiantly. He didn't look afraid, or ashamed, and that rekindled Lance's anger. He grabbed the feeling, cold and ice hard. He held it close this time, controlled. He clung to it as it floated on the ocean of his panic, to keep his head above water.

Lance pulled away from Hunk to stand on his own, but kept the big comforting arm on his shoulders. He looked up, and nodded, letting Hunk know he was OK. His friend was peering back with complicated eyes, but overall he looked concerned.

A sharp gasp snatched Lance's attention. Keith had the tip of his pilfered sword right against the green ones neck. "Well, now it's our scrap yard," he declared.

"You can't just-" The green alien was silenced by the tip of the blade piercing his skin enough to bleed.

"We can, and we did," Keith concluded, his temper crimped the ends of his words.

"What do we do with them?" Allura brought up the valid question.

Shiro handed Pidge off fully to Coran, and joined Keith and Allura. "We should tie them up for now, and scout the area."

Keith eyed Shiro, and when he spoke, it was clear that the bridge between them was still damaged. "We can't let them go, ever. They will come back for revenge," he warned.

Allura stepped in as the voice of reason, she looked between the feuding paladins with unease. "I suggest we restrain them for now, and look around for a possible solution. We don't really know anything about where we are."

Hunk raised his hand, "I'm on board with this plan. I'm also a fan of a plan where Keith and Lance explain what the hell just happened!" He wasn't accusing, only confused, and strangely excited. "It was epic!" he tacked on. If it were another time, and place, Lance would have happily gloated, but things were a little precarious. That didn't mean he couldn't smirk like he knew how cool he was.

Maybe it was time for the truth, not all of it, but part of it. Lance didn't think there was any way to cover up how completely in sync he and Keith had been when they saved Pidge. Not even the paladin bond could excuse their perfectly timed movements. Just like Lance's cover persona, the best lies contained some truth, he reasoned. He felt oddly calm, after everything that happened, this wasn't so bad.

Keith's hum slid along Lance's consciousness, and dipped into a pocket deeper than before. He felt acceptance, and a whisper, almost indistinguishable from his own thoughts, "OK." The word was edged in red. Lance shrugged off this new potential development, and he carefully organized it into the 'deal with it later' box.

"Hunk, my man. Remember when I said I was going to find a new hobby?" Lance slipped into a false casual tone, and tucked away his frayed edges for another time. He ducked out from under Hunk's arm, and began searching the draws with Allura, looking for some rope.

"Yeah…" Hunk responded slowly. That conversation had been a delicate one, and Hunk knew they were scooching around some dangerous territory in front of the team.

Lance touched the clip that held his bangs back, remembering how he had decided to grow his hair out that night. "Well, I decided to train more," He concluded, with a nonchalant shrug.

Hunk wasn't buying it, not completely. The way his eyes narrowed as he watched Allura, and Lance tie up the captives, gave him away.

Keith kept his gun trained on the aliens, and spoke up to solidify their story. "What he means, is I found this idiot-" He gestured at Lance with a head movement, "on the training deck in the middle of the night, and he begged me for help." He gave the explanation with the perfect amount of sass wrapped around his usual dismissive tone.

Lance was impressed, but he put on an overly offended expression and gasped dramatically. "I did NOT beg!" He squeezed the last of his energy into his acting.

"So, you two have been training together for months, and neither of you died?" Hunk seemed more skeptical than before.

Allura finished tightening the ropes, and Shiro gave her a hand up from the floor. "That does seem a little strange, since you two are always fighting," he commented.

"Considerin' how quickly they took us down, I'm inclined to believe 'em." The big purple one interjected. Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged, "jus' sayin."

With the prisoners secure, Keith lowered his weapons. He let his shoulders down from their defensive lift and leaned to one side. "Listen, can you guys think of another plausible explanation for what happened?"

Lance could feel Keith, and he was a lot more uptight than he was projecting with his body language, but Lance could read his strategy. Let the team come up with, and then drop, scenarios that were more off the rails than the one they offered. It was sneaky, and Lance liked it. He wanted this issue to fade quietly away, and take with it, his behavior during the interrogation.

"M'kes sens' to me," weak and slurred, Pidge mumbled from their prone position in Corans arms.

"Pidge!" Lance was at their side in a heartbeat, as Coran gently helped them sit up. The team crowded around, all trying to reassure themselves that their youngest teammate was OK.

Pidge groaned and pressed the palm of their hand to their head, "What happened?" They asked, more coherent.

Shiro leaned in to check the stitching on their cut, and began to explain. "You got knocked out on reentry, the guys that towed the ship turned out to be… not so great, but-"

"KEITH AND LANCE TURNED INTO NINJA WARRIORS AND SAVED YOU!" Hunk yelled, in excitement.

Pidge winced, "Not so loud!" they whined.

"Sorry," Hunk whispered. He curled in on himself, becoming small, and nibbled on his fingernail.

Pidge managed to stand, unsteady. Shiro placed a hand on their shoulder to keep them from swaying. "It's fine," they relented, with a goran trailing after. "I would kill for a coffee, and an aspirin," they muttered.

Lance closed in next to Pidge, and took his turn to inspect their injury, "I miss coffee, it was a tradition in my family," he lamented with them. He reached out, inviting a hug. He wanted to feel them alive and breathing.

Pidge leaned into Lance's chest, but didn't pull away from Shiro enough to dislodge his hand. "mine too," they said. The rest of the team pressed in and formed a loose group hug, even Keith, and then broke apart. Pidge gathered themself together, and stood on their own. It was the cue the team needed to move forward.

Shiro took the lead. "We should start moving, and figure out a game plan."

oOoOo

Black smoke swirls, blocked the sky, and below the smog was metal, on the metal was rust. It was piled high, eclipsing the tops of buildings. Dilapidated buildings, constructed from the same metal as the piles, and the ground. Growing from the planet like diseased trees. The sea of brown and rust writhed like maggots; moving parts and ticking cogs, all at different speeds, set against the backdrop of a massive wall in the distance. The wash of monochrome was only broken by bright, varied, sometimes flashing, billboards and signs, all in a looping language, speckled with circles and dots.

Images of beautiful people, looked out from the signs, clearly advertisements. They were similar to the three scrapers currently tied up. They shared the same square pupils, both had interestingly colored skin and hair. But the people on the billboards were thin, lithe, and wholly androgynous, with sharp contrasting color schemes, and jewel colored eyes, purple, blue, green, and even pink.

Lance stared at the ruined landscape, and was reminded of slums back on earth, if they were reimagined as a steampunk dystopia. He wanted to cover his mouth, to block the terrible smell of pollution, but refrained, unwilling to take his eyes, or gun, off the captives that shuffled along in front of him, circled by the team.

"Welcome to Yeppeo five," the pink alien announced.

They were in a large backyard of a run down shack, it was similar to an earth scrap yard. Taller, apartment-like buildings framed the small hut. They resembled stacked storage units, that usually lined ship docks.

A loud, gruff laugh, barked out from above, followed by the sound of a slap. Lance looked up and to his right. An old lady sat on a small balcony, jutting from one of the storage unit apartments. She had light pink skin, with matching hair pulled back in a messy bun. Her eyes were covered by tinted goggles. She was laughing and slapping her knee, pointing at them with her other hand.

"Is that you, JA-BERK?!" She screeched in amusement, still laughing.

"CAN IT! Dam-Saeg, ya' old hag!" The purple alien, named Ja-Berk hollered back. He was unphased by the blood slowly dripping down his leg from the gun wound.

The old lady only laughed harder, "You let some quincy's get the best of you, Ja. Serves you right, you dan-iro."

Ja-Berk glared up at Dam-Saeg, "Don't be callin' me a dan-iro, you… you… DAN-IRO!"

Lance was confused, he shared a look with Keith, who seemed just as lost. This wasn't what they were expecting when they landed. Ja-Berk and the old lady continued to bicker, but the pink alien started to sway sideways, the shift in weight caught Ja's attention.

"Fen!" He called out, worried.

Fen didn't look very good. He was pale, and clammy. Lance couldn't find it in himself to care, he felt empty, not a twinge of emotion. If Fen died it would be on his hands, but he couldn't shake the image of him holding a sword over Pidge. On the other hand, a dead body on a strange planet wasn't great…

Lance sighed. "Coran, could you get the kit and patch these guys up, I don't really want to deal with them dying on us." He asked, ignoring the odd looks he got for his cold attitude.

Coran complied, and turned back to the Castleship.

Dam-Saeg's eyes were drawn to Lance when he spoke, and then to the gun still in his hand. "Are you the one that shot these idiots with their own gun?!" She yelled down to Lance.

Lance glared up her, "Yeah, what of it?" He asked defiantly. He was very thin on patience at this point. His cold anger still lingered.

Dam-Saeg smirked, "Good for you! These morons deserved it. Least liked in the area, and my worst tenants." She stood up, and cracked her back. "Get them inside and fixed up before they bleed to death, and I'll be down in a moment." Then she wandered into her apartment, confident that her orders would be followed.

Everyone stayed where they were, dumbfounded. Lance's head was spinning. None of them really slept for over a day cycle, and it was all catching up to him at once. Croan came ambling out of the ship and broke the trance that had fallen over the group.

"Come now, you heard the lady. Let's get moving inside." He ushered them along, unconcerned with their situation. Lance envied him, how was he so calm?

Inside the shack wasn't as bad as the outside. The moderately sized common area was furnished with a couple beat up looking couches, a heavily chipped table and something that resembled a television. The floors were made of the same metal as everything else, but scrubbed to remove a majority of the rust. A pathetic throw rug covered the worst of the floor, but discoloration peaked out from under the sides.

Coran started work on Fen as soon as they crossed the threshold, with Keith keeping guard, watching their space-uncle's back. Everyone else milled about, searching through the sparse belongings scattered around. Small knick knacks, and random scrap were being picked up and examined. They ignored Ja-Berks indignant yells, "Oi! Keep yur hands off ma' stuff! When Saeg get 'er yur gunna regret it! She own's ever'ah thin' 'ere!"

Lance was still chilled by his anger. He felt scattered, and almost numb. The tips of his fingers tingled, and strangely his scalp did as well. He wanted to crawl out of his skin. Now that he had time to focus on himself, he recognized that he hadn't felt right since they hit dead space.

"Keep yur grubby hands outta mah drah!" Ja hallard across the room.

Hunk was in the corner, rummaging through an end table drawer. He froze, and whipped around to face Je-Berk. His eyes were wide, and his mouth slack in revelation.

"How can I understand what he's saying?!" Hunk's epiphany caught everyone off guard, and they stopped their snooping.

Coran looked up from stitching Fen, "He does have a strange accent, but it's not that difficult to understand," He quipped.

Ja-Berk huffed, offended. "I don' 'ave a weird accent," he insisted. His two companions didn't seem to be in a talkative mood.

Hunk ignored him and responded to Coran. "I don't mean his accent. I mean, how can we understand him without our Lions. Our bond with them is cut off right now, how come the translation is still happening?"

"I don' 'ave a accent!"

Pidge looked dumbstruck, "This destroys our theory about the Lions streaming translation to us."

Allura put down the strange modern scrap metal art she was holding, and chimed in. "I can explain that! The alterations to your brains doesn't need quintessence to continue translations," she explained with a smile.

Hunk nodded, and bopped his open hand with his fist, "Of course, the alterations to our- WHAT?!" He whipped around with a shocked face.

Pidge was next to Hunk in a flash, facing Allura. "What do you mean? Our brains were altered?!" They sounded both panicked and incredibly intrigued.

After everything they had seen and done, Lance couldn't say he was surprised by this revelation. But Hunk and Pidge's shock was understandable, they had more to lose if their brains were messed with. He couldn't ignore the very slight pang of satisfaction knowing Hunk was also wrong about how the translation tech worked. He felt a little better when Keith echoed the feeling back through the hum, also remembering the debate they had on the observation deck.

Allura looked innocent and confused, "While, I can understand why you thought your lions were streaming the translations to your minds, that technology was riddled with problems, mostly a slight delay issue, it was very irritating. I believe Pidge calls it 'Lag'." She glanced at Pidge for confirmation, and smiled when she got it. "To bypass this problem the Lions partitioned a part of your auditory, and verbal language center to be converted into a translator. The Castle ship did this for myself and Coran long ago. Although, without quintessence we will not be able to update our language bank," she concluded.

Pidge and Hunk looked at each other like they wanted to open the other's head and poke at their brain. Everyone else shrugged it off, the way they did all the crazy magic sci-fi stuff they lived with since coming to space. Blue's absence ached when Lance thought of their bond, maybe that was why he felt so off. Like he was going to drift away without his Lion to reel him in. his body was still tingling.

Without the threat of death, the two most inquisitive members of Voltron seemed to be processing all the new data. Pidge stopped eyeing Hunks head, and brought up another valid question. "If the Lion bond isn't working, how is our Paladin bond still intact? Because I'm sure I felt it when we were trapped on the ship." They glanced at Keith and Lance, indicating who they had synced up with.

Hunk bounced on the balls of his feet, excited. "Oh, oh! I didn't too! Me and Lance bonded, right after I woke up!" He smiled at Lance, who mustered up a return smile.

Allura was practically glowing, the news of her Paladins bonding always brightened her up no matter the situation. But it was Coran that answered the question. He didn't look away from Ja-Berks gunshot wound as he spoke. "That would be because your bond as Paladins is formed from your life energy, as all bonds between living things are. The bond with your Lions is formed from pure quintessence, because they are not organic."

No one responded, Lance shared a look with Hunk, Pidge, and then Keith. They seemed just as confused. "Come again?" Lance said.

Coran packed up the medkit, and swept his gaze over the bewildered, but interested faces. Even the captives looked like they wanted him to explain. He cleared his throat and stood tall. "Let me start at the beginning, I feel, myself and the Princess, might have been remiss in our explanations at the beginning of your journey as a part of Voltron."

The five Paladins abandoned their exploration of the room and gathered in front of Coran. He looked each of them in the eye briefly, and then began his lesson. "You five are Paladins, not by accident, but because you have unique life quintessence, or life energy. Living things do not run on pure quintessence, trying to do so, is dangerous, and results in creatures like Haggard. Pure quintessence is in the air, in planets, and stars, and is used to power non-organic machines, such as the Lions. Living things have altered quintessence that their cells are able to process. Which is why worlds can exist without pure quintessence." He gestured dramatically around. Indicating they stood on an example of that very thing. "In order for the Lions to bond with a Paladin, their Life quintessence must be similar enough to the Lions pure quintessence for them to mingle. That allows the Lions to alter your body's to accept the bond. It takes time, which is why the Princess always wants you to bond with your Lion, to expedite the process." He paused to let the information settle, and then dove back in, to answer the main question. "When you five bonded with your Lions. You didn't just open a channel between the machine and yourself, but also a channel between each other. With your Lions there is a constant flow of pure quintessence being converted to Life energy, but between paladins it's just your life energy that binds you. Even in dead space, the process won't be halted now that it has begun." A soft expression fell over Coran as he finished explaining, he looked proud of the paladins before him.

"That sounds intense," The still unnamed green captive said, with an awed expression, The other two nodded.

Coran whirled around and put his hands on his hips, "Indeed it is!" he agreed.

Pidge was vibrating with curiosity, their glasses on the end of their nose. "What happens when the paladin bond gets strong, can we piolet each other's Lions? Or can similar paladins already pilot each other's Lions, just not as well? Can-"

"Woah, Pidge, slow down. We can have a more in depth discussion later." Shiro put a hand on their shoulder to keep them from bouncing. He looked concerned, and Pidge was still pale. They pouted, but listened to Shiro.

In the background Coran was answering the questions Pidge managed to voice before being interrupted, and they listened intently.

"Why yes, some paladins are suited for more than one Lion. Although, they are still a perfect match for only one. There have even been rare cases when two paladins are so closely bonded, their bond leaked over to their Lions. They were able to communicate with, and even perfectly pilot each other's Lion's. It is a very rare situation, with complicated prerequisites. It has many names in different cultures, but it's almost always between-"

"Wait," Hunk interrupted -ignoring Pidge's glare- he hugged himself, and rubbed his own arms. "Would any of what you said explain why I feel so… icky? Ever since we entered dead space, I've felt weird. I just didn't think it was important since we were… you know… dying." He smiled, sheepishly.

"I noticed it as well, I haven't been feeling right either," Shiro concurred. He wiggled his shoulder, causing his unresponsive Glara arms to swing, limply. "Besides the obvious issue, that is," he appended.

"As Coran said," Allura began, while Coran huffed about being interrupted. "pure quintessence exists everywhere outside organic life, even in the air." She turned sympathetically eyes to Shiro, "We are usually in contact with it all the time, in small doses, and now there is a complete absence of it. Just as coming in contact with too much pure quintessence can cause sudden changes to a living thing, having no contact can do the same, only slower," she finished.

Coran grabbed the chance to be in the conversation again, and picked up Allura's line of reasoning, "The Princess is quite right, we don't know what those changes might be, outside of the immediately apparent ones. The dead space suppressing pure quintessence takes the Lions and Castle out of the equation. Also Shiro's arm, and Alluras magic, both of which manipulate quintessence. All your body's will only have the life energy, or the altered quintessence you produce naturally."

The front door of the shack slammed open, cracking against the wall, and Dam-Saeg strolled in, leaning on an ebony cane, with her goggles pulled up to her hairline. "That is correct, quincy." She looked at Coran as she spoke, her voice raspy with age. She was smaller than Lance expected, the height of her apartment made her seem taller, but she barely reached four feet. A small woman, with a big bun, and even bigger presence. She dominated the room, while standing still.

"Dam-Saeg! I can explain! These quincy they-" Fen started to plead, but Ja-Berk cut him off.

"Don't ya' beg tha' old hag fah nothin'!" He hollered. His accent thickened with his anger.

Dam-Saeg lifted her cane, and brought it down with a loud clang that cut off Ja and Fen before they could continue to bicker. All three of the captive cringed away from the irritated old lady. Their eyes were wary, as if she had threatened them directly. Lance got the feeling that this woman was not to be messed with.

Coran rose from his spot on the floor by Ja-Berk, where he had been stitching him up, and approached Dam-Saeg. He stopped a respectable distance away, and bowed. "Hello madam, I am Coran." He was the picture of manners. Lance suspected he also noticed the domineering, and authoritative air that simmered below the visage of a rough, but kind old lady.

"Call me Saeg," She replied offhandedly, and began to circle Coran. She looked him up and down with a critical eye, and even poked him in the back with her cane. All of Voltron was baffled, but the three captives looked nervous.

Saeg stopped in front of Coran, and sighed, with her hand on her chin. "Interesting color scheme, but unfortunately too old," She concluded, but what her conclusion meant was beyond Lance.

Shiro stepped forward, shoulders back, head up, but not too intimidating. He projected himself as an authority figure of their group. "I'm Shiro, and we are..."

Saeg turned to him, and didn't wait for him to finish his speech. She circled Shiro, causing him to trail off in confusion. "No," she declared, as she poked his prosthetic with her cane, causing it to swing.

Shiro jumped away from the intrusion, but Saeg had already turned to Hunk. The old woman gave him a quick once over, not even bothering to circle him. "Dan-iro," she labeled. Lance remembered Ja-Berk yelling that word back at Saeg, and it hadn't sounded like a compliment. Irritation kindled in his stomach as the old lady continued around the room, and he realized they were being judged.

Allura tried to interrupt, but didn't get past the first syllable. Saeg was suddenly right in front of her, much closer than with the others, staring Allura in the face. "Magnificent eyes," She announced, and took a step back. "Good contrast," She continued, walking around Allura once, and stopping. She looked her up and down one more time, and lifted her cane, "but we will have to do something about the breasts." Saeg poked Allura's chest.

The Princess squeaked, and leapt away, right into Shiro, who had come up behind her protectively. They didn't get a chance to protest, because Saeg had already turned to her next victim, Pidge. This time, not only Shiro, but the entirety of team Voltron made a menacing, and protective move against Saeg and towards Pidge. It did not go unnoticed, and Saeg took a deliberate step away from the youngest team member.

"Doro-ni," She quickly judged, and then closed in on Lance.

Saeg was close. She didn't circle him, or look him up and down, but studied his face, like she had done to Allura. Lance could see Keith from the corner of his eye, his hand twitched near the handle of the sword in his belt. The red hum was taut, and on edge. It was laced with a possessive streak that hadn't been there before.

Saeg huffed in Lance's face, disappointed. "Nice eyes, too bad about the rest of you, dan-iro" She gestured at him in general.

It shouldn't have hurt, but it did. It was what he thought when he looked in the mirror. His smoldering irritation was put out by a flood of disgust, of course he was ugly, even by alien standards. He was gross, and- the taut red line that was Keith, loosened and bloomed. It was comforting, and indignant on his behalf. Lance couldn't find room in his head for anything other than Keith, it only lasted a few seconds, but it diverted the negative path of his thoughts. It also confirmed what Lance dreaded, that his baggage could travel down the bond. This was something he would have to work on, he refused to saddle anyone else with his own problems. Suddenly, The bond vibrated and pulled tight, as if Keith was trying to summon Lance to his side. It was screaming discontent.

It was Keith's turn, and he looked very uncomfortable. Saeg turned to him, and paused. "Oh, my," she breathed. Her brown eyes raked over him, and stilled on his face. Keith leaned away from Saeg as she moved closer, and continued to tilt away as she circled. She didn't touch him with her cane, or make any comments until she was finished examining him.

Saeg stood directly in front of Keith, with a soft face, "Stunning eyes, wonderful contrast, perfect build. All around a beautiful piece." She pointed her cane at him and smirked, "we are going to make a killing, yep-nari," she announced.

Cold anger, stirred up when the old lady called Keith a 'piece', like an object, and it swept away the remains of Lance's self pity. Keith's simmering anger was rising, covering Lance's, and together their irritation threatened to form a storm.

Before either of them could blow up, a timid voice, quivered from the back of the room. "We brought you something pretty, Saeg. So maybe we can just let this all be forgotten?" The smallest of the captives, with the dark green skin and black hair, shrank away as he spoke.

Saeg eyed him with a sharp gaze. She was like a hawk eyeing a lone mouse. "It seems more like this dan-iro." She nodded at Lance, "has brought you three to me, Luse." Saeg was a predator, dangerous and sly.

The room stilled, every person felt the danger in the air. The green captive, now known as Luse, tried to back away, but was unable to move the two larger people tied to him.

Lance restrained his irritation, and pushed on Keith through the bond, to do the same. Reluctantly, the red hum pulled back and rested. Lance gaged his team's reaction, but it was Shiro who met his eyes directly. They shared a look of understanding, they needed to play this out right, and Saeg was apparently a big dog in this world.

"You can't do this, we have been scrappahs in this Yeppeo fa' too long!" Ja-Berk lashed out. Picking up on some subtext that went over Lance's head.

Saeg looked at Ja with no sympathy, "I can, and I will. You three have failed me for the last time."

Ja-Berk tried to retort, but was shut up by his two friends. Fens hand was covered by Luse's when they both went for Ja's mouth at the same time.

Saeg surveyed the room, slowly looking over each person again, and then stepped back to face them all. "Tell me your skill sets," she demanded. It wasn't harsh, simply an order. "We will start with you, Doro-ni," She pointed to Hunk with her cane.

Hunk jumped, and rubbed his hands together, nervously. He was frazzled, and the curved edges of his demeanor were scuffed with fear, and anxiety. He shuffled in place, and glanced at Shiro, who nodded for him to answer. Lance noted Saeg's sharp eyes flicker to Shiro when Hunk's did, and she picked up on the gesture as well.

"Uhhhh, Hello…" Hunk stammered, "I, ummm… Don't know what Doro-ni means, but my name's Hunk…" He cleared his throat, and Saeg waited, surprisingly patient, as if Hunk were a small child. "I'm an engineer?" He finished, questioning whether that was the information she sought.

Saeg nodded, "A quincy engineer, I assume?" They asked politely, having packed away the vicious attitude she had directed at Luse.

Hunk's shoulders eased, and he took a cleansing breath, "A bit, but the planet I come from also doesn't use quintessence, so I know a bunch about other energy sources." His personality was smoothing over, and Saeg smiled, pleasantly. But it reminded Lance of himself, when he looked in a mirror for too long. It was displaced, and out of sync with her eyes, and he knew she didn't mean it.

"Is that so? That is very interesting, you may be more useful than I thought." She sounded friendly, but Lance understood that her words were calculated. He could tell because he used the same tactic himself. Hunk didn't seem to notice.

Saeg pointed at Pidge, but didn't approach them this time. Pidge was observant, and seemed to have figured out that plan to play along. So, without looking at Shiro, they answered with confidence. "I'm a computer specialist, and I originate from the same planet as Hunk."

Saeg eyed Pidge with more interest, and it set Lance on edge. He wasn't sure what to think of this old woman. She didn't come off slimy, or evil. But he had an ambiguous pool forming in his chest, that whispered to him not to relax around her.

Lance was under Saeg's scrutiny next, she tipped her head towards him, "How about you? I already know you're capable enough to take down those three idiots." She jabbed her thumb at her current tenants, and smirked.

Lance thought that maybe, she was trying to get on his good side... it was working, a little. Compliments were his weakness. There was also the possibility that she was actually glad Lance shot them, or both. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, gun still held in the other, "Uh yeah, Me and Keith took them down together." He indicated which one of them was Keith, with what he hoped was a casual glance.

Keith stood taller, proud of his abilities. Saeg kept her eyes on Lance, "The yep-nari won't need to worry about things like fighting, or even thinking, anymore," Saeg said, and without skipping a beat she moved on. "Are your combat and shooting skills the sum of your parts?"

Thrown by Saeg's strange comment about Keith, Lance spoke without thinking. "I knit…" He replied, and then snapped his mouth shut. He expected a weird look, or scathing comment, but none came.

Saeg smiled, and this time it lifted her cheeks, crinkling her eyes. There was harmony between her features that was missing before and it caused something to pull at Lance, frantic for his attention. She looked so different with a genuine smile, was that also true for himself?

"I do too," Saeg's voice matched her smile, "Maybe we can compare notes sometime." She turned to continue her questioning, and approached Shiro.

Lance folded inward, becoming introspective, and the conversation around him seemed to fade. The frantic pulling managed a firm grasp on his attention, and held his mind in place. Red edged around his thoughts, but Lance focused on holding it away. His mind strained with the effort. He didn't want to subject Keith to angst, not over this. Lance's appearance was something that plagued him all his life, it was never 'right', even when he couldn't place his finger on what 'right' was. But now, an incessant tugging, insisted that he look inside himself again.

Lance's self esteem had always been fragile, buffeted all his life by violent storms of anxiety, and panic. It hid away in the eroded channels left behind by acidic, hate and disgust. Now, he carefully unwrapped it, only to see it had grown stronger when he wasn't looking. It was what clawed for his attention, and pulled at him to notice Saeg's smiles. It wasn't a concerned friend picking him up off the bathroom floor, or a crush noticing his insecurities, or even a sister trying to cheer him up. It was just Lance. He had done it for himself this time.

Lance's hold on the bond slipped, and with a snap like a rubberband, Keith's red hum slammed back into his mind. He was almost panicked, and Lance saw the emotion barely concealed behind Keith's eyes. Lance pulled the bond closer to his thoughts, instinctively. He wanted to reassure Keith, and let him know everything was fine.

"It's OK," Lance thought, and he felt it slip between the folds of red.

The tight corners of Keith's eyes relaxed, and his brows went up to his hairline. The backlash of surprise and shock was unexpected, but brought with it a realization. Keith had heard his thought and not just the sentiment behind it. Lance tried to think something at Keith again, but the sensation of his words being drawn into the red stream didn't happen this time.

The metallic clang of Saeg's Cane on the metal floor broke Lance's concentration. "I will be back later with your assignments, until then, settle in." She ended the conversation, and left the house.

Ooo

So, here they were. In a run down house, with a gubby throw rug under Lance's feet. Team Voltron was trapped. Saeg left the shack with an ambiguous statement, and an equally ambiguous return scheduled. Everyone discussed what had just happened, including the part that Lance had tuned out at the end. From what he could gather, they were offered a place to live… and possible jobs?

"I'm not really sure what happened, but I feel like I had very little choice in the outcome." Shiro rubbed the back of his head. He looked upset, and guilty, as if he let the team down by not controlling the situation completely. Lance disagreed, going along with Saeg like they did, was the right call, and everyone who noticed, agreed, or they would have spoken up.

Pidge voiced the same opinion before Lance could formulate the words. "We can't force every situation, we did the right thing. We need to blend in to survive." They rubbed their hands up in down their own arms and shivered, "But I have never felt so welcomed, and simultaneously unsettled." They frowned.

"Yur'ah lucky the old hag was 'ere, without her ya would be dead," Ja-Berk said conversationally, still restrained in the corner.

Fen jabbed Ja with a sharp elbow, and smiled at the room, "Do you mind untying us?" He still looked a little pale, but was much better off because of the treatment from Coran.

Hunk, in a rare show of intimidation, used his full size to tower over the -only slightly shorter- aliens. "And why, would we do that?" He asserted.

With a slight quiver, Luse answered, "because Saeg owns you, and killing you now would be a death sentence."

"Owns us?" Keith paled, and his voice became rough and corroded.

Luse straightened up with a cocky tilt to his stance, and held Keith's eyes. "Yeah, Yeppeo five is Saeg's, and she just decided you all were worth keeping."

Keith recoiled from the response, it wasn't a dramatic movement, but a significant one. Lance heard him swallow, and saw his eyes quiver, signs of a visceral reaction. Then, it slithered down their bond, a thoughtless, suffocating, fear. It wasn't like the fear of dying, of being hated, or exposed, it felt like nothing Lance had ever experienced. Helpless, but appealing. It was silk cords twisted around his insides, soft, and unbearably tight. He was being strangled from the inside, confined to a smaller world, comforted and terrified. Lance didn't know what to do, or how to help. Keith was experiencing something outside the realm of his understanding, what would make a person feel like that?

Shiro stepped in, blocking Keith from Luse's view, and giving him a moment to recover. A few deep breaths later, and the fear loosened. The entire ordeal was a flash, only Shiro noticed, as if he knew the signs. If Lance hadn't felt it, he would have doubted it happened at all.

"What does Saeg have that gives her so much power?" Shiro asked.

"Fate," Luse returned, without inflection, and left behind a ringing silence.

A long, and suffering sigh filled the room. One that sounded as if it had been cultivated over many years. "Don't be so dramatic, Luse," Ja-Berk grumbled. "I want'a be untied befo'ah I piss myself."

"Fine…" Luse huffed, unamused. He slouched and pouted. "Saeg controls identities in yeppeo five. She can fabricate work papers that allow yep-nari to work in higher Yeppeo. She collects a profit from their income, and uses their livelihood to control their families. Once they have earned enough she lets them go do as they please, or so she claims. Everyone else in this forsaken Yeppeo relies on her for other work, her profit from the yep-nari allows her to control the economy," Luse explained with the attitude of a grumpy teenager, and shoved his shoulder into Ja, "Happy!?" He growled.

"Yes!" Ja snapped back, and then looked at Shiro, "Now, will ya untie us?"

Fen grunted a short laugh. "We were going to kill them not long ago, they're not dumb. Should have let Luse have his fun fucking with them."

No one moved to fulfill his request. Lance was tired, and just wanted to rest. He could feel ambivalence creeping up. He glanced around, trying to gage how the others felt. They looked just as worn out, but Shrio met his eyes, seeking an opinion. "Any thoughts, Lance?" He asked. The question felt like a test. Shiro had already made his decision, it was clear on his face and in his voice, but he was prodding Lance anyway. Checking to see if their opinions aligned.

Lance struggled through the fog in his head, but couldn't muster a solution. He took in his beaten down team. Allura was leaning on Shiro's shoulder, with absolutely no pretense. Pidge was sitting on the floor, slumped against Hunks leg, while Hink leaned on a chair. Coran's shoulder was flat on the wall, holding most of his weight. Keith was the only person standing alone and unassisted, but he was still pale. His eyes twitched to the captives, and his expression became tight, and guarded. Lance just wanted to be alone with him, to lay down and smooth the wrinkle between his brows.

Lance heaved a sigh, he was officially done, he didn't have it in him to make a plan. "Untie them," He shrugged.

Shiro blinked, obviously not expecting that.

With a slow wave, Lance gestured to the three captives, his movements weighed down with exhaustion. "If they're going to try and kill us, we can't stop them. So, we might as well take the first step to gaining each other's trust. Because the only way to be certain they can't get us, is to kill them. Do you want us to murder unarmed, tied up people?" He explained, and then leaned back against the wall.

"You're right," Shiro took a deep breath, and slowly released it. His shoulders sagged as he finally let his fatigue show. "I thought we could leave them tied up, but you're right," he admitted.

Keith had his knife out before Shiro finished his sentence, and gripped it tight with a white knuckled fist. Fen and Luse cowered away, but Ja-Berk lifted his chin defiantly, as Keith approached. His stance, expression, and even his breathing, were aggressive, but when he reached out he was gentile. Keith carefully cut the ropes, and stepped back.

No one moved. The two groups were separated by the length of a throw rug, It was faded and worn threadbare, much like the people that stood at its edges. Lance felt like one good tug on any of his loose strings would undo him, and he was fed up.

"Listen…" Lance began, and stepped onto the well trafficked rug. All three aliens looked at him, but Fen leaned away from his approach. "I'm tired, and I'm not exactly sure whats going on. But from what I've gathered, we are stuck with each other. So, can we please drop this stand off bullshit so I can go lie down?" He proposed, with a heavy voice.

Lance's words coated the room, and restrained everyone for a beat. The blunt statement sank in, and Luse was the first to break free. He stepped away from his companions, and stood in front of Lance. "We aren't lying about Saeg, you are under her protection. She gave you the-"

"Don't ya tell 'em!" Ja interrupted, with a snarl He grabbed Luse by the shoulder and pulled him away. "If they din't get it, then it's not ou'ah problem!" He snapped.

Luse ripped his shoulder away, and glared at Ja. "You're the one that doesn't get it, we can't defy Saeg!"

Fen, still pale, carefully placed a hand on each of his companions arms. "We should explain the situation to them, Ja. They could have killed us, and no one would have faulted them, but they healed us instead. Maybe they will understand." He seemed to be the most level headed, and considering he was the one that tried to kill Pidge, it wasn't a reassuring observation.

Ja-Berk glanced at Fen's tired face, and bandaged arm. With a sigh, he relented, and relaxed into the hand on his arm. "OK, fine," He grunted, letting everyone know he was not pleased with the decision.

Fen's shoulders dipped, it was a small movement, but it completed his ragged appearance. He turned to Lance, and pulled a weak smile that fought against his exhaustion, and lost. "I a-apo-apologize for trying t-t-o kill the little one," He stuttered, suddenly more on edge. He was sincere, but it was wrapped around something deeper. His eyes quivered, and his pupils dilated. He was afraid… of Lance?

A thread of anger tried to wiggle its way into Lance's tired heart, but fell short. It stretched out in his chest and slowly withered away. He wasn't letting it go, but he was too tired to hate. Lance released a heavy breath through his nose, and nodded. Not accepting the apology fully, but allowing it to exist between them. How had he become the spokesperson for their team?

Fen looked at the ground, and twisted his hands. He looked up, nervous. "Saeg has left me, and my friends in a… situation," he began, calmer, letting his hands fall to his sides. "She left things unanswered on purpose, to test us. We could try and run, or we could be honest. What she didn't explain, is that she gifted us to you, and that includes everything we own." He struggled with the words, forcing them out against his instincts.

"She gave you to us?!" Lance was awake, very awake. An unpleasant shock ran up his spine. Saeg left these three to explain their enslavement, as a test? Of what, obedience?

Fen jumped, startled, and then shook his head, "N-not to your team, just y-y-you." The stutter was back.

Lance was sick, the shock settled into nausea and he swallowed it. "Why just me? Keith defeated you too," He argued, unsure of what else to do.

Fen laughed, dry and heavy. "No, you're yep-nari doesn't need us," he answered.

It took a moment for Lance to understand that Keith was the yep-nari, and he still didn't know what any of this meant. His confusion was obvious, and Fen pushed forward, eager to be done with this conversation. "I can explain everything later, but you have to decide what you're going to do with us now," Fen was short and to the point, but a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

"What am I going to do with you?" Lance wondered, what was he supposed to say? He looked to his team for help, but only received a few shrugs, and confusion mirroring his own. Except Keith, who kept his face blank, but the tight fold of his arms, and white knuckled fists, coupled with his pale face, screamed how he felt. Lance noticed for the first time that the red hum was missing, and he knew Keith was holding it back with all his effort. The absence spoke volumes in the empty space left behind.

Lance didn't want to own anyone, "I can't just give you back?" He asked, hopefully.

Ja-Berk growled, "Yeah, if ya wanna get us killed," He barked, and took a step towards Lance.

Fen put a hand on Ja's chest, and the soft touch alone held him back. Fen smiled, and it didn't reach his eyes. "While we appreciate the sentiment, you can't release us," he explained softly, his words wavered.

Lance was at a loss. It was Allura who ended up knowing how to best handle the situation. With her experience being royalty, she was able to gracefully resolve the situations. She stepped up next to Lance, placed her hand on his arms, and began to speak, and he was grateful.

"Might I suggest that we keep things as they were. You three know how to run this scrap yard, and can keep doing so. We will simply share this space with you until my team figures things out," she offered, calm and collected.

Lance jumped on her reasonable solution, "Yes, that. We should do that," he agreed.

The line of tension that ran through Fen and his friends, eased. "OK," he nodded.

Hunk, with his shoulders hunched, and frame curled in to be small, raised his hand. "Can we sleep now? I almost froze to death today, and it really takes a lot out of a guy," he asked, and nervously smiled.

"I'm with Hunk, I'm going to go open the doors of our rooms in the castle," Pidge volunteered. They left without waiting for permission, and Hunk followed close behind them. His voice echoed from the yard, "Can you open mine first?"

"I guess we should all get some rest," Shiro ventured. He looked like it was less of a proposal, and more of a requirement, before he fell asleep standing.

Keith stood still, just as tense as before, but paler. "So, we have to sleep with open doors in the ship?" He bit out, the tension in his body put a strain on his voice.

An echo of red passed through Lance. It was thin, and watery with the same brand of helpless fear that he didn't understand, then it was gone again. But he could tell Keith was reining, with a slipping grip, and it showed. His hands were beginning to quiver, and he was losing more color by the second.

"We have a small spare room that locks," Fen offered Keith, without a trace of his previous nerves.

Shiro stepped in, "I don't like the idea of one of us staying here alone."

The words bubbled up before Lance could stop them, "I'll stay with him." He was in dire need of rest, if he said that out loud.

Lance saw the worry in Shiro's gaze, he was the only other person that noticed that Keith wasn't alright.

Under the surface of his worn expression, Lance could see a deeper understanding of Keiths behavior. Whatever was going on was something Shiro had dealt with in the past, and he was unsurprised by Keith's request for a locking door. But, he still looked ready to protest with the last bit of his energy. Until he glanced at Keith, and suddenly backed off.

Keith wasn't looking at Shiro, or even acknowledging that he spoke. Lance remembered the argument he overheard, now that they were relatively safe, Keith seemed to have remembered as well.

Shiro glanced at Lance, "Fine," He relented, but he wasn't angry. He looked and sounded like he was trying to salvage the scraps of something important, something he had lost.

With a small nod, Lance hoped he could ease Shiro's concern, and let him know he would keep an eye on Keith.

Ooo

They were alone. The door to the spare room clicked shut, and the lock was flipped. Lance focused on the room. It was small, with a single bed, one table, and the same scrubbed metal floors. He tried to prepare himself to face Keith, to turn around, and literally face him. But he couldn't control his tired thoughts. His anxiety whispered to him, and told him Keith only kissed him because they were going to die. He was pulling the bond away because he wanted to break it. He didn't want Lance.

"Ace," The single word was a breath, and a whine.

Red. An ocean of red, covered by a raging storm, slammed into Lance. It rushed into his nose, coated his mouth, and choked him. It covered his eyes, filled them, and blinded him. Fear, coiled through his body, suffocating, terrifying… complacent. Like water that grew hot, slowly, unnoticed, until it was too late. Sharp shame snuck up from behind, and delivered a deep, and heavy blow to Lance's heart. Its weight tried to pull him under the boiling water, and make him drop to his knees with remorse. He was so disoriented, it took a moment for Lance to realize he was feeling the bond recoil. These were Keith's feelings.

Lance turned, and discovered that none of his worries were founded. He wasn't looking at a disgusted, or laughing Keith. Instead he saw a Keith who needed help, like Lance had needed it. He was shaking, pale, with his head bowed to the floor. He didn't move, or reach out, but this time it was Lance's turn to help.

"Rojo, come 'ere," he opened his arms, and stepped forward, leaving only an inch between them.

Keith stiffened, and looked up, searching Lance's face. When he founded what he was looking for, he closed the gap. It was only a small shift of weight, but it represented a canyon of emotion. Lance hugged Keith close, pressing their chest together with one arm, and holding his head with the other. Keith hugged back, both arms around Lance's middle.

The raging fire of constricting feelings, still pulsed down the bond. Lance didn't know what set this off, but he tried his best to douse the flames. "It's OK, everything's fine," He soothed in his best imitation of Hunk's rounded personality.

Keith pulled Lance closer, until their bodies were flush, and pressed his face into Lance's neck. They stood like that for minutes, while Keith's breathing slowed, and the inferno flowing through the bond petered out.

There was no sound, or movement, but something shifted. A spark, static, it crawled over Lance, down to his toes and back up to his chest. The feeling resonated in the bond. Then, Keith slowly kissed Lance's neck. Pleasure bloomed over his skin, and he felt it slip between the red folds in his mind. Keith gasped, and the pleasure whispered back to Lance.

Oh… now they can feel each other's… oh… that's new.

The realization struck, and Keith didn't hesitate. He bit down on Lance's neck, and moaned. A sharp gasp forced the air to part, as their mutual thrill ricocheted, in an elongated, tapering, echo. Keith pushed forward, Lance stumbled, and met the bed that was not far away in the small room. He toppled backwards, and Keith followed.

Hunger, and endless pleasure, encompassed the bond. Keith straddle Lance, and kissed him, hard. The contact was a merging, and Lance didn't know where the sensations came from anymore. It was bright, and ringing between them, filling every corner of their minds. Keith's hands slid under Lance's shirt, and left trails of heat in their wake. Lance moaned, and let Keith in. Lance had never known true hunger, until he felt Keith's. The kiss was deep, and rough, almost painful. Lance wanted this, had yearned for it, and now he only caught it in snippets. Blurred, hurried, and blinking out between waves of disorienting bliss that was blended and seamless.

Rushed hands pulled his shirt up until it couldn't go any higher, and Keith kissed and bit from Lance's jaw, to his neck, and sucked on his collar bone. Blinding white pleasure continued to echo and grow, filling every inch of Lance, overloading every synapse in his brain.

But even through the endless field of white, and ringing in his ears, a familiar voice whispered to Lance.

'Why?' It asked, 'why you?'

Lance keened, and moaned as Keith's hand slid down and grabbed him through his jeans, demanding and needy.

'you don't deserve this,' Lance tried to ignore the voice. He craved this, he felt attractive, wanted. 'But are you good enough? Will he keep you after?' it responded, Insistent and intrusive.

With a sharp tug, Keith ripped the button open. The sound of the zipper was loud with the force used to pull it down. Keith's desire grew, and projected in a high heady hum that filled Lance with the certainty that he was wanted.

'Why…?' Lance's anxiety whispered again, and the thought drifted away, caught up in the hum, and down the bond.

Keith stopped, and pulled away to look down at Lance. Both of them were panting, and hard, but Keith's face was awash with anguish. Lance knew that he had felt the insecure worry, even through the storm that raged between them. It was like a lighthouse, cutting through the fog.

"Ace," Keith said firmly, and placed both his hands on Lance's cheeks. "I want this, and you. Is this what you want?" He asked, completely sincere.

Pain murmured to Lance, it was in preparation for something much worse, like bracing for a slap. It wasn't his, but it might as well have been. His flaws were hurting Keith. They were abrasive, and rubbing him raw, ultimately for nothing, because Lance knew what he wanted. His doubt was an empty threat.

"Yes," The word was stronger than 'why', and Lance meant it.

Keith lunged at him. The kiss was still domineering, and possessive. But a tone rang clear in the building desire, this was for Lance, to make sure he felt wanted. Keith kissed a path down his body, biting and claiming. He stopped at the waist of Lance's jeans and looked up. He smirked, and Lance felt his heart swoop. This was a side of Keith he hadn't expected. He was confident as he pulled down Lance's boxer, not a trace or his usual awkwardness.

A hot bolt ran through Lance. Keith's mouth around his head was endless strikes of lightning, and they forked to every corner of his body. They both paused, panting, as the pleasure rushed between them, and then Keith swallowed him whole. Lance couldn't stop himself bucking up, but Keith rode it out, and then held down Lance's hips. The bright, white, pleasure rained down and filled them up. It fell through them, on them, and between them, the tide rising with every pass. And when Lance crested, Keith devoured him.

He arched off the bed, choking on a yell that couldn't fit out of his mouth. Lance clawed the bed sheets, for anything to keep him from shooting into the sky, and ended up with a hand full of Keith's hair, holding him in place. He throbbed in Keith's warm mouth until he was empty and registered what he had done. Keith pulled away, and crawled up Lance's body with no complaints about the rough handling. A proud little smirk on his face.

They were side by side, catching their breath.

"What about you?" Lance asked. Only now clear headed enough to think of it.

Keith chuckled and held up one of his hands, "I need a way to clean this, that bond thing made it impossible for me to not cum."

A short time later, after the use of one of Keiths socks, they were comfortable in bed.. Lance on his back, and Keith curled into him, with his head on Lance's chest. Neither of them were sleeping, despite their exhaustion. Lance floated on the surface of the moment, buoyed by his contentment, that juxtaposed with the events of the last twenty four hours. It was surreal, him laying there like that. Lance listened to the red hum, that rumbled in the background of his placid mind, and recognized a similar contentment in Keith, and it slid over any worries he might have had... except one.

"Rojo," Lance murmured timidly.

Keith hummed in acknowledgment.

Lance cleared his throat, "Why didn't you just tell me about…" He hesitated, and then lifted his hands above Keith's face, "you know," he touched the tips of his index fingers together, to indicate his meaning.

Keith snorted, then laughed, and turned his face into Lance's neck, "Why are you like this?" He snickered.

"I'm being serious!" Lance tired and failed to be indignant while his fingers still touched repeatedly in the air. He could feel Keith's laugh in every place their bodies touched, and each vibration sent waves of tingly joy through Lance. Each one felt like it was healing the channels that usually filled with his panicked emotions.

Keith laughed harder when he looked up again, and saw Lance still making the same hand gesture. He reached up and pulled the hands down, "I thought I was being motherfucking obvious, I cuddled with you for fucks sake!" His sharp language was dampened by the smile in his voice.

"Not obvious enough, apparently!" Lance shot back, but hugged Keith closer. "I was scared of messing our friendship up, by making a move..." He admitted, in a small voice. He kept the part about not being good enough for Keith to himself. He didn't want to rehash his self esteem problems, it always riled Keith up.

"So was I!" Keith answered immediately, as if it were obvious.

Lance huffed, "but I told you I was bisexual, you didn't have to worry that I wasn't into dudes!" He ran his hand up and down Keith's back, soft and warm despite their bickering.

Keith paused, and the hand he rested on Lance's chest curled into the fabric of the shirt below it. "That doesn't mean you would be into me!" His voice rose at the end, lifted by his embarrassment. The red in Lance's mind became dark, and curled in, as if preparing to take a blow. There was fear that he recognized this time, fear of rejection.

Their little argument was suddenly serious, as Keith tensed against Lance. Admitting insecurity wasn't easy, and Lance realized that Keith might have been scared too. Afraid of breaking their delicate balance, and of being turned down. Lance felt stupid. Even with his limited knowledge of Keith's childhood, he knew Keith was passed around from family to family, and should have suspected rejection was something he grappled with. Lance placed his hand over Keith's clenched fist, and pressed down to smooth it flat. At the same time he brushed his mind against the taut ribbon of dark red.

They needed to start being truthful about their thoughts and feelings, especially now that the line between their minds was blurring. Lance slowly took a breath through his nose, and was honest. "I… guess I'm just a little hurt you didn't tell me, after I opened up about my sexuality."

The rigid line of Keith's body relaxed, and moulded back into Lance. Soft red bloomed in the bond, reassured, but nervous. "I didn't want to 'one up' you…" Keith murmured, with his face back in Lance's neck.

"What?" Lance couldn't believe what he heard, was Keith really that socially awkward?. He sat up, forcing Keith to sit up with him, and put his hands on Keith's shoulders.

With his face behind the curtain of his bangs, Keith explained quietly. "You were so scared when you told me, I didn't want to be that guy. Like, I was overshadowing your confession with my own. And then… I couldn't find a good time to bring it up..." His voice faded, and he sank a little lower where he sat.

Seeing Keith like this wasn't common, but Lance hated it every time. It always pulled at him in an uncomfortable way. The hands on Keith's shoulders slid up to the sides of his face, and Lance rubbed his thumb across the smooth cheek, "That's not how it works, Rojo." The things Keith decided were hard to bring up, versus what he just blurted out, baffled Lance...

The bond cracked like a whip, and timid Keith was gone.

"Well, I'm bad at these things!" Keith snapped, he wasn't hiding being his hair anymore, but glaring at Lance. "Was I supposed to just confess back? And say what? 'Oh hey, it's a good thing you're bi, because I'm gay, and I think you're hot!?" He was being snide, but still blushed.

Lance smirked, "You think I'm hot?" His erosive river of self-degradation evaporated in the heat of Keith's confession, just a little bit.

Keith deflated, "That's what you took from this?" He asked. The light lift of his voice gave away his amusement. His face softened, when Lance didn't answer immediately with a snarky joke. The skipped beat in their conversation was filled with a sense of wonder, and disbelief, that flowed from Lance down their bond. Keith covered Lance's hands, still on the sides of his face, with his own. "Yeah, I think you're hot," he repeated, with no shame. His compliment rolled out easily.

Lance didn't want to give so much away. But he couldn't pull back his astonishment. This beautiful person thought he was attractive. Lance could tell that Keith had figured out what was going on in his head. Under all the layers of emotion they were exchanging, was a glimmer of sadness. Keith was sad that Lance was surprised by the compliment.

"Really?" The question was involuntary. Lance only wanted to make sure once more. He didn't want Keith to look closer, and see what Lance saw every time he looked in the mirror.

Keith leaned in, slowly. Their lips touched, feather light, full of caring. He pulled back only enough to speak. "I'm pretty sure I made it clear a little while ago," he whispered. It was sensual, a small glimpse of the Keith that had filled every one of Lance's senses not long ago. It was a side of him that Lance hadn't expected. Keith was touch starved, and awkward in all situations. Until tonight, when he took charge and showed a level of confidence and experience that was surprising. Not that he was complaining.

Lance felt all the blood rush up to his face, and what was left slid down, and pooled. He cleared his throat and pecked Keith on the lips in return. "Right," He said stiffly, "We should probably talk about that… what happened just now." He managed to say.

Keith pulled back, as if preparing for the worse. "Did you not-"

"NO! No, it was great!" Lance jumped in, only just realizing how he came off. "I just… we… are we a thing now?" Dear lord he was lame, he tried to pull himself together.

Keith relaxed, "Yeah, I want to be together. For real." He confessed with an ease Lance envied. If only everyone could simply say how they felt.

"Me, too," Lance squeaked out, and cleared his throat, "All or nothing, right?" He offered, because he did want it all. Love, an ocean of it filled Lance, and he thought maybe some of it wasn't his, but Keith's. It pushed out the acid and hate, to make room for all that came with it. Every channel of his mind was lined with red, and the bond hummed deeper than ever before, wiggling its way into every crevice.

A similar experience was overcoming Keith, Lance could see it in his eyes. The bond was growing on both sides, and maybe, he was also feeling their emotions mix, and recognized Lance's love for what it was. Hopefully it wouldn't scare him away, the feeling was strong, but young, and too new to admit out loud.

"Yeah, I'm- I'm all in," Keith's voice cracked, "glad we're on the same page." He tried to act casual, and they both pulled their hands away.

There was an intense moment of awkwardness, and Lance needed to break it. "We have a lot of other things to talk about, but maybe we should wait until tomorrow?"

"Yeah… I'm tired…" Keith agreed with drawn out words.

The awkwardness was still intact, both of them unsure of how to deal with their emotions, and the bond that they still haven't fully acknowledged exists.

Lance was determined to smooth over the atmosphere. He would use his most reliable tactic, and it would be sweet revenge for all of Keith's complements. Two birds, one stone. Lance plastered on his trademark smirk, "Do you have a sunburn?" He asked.

Keith tipped his head, "What?"

"or are- or are you always this hot?" Lance almost stumbled over the delivery, distracted by the head tilt. His chest tightened with nerves, and his stomach squirmed. He held it in, scared of his flirting falling flat.

Keith stared at Lance blankly, "I'm not particularly warm…" His answer trailed off, confused.

Lance slumped over, Keith watched him flop onto his side, bewildered. Not willing to give up, Lance shot finger guns at Keith while still laying down, "I was feeling a little off today, but you definitely turned me on."

Keith turned red. There was no way he didn't pick up Lance's meaning this time. This was apparently Keith's weakness, if only he had realized it sooner. He would have been hitting on him a long time ago.

Lance continued with a smug grin, "are you a camera? Because every time I look at you, I smile."

"Stop!" Keith was stuck between mortification and laughing.

Lance's smile changed without him realizing. It became a true smile and lit him up. The real Lance was coming out, it had been a long time since he was so relaxed. "If you were ground coffee, you'd be Espresso, cause you're so fine."

The bond was alight with pure Lance, and he could feel Keith's small, silent gasp, and the joy that bounced back. Being himself made Keith happy, and that only made him more open. "This is revenge for all the compliments!" He announced.

"Only you would want revenge for compliments!" Keith shoved Lance's shoulder.

"Have you been to the doctor lately? Cause I think you're lacking some Vitamin Me." Lance wiggled his eyebrows.

Keith crossed his arms and looked away. Then, he side eyed Lance with an evil glint, "I think I got plenty of' Vitamin You', when I sucked you off."

Lance choked, and rolled on his back to look up at Keith. For a tick he was stunned, abashed... and then he laughed. Keith laughed along with him. Together they shared a moment of contentment. It vibrated pleasantly between them, building off each other, until it was so high Lance felt like he would never come down. Keith curled back up into his chest, and for the moment, everything was OK.

It was OK that they were stranded for an undetermined amount of time, and that the ship wouldn't fly, because he was here with Keith, and the team was alive. The edge of his consciousness began to fade, and the string of red wrapped around his thoughts became wavy with sleep. Keith's meandering subconscious sent Lance snippets of his dreams, and he smiled when his own face flickered by. He was smiling, it was from only minutes ago when Lance began to throw pick up lines. Is that how Keith saw him? Bright, and with a smile that complimented his face? Lance held Keith closer, ignoring the fact that he was seeing Keith's dreams and how freaky that was. He just focused on himself from Keith's point of view.

He didn't deserve this, but he would take it.

Lance would take all of them, the entire team, as long as they would have him. In the quiet of the bedroom, on the precipice of falling into much needed sleep, Lance finally allowed himself to accept that they all survived dead space. All of them…

Lance's eyes snapped open, "Kaltenecker!" He completely forgot about the cow.

"Wha?" Keith mumbled.

"Kaltenecker, the cow. We left him in the lower anex!" Lance crowded, and tried to sit up. He fully intended to go look for the cow, but Keith held him down with the arm that was around his chest.

"How far was the annex from the control room?" Keith asked, not at all flustered by the situation.

Lance halfheartedly struggled to get up, "it's next to the common hanger…" He fell back onto the bed as he registered what that meant. Lance counted on his fingers, calculating how long they went without power, "He's dead, very dead," he concluded.

"She," Keith corrected, curling back up under Lance's arm.

Lance looked down at the top of messy black hair under his chin."What?"

"The cow had utters, so she was a girl," Keith explained, with an unbothered tone.

Lance groaned, "Does that really matter now?" He whined.

Keith shrugged, "I guess not, since she's dead," He relented, horribly blunt, as usual.

"No tact, no tact at all," Lance declared, with no real bite.

"Go to sleep, Ace," Keith moaned, and pressed his face into Lance's chest.

With a heavy sigh that lifted Keith's head, Lance complied, closing his eyes.

Ooo

Artificial light pierced Lance's eyelids. He cursed the Castles circadian cycle, and cracked an eye open. He quickly shut it, the glare of the incandescent light bulb was painful… His eyes snapped open despite the sting. incandescent? He wasn't in the castle.

There were no windows in the small bedroom. A single bare bulb lit the drab metal walls. That's right, they were stuck on Yeppeuda. His chest was heavy with unwelcomed depression, until he tried to roll over… and realized the weight wasn't metaphorical. Keith was curled up, half on Lance, with his face just below Lance's chin. Even the thought of being depressed couldn't penetrate the waterfall of emotion pouring over him.

Lance ran his hand up Keith back, and into his soft hair. He was allowed to do this, Keith wanted him to do this, to show affection and be with him. It was something he thought he would never have, had tortured himself over. In the end it had been as easy as almost dying in a power downed spaceship. Which was on par with everything in their relationship, it was never easy, until now… Lance hoped.

The room was silent, and Lance had no idea what time it was without a window, but he was concerned that the others might come knocking soon. Lance gently shook Keith.

"Uuuuuug," Keith moaned, and burrowed deeper into Lance.

The swelling of affection wasn't easy to ignore. It covered Lance's heart, a wool blanket that blocked out all his other feelings. But he really didn't want to be caught cuddling with Keith by the team, especially not Shiro. There had been enough drama.

Lance jostled Keith a little harder, "Morning starshine! The cold vacuum of space say hello!" He joked.

A long, drawn out groan, rumbled through Keith. He slowly lifted his mussed head and glared. Lance smiled brightly back at him, still feeling free to be himself. Keith let his head drop, and sighed, a full body motion. "We aren't in space, your joke doesn't make sense," he mumbled.

Lance's smile stretched until it almost hurt, "Fine, then Yeppeuda says hello," He corrected. "Point is, we should get up."

Keith hugged Lance around his chest, "no." It wasn't a petulant answer, simply a statement of his intention to not move.

Lance laughed, full and rich. His breaths bounced Keith's head, causing him to lift himself up onto his elbows, still trapping Lance with his arms. "Stop laughing, I can't sleep through it," he glared again, but it had little effect. His eyes were droopy, and hair sticking up, he was just too cute.

The smile was at max capacity. Keith's small red speck encompassed Lance's heart, and it was so full it might have boiled over. "I thought you would be more of a morning person," Lance pondered.

Keith flopped back down onto Lance. "I don't normally sleep so deeply," He admitted. "And on earth there was coffee if I did…" He added, wistfully.

"Are you pinning after coffee?" Lance chuckled, and gave into Keith's attempts to stay in bed. It wasn't much of a fight. Keith's warm weight was comforting, and just the idea that he wanted to stay like this with Lance was enough. This was truly the most relaxed he had ever seen Keith.

"I am, I feel no shame," Keith announced, muffled into Lance's neck. He poked Lance in the side repeatedly, "Don't pretend you don't miss it too, I heard you and Pidge yesterday."

The very witty, and well thought out response Lance was going to say, while trying to wiggle away from Keith's finger, was cut short. The sound of a door, and a parade of footsteps, had Keith and Lance up and dressing in a flash.

Keith picked up his dirty sock and frowned. He tossed it under the bed, and pulled his boot onto a bare foot with a crinkled nose. Lance smirked, he was going to think about that barefoot all day, and it would remind him every time, why it was bare.

Keith stuck out his tongue childishly. Then suddenly, his mood shifted. He shivered, and it was more than physical because Lance felt it too. It was a strange static that ran down Keith's back, and it echoed in the bond faintly.

"Are you OK?" Lance asked, resting a hand on Keith's arm.

"Yeah… I think so." Keith shook his head and blinked. "It's probably just the lack of quintessence thing that Coran was talking about," he assured.

The noise outside their bedroom door stopped abruptly, signaling everyone was inside. Lance and Keith glanced over each other to make sure nothing was amiss, and then they exited the bedroom.

The entire team, plus their three new alien roommates, were standing awkwardly apart in the main room. They were separated by the worn green throw rug, again. Fen and Luse were both looking at Lance, who ignored them, he didn't want to deal with his new status as their… owner. Ja-Berk was staring at the wall stubbornly ignoring everyone. Allura and Coran were staring intently at Lance as well, probably trying to convey they wanted to talk about him being Altean, one more thing Lance wanted to ignore, for now. Shiro was locked onto Keith, but Keith pretended not to notice. Pidge was looking between Lance and Keith with calculating eyes, and Lance had a bad feeling about it. Lastly, Hunk was looking around at everyone, uncomfortable. He shifted from foot to foot, fretting. Lance knew how much he hated these situations.

"Soooo…." Hunk drew out the word, conveying how incredibly uneasy he was. His eyes darted around, and his shoulders lowered. He looked directly at Lance. "Ace?" He questioned.

Lance's heart stopped, and Keith's presence in his mind sharpened, it poked him in an uncomfortable way. "What?" He forced out, arranging his face the best he could to appear confused. Everyone was looking at him now, not that many weren't before…

"I just…" Hunk leaned back on his heels, and twisted his hands together over his poor attempt to break the silence. "When you and Keith went all ninja, he called you Ace."

That was unexpected. Lance didn't remember Keith doing that, it was all a blur. He had responded when called, and unleashed in the defence of Pidge, as a rush of precise and deadly movement. A small needle of embarrassment jabbed him, it was his private nickname from Keith, and it felt wrong for Hunk to say it.

Keith tugged on the bond, pulling Lance's attention, and then answered Hunk. "That's just a nickname I gave him while training," he shrugged, acting like it mattered very little. But the rush of affection that flowed and hummed through Lance, told him otherwise, and helped to soothe the sting of Keith's words.

Hunk cleared his throat, still stiff in the tense atmosphere, "Oh, do you have a nickname from Lance?" He asked, quietly. Maybe a little hurt to not have a nickname as well.

"No," Keith's answer was quick, and firmly.

That was the end of the conversation. They all stood, tense and quiet. Allura was still looking at Lance, she opened her mouth several times, but never managed to speak. Lance let her off the hook by speaking first.

"Tonight, we'll talk," he assured her.

She released a long breath through her nose, smiled, and began to agree. "I would like-"

The front door of the shack whipped open, hit the wall, and bounced back. A large hand, attached to an equally large man, stopped the door before it could close. He was the biggest Yeppeudian they had seen so far. He had at least a head on Ja-Berk. The new arrival was powder blue, hair, skin, and eyes. The soft color did nothing to lessen the imposing man's presence. His arms were the size of both Lance's legs put together, covered in black leather and knives. A lot of knives. Lance suspected there were many more, hidden where they couldn't be seen.

In front of the huge blue man was Dam-Saeg. She had her cane in hand, and her goggles were over her eyes, a small smirk lifted her wrinkled lips. To Saeg's right, was the smallest Yeppeudian that Lance had encountered so far, and it was the prettiest child he had ever seen. Their gender was not discernible, but they had the face of a cherub. Their skin was the same powder blue as the man's, and their eyes were a shade lighter, edging on white. But their hair was a deep chestnut, the contrast was striking.

"Goodmorning," Saeg greeted. She was obviously in a chipper mood. "I have your assignments for you today," she announced.

Ooo