**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)


The base rumbled beneath their feet each time the Teq Zaiforge cannon was charged and fired. Matt worked like a madman, locating fleet after fleet of Galra forces and inputting their exact coordinates into the targeting system for Mari to take down. As soon as a new mark popped up on her screens, she wasted no time thrusting the controls forward and unleashing hell on their unsuspecting enemy.

"Quiznak! The communications satellite is back online," Coran alerted them from the Castle. "The distress calls are going through."

"It doesn't matter, Coran. They're too late," Shiro said. "We're just about to secure Naxzela."

"Heck yeah it doesn't matter," Mari murmured to herself as she released another shot. The beam sliced a command ship in half just as one from Senfama overlapped it, hitting nothing but empty space.

"I had that one," Keith huffed over the comms and she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry! You've gotta work quicker than that," she replied much too cheerfully for someone who was in the middle of a battle, and she moved on to the next fleet.

"You two a friggin scary," Matt muttered under his breath, but he made no complaints about their ruthless teamwork. "Sector Xarnium O Four is clear."

"We've almost taken the entire area!" Coran reported. "It appears that all the planets we've engaged have been pacified, if not totally liberated." A blaring alarm interrupted his report and he inhaled sharply. "Wait, there's another Galra battle cruiser approaching Naxzela."

Mari obliterated another fleet. "Matt, can you get me a line on it?"

"On it!" he nodded, his fingers flying. Suddenly, the cannon's systems powered down and his keyboard display disappeared along with Mari's joysticks. The red emergency lights flashed in the room before shutting off completely. "Er, not on it. Zaiforge cannon Senfama, are you still operational?"

Keith grunted in frustration. "Negative."

"That incoming battle cruiser must've shut them down remotely," Coran concluded.

"Sorry, Shiro. That's it for artillery support," Keith begrudgingly admitted to their leader. "What should we do about that cruiser?"

"That cruiser's gonna be too late. Naxzela is almost secure," the Black Paladin assured them. "We just need to take out the last of the heavy artillery."

Mari turned to Matt, her empty hands falling to her sides. "What do we do now, chief?"

He responded with an uncertain shrug. "Can we provide more backup?"

"Coran, are there any targets that need support?" Keith asked.

"I haven't heard of anyone needing help," Coran replied. "That Galra fleet heading towards Naxzela stopped."

"Stopped?" Keith asked, a frown of confusion in his voice.

"Yes. Quite a distance away, too."

"Perhaps the Galra decided it's too well fortified to attack," Kolivan piped up.

"Victory or death is the Galra way…They never stop attacking." There was a short pause on Keith's end before he gasped. "Voltron! Shiro, can you hear me? Shiro!"

There was no response. Matt's eyes widened and Mari's heart dropped into her stomach at the unnerving silence.

"Something's wrong," Keith realized, sounding frantic as he vocalized what they were all thinking.

"Paladins? Allura? What's happened?" Coran called out to them, testing his own comms. "It must be the magnetic distortion from Naxzela."

"I'm gonna check it out," Keith decided. "Matt, Mari, I'm gonna need your help."

"We can fly to Naxzela to check on them," Matt suggested, but Keith quickly shot down the idea.

"No. I can't explain why, but I know we need to attack that fleet," he insisted. "If it's doing something to Voltron, we have to take it out."

Mari and Matt exchanged a knowing look and nodded, their minds already made up. "We're with you," Matt said, already gesturing to Olia that they had to leave.

"Ready to follow you, team leader," Mari affirmed with a small smirk, and Keith let out the tiniest chuckle.

"Copy that. Good to have you along."

"I'm coming too!" Coran chimed in. "It might take me awhile. I'm on the other side of the galaxy and I don't have enough of Allura's energy left to work the teludav."

"No. Stay in position," Keith instructed. "We might need you back there."

Abandoning the central control room of the cannon, the Teq team returned to the hangar and boarded their ships. They took off towards their new coordinates, leaving the disabled Zaiforge cannon and its restrained crew behind. As they drew nearer to their destination, a single Galra fighter joined their ranks. It didn't fire at them, but that didn't stop the rebels from maintaining caution.

"Keith, is that you?" Matt asked, preventing any of his group from accidentally friendly firing.

"It's me," he confirmed, and Mari's grip loosened on her triggers.

"Keith, can you hear me?" Shiro's voice suddenly rang out over their comms.

"Shiro! Where are you?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Not if we don't stop Zarkon's witch. She must be aboard that battle cruiser."

"I'm way ahead of you," Keith assured him. "And I brought some backup."

"Rebel squad is en route too!" Olia exclaimed.

"It's good to have Voltron back in the fight," Matt said with a slight sigh of relief.

Mari's heart skipped a beat inside her chest. Her anger and fear flared and she grit her teeth together in a desperate attempt to maintain calm. "Haggar…It's always Haggar," she growled.

"Keep your head on," Shiro urged her. "Don't lose focus. She hasn't won this yet."

And she wouldn't. After all the pain she'd caused them, Mari wouldn't let her bring victory to Zarkon's Empire.

"She won't," she said, her determination set. Her eyes locked onto the enemy ship as it came into view and their band of rebels streamed closer towards it.

"Coran you need to get as far away from Naxzela as you can, immediately," Shiro continued to relay orders to their core team members. "Pick up any members of the coalition who are nearby, but go!"

"Wh-What's happening?" Coran stammered, alarmed by Voltron's sudden return to their comm channel.

"Naxzela is a bomb and it's going to go off," Allura rushed to inform him.

Coran gasped. "But what about you?"

"We'll stop it if we can, but we need you to do this!" Allura pressed, and there was a hesitant pause on his end.

"Yes, princess," he finally said, helpless and worried and unable to do anything but to follow her command.

As the rebels approached the battleship, it didn't look like a regular Galra cruiser. A long and arrowhead-shaped piece of machinery had been attached to the front, and it was glowing with strange purple markings. It reminded Mari of the technology she and Allura had seen in their fight against the Druids in the Komar.

"What the ruggle is that?" Olia asked, dread creeping at the edges of her question.

"Looks like some sort of weapon attachment," Matt guessed.

"That's what's affecting Naxzela," Mari realized. "Haggar's controlling it!"

"You heard the lady! Let's take out that attachment!" Matt exclaimed, and their ships surged forward just as the cruiser's cannons began to fire at them.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Olia shouted and their formation split just as beams of deadly energy slipped past them.

They circled around the cruiser, dodging enemy fire whilst peppering it with their own blasts. Minute explosions erupted along the exterior, but the hard shell of the cruiser barely suffered any damage from the rebel guns. They aimed for Haggar's weapon, only for their attacks to be repelled but another particle barrier that protected it from all sides.

"We're never gonna crack that thing on our own!" Mari huffed, pulling the Kintsugi back to avoid another cannon blast.

Keith growled in anxious vexation. His ship spun and fired uselessly at the cruiser. "Group up and follow my lead!" he directed their squad. "We've gotta form up to break through that shield!"

His words were swallowed by a surprised grunt as a cannon shot abruptly clipped the left side of his ship. He hovered there for a stunned moment, the wing sparking dangerously.

Mari zipped the Kintsugi around, lining up next to him with the other rebels. "You okay?" she asked, her heart racing as she awaited an answer.

"I'm fine!" he said, almost snapping back at her. His ship righted itself and began to bombard the shield with shots on a single spot. "Everyone, fire here! It might be enough pressure to break it!"

The Kintsugi's targeting system locked on point and began to shoot. The other ships followed suit, unyieldingly pounding the shield with heavy fire. Blazing explosions danced across the surface of the particle barrier, but no matter how many rebel blasts hit it at one condensed point, it refused to cave.

"Our guns aren't strong enough, even together," Matt concluded, exasperated and desperate. "We'll never penetrate it!"

Time was rapidly ticking away. Naxzela would blow at any moment. There was a tense moment of silence from their leader as he grasped for a solution. Finally, a single sentence was uttered, hollow and low. "Maybe not with our weapons…"

Before anyone could question what he meant, Keith's ship thrust forward, breaking away from their formation.

"Wait, Keith! What are you doing?" Matt cried. The Galra fighter zoomed towards the shield at top speed, showing no sign of hitting the brakes or pulling away. "Keith, no!" Matt's voice cracked with terror as he registered exactly what his intentions were.

Kamikaze. The word instantly popped into Mari's head, making her breath catch in her throat. It was a word her grandpa had taught her and Shiro long ago, feeding their knowledge as aspiring pilots on the history of aerial combat. It was a tactic used by Japanese pilots during the Second World War where they crashed their ships into enemy targets. It was suicide bombing. A desperate last ditch effort. A "wasteful and cowardly tactic" as their grandfather had grimly put it. And now Keith was going to die to it.

"Stop! Keith, we'll find another way!" she pleaded, her own voice shaking with a mixture of fury and fear. "Stop, please!"

The comms crackled but Keith didn't respond. He was a man on a mission that would end in his death, and he refused to let anyone stop him. Panic gripped Mari's heart. She couldn't do anything. Her vision tunneled and the chaos around them seemed to slow as she watched the fighter move closer and closer to the shield. Tears stung her eyes as she waited for the dreadful impact, for the flaming explosion of the ship, for the light of her ring to go out as his life was snuffed.

Suddenly, a beam of energy shot down from above, piercing right through the particle barrier and Haggar's weapon. In a great, scorching hot burst, the attachment blew to pieces, forcing Keith to pull up out of the way. The other rebel ships quickly scrambled for cover, drawing back to avoid getting burnt.

"What was that?" Matt asked, flabbergasted, as the smoke and fire began to fade. A new ship hovered near their ranks, refusing to attack, but still maintaining a safe distance between them. It looked almost exactly like the same craft that had attacked the Castle when Lotor had been trying to steal the teludav.

Mari almost choked on her disbelief as the realization dawned on her. "That's…That's Lotor!"

"What?" Matt exclaimed, just as incredulous.

"Naxzela is returning to normal!" Coran's cheerful voice suddenly piped up over the comms. "You did it!"

There was a sigh of relief on Voltron's end. "Good work, Keith," Shiro praised, prompting Mari's to scan the area for his fighter. It was still intact. The light of her ring hadn't died out.

"…It wasn't me," Keith said, sounding thin and shaken. "It was Lotor. The cannon on his ship was the only thing powerful enough to take down that shield."

A heavy and uneasy silence filled the comms. Their enemy had saved them. All of them, Voltron included. No one knew what to say to this turn of events. The Galra cruiser made its escape, jumping to light speed and disappearing from their sights. Not a single rebel ship made a move to go after it as they stared down Lotor's ship.

"Attention Paladins of Voltron and rebel fighters." A smooth and svelte voice took over the comms. It held an air of wry and even regality as it addressed them. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but…I think it is time we had a discussion."


Drained from such a stressful battle but still requiring answers, the rebel ships and the paladins rendezvoused on the newly acquired Naxzela. Coran landed the Castle of Lions and everyone met in the pod hangar, their princely prisoner and his comet ship in tow.

As soon as he had disembarked and his feet had touched the ground, every paladin and rebel blaster had its sights set on Lotor. He stared dully at them all, unimpressed and unthreatened by their suspicious glares. Nevertheless, he slowly raised his hands in surrender.

"Well, aren't you all a warm welcoming party," he noted dryly, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

Seeing him and hearing him speak for the first time, he wasn't at all what Mari had envisioned him to be like. Tall and graceful with light purple-skin, Lotor had long and flowing white hair and intelligent eyes. Unlike his father and many of the Galra commanders, he didn't exactly seem like a ruthless and spoiled tyrant. But looks could be deceiving, and her finger never left the trigger as she watched him carefully.

Allura's brilliant eyes blazed with anger and distrust as she glowered at him. "Coran, take him down to the dungeons," she ordered, her tone sharp and unwavering. "We will question him later."

"Yes, princess!" Coran agreed, all business as he gestured for Matt and Olia to follow him. Holding the Galra prince at gunpoint, they forced him to follow the Altean advisor out of the hangar.

When they were gone, everyone lowered their weapons. "We have dungeons?" Lance blurted, breaking the tension.

Hunk nervously glanced at him and then at the princess. "We aren't, like, gonna torture him, are we?" he asked. "I mean, I hate to admit it, but he did save all of us…"

"He must have some ulterior motive," Allura insisted, her frown deepening. "We've been chasing him for phoebs. And then all of a sudden, he shows up to help his enemy? I don't trust it."

The others shifted uneasily in silent agreement with her. Taking a deep breath, Shiro moved next to her to reassure her. "Lotor's not going anywhere anytime soon. We'll figure it out." Then turning to the others he said, "It's been a long and hard battle. We've lost great fighters today, but their sacrifices have not been in vain. We've emerged triumphant, and the Voltron Coalition has taken a major step in bringing down Zarkon's Empire for good. But for now, everyone needs to rest. You're welcome to stay at the Castle to recover and report back to your commanding officers."

The rebels practically sagged in relief, their exhaustion catching up to them. They gratefully took Shiro up on his offer as he led them out of the hangar to contact their groups, leaving Mari alone with the remaining paladins and Keith. She stood there rigidly, feeling empty and abandoned as she realized none of Bozi's crewmates had survived. She was the only one left from the Vurelle team that had been assigned to follow Matt and Olia.

"Damn it," she whispered. Her eyes stung and she crouched on the floor before her knees gave out. She glared at the cool metal beneath her feet, her cheeks heating up as her vision blurred with fresh tears. She let out a shaky breath, her chest hot with anger as Bozi's screams echoed in her head. "Damn it all!"

Hunk was on his knees next to her in an instant, tenderly wrapping her in a warm embrace. He said no words as she quietly sobbed. He was just there for her, a steady reminder that she wasn't alone. Lance, Pidge, and Allura hesitated before carefully joining him.

"It's okay," Lance murmured, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "You'll be okay."

Mari shook her head, refusing to look at him. "It's not okay," she croaked. "It's not, it's not…they all died right in front of me. And I couldn't – I couldn't do anything."

Pidge leaned her head against the older girl's shoulder, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Mari."

"They will never be forgotten," Allura said. Her anger from before had all but disappeared, her voice unbelievably gentle and full of understanding. "I promise you, their sacrifice will not be taken for granted."

Mari lifted her gaze to the princess before it landed on the only person in the room who had chosen not to participate in their group embrace. Standing several feet away, downcast and awkward, was Keith, staring at her with so much guilt and unsureness in his eyes. Seeing it sparked a fresh wave of rage inside her and her jaw set as she squirmed in Hunk's hold.

"You…Fuck you!" she spat, making Keith stiffen. Hunk released her and she pushed herself to her feet so the Blade was no longer looking down at her. "Don't give me that pitiful look when you were willingly planning to join them!"

"What?" Lance frowned, and he and the others scrambled to stand as well.

Panic flashed across Keith's eyes and his expression became guarded as he glared at Mari, warning her not to say anything. But she didn't care. She was livid. There was no way she was going to let him slip out of this one.

"He was going to dive bomb right into the cruiser's shield," she said, returning his look with a scowl of her own. "If Lotor hadn't showed up, he'd be dead."

"What?" Lance repeated, harsher this time, and Keith grimaced.

"…Our blasters were too weak," he muttered, unable to face any of them now. "It was the only way to stop Haggar…"

Before anyone could blink, Lance had closed the distance between himself and their former leader. "Are you an idiot?" he snapped, startling everyone when he grabbed Keith by the collar of his suit to force him to look at him. "After all we've been through, you were gonna end things just like that?"

None of them had seen Lance get this angry before. His brow was furrowed and his teeth gnashed together. His eyes were lit with fury and pain and disbelief, and for a moment, it surprised even Keith.

"I had to do something!" he finally snapped back, his own irritation igniting. "I was trying to help!"

He grabbed Lance's wrists and tried to pull him off, but the Red Paladin's hold on him remained firm. "No, you were being an idiot! A reckless, mulleted, idiot!" Lance's eyes were pooling with tears. His lower lip quivered as he said, "Throwing your life away is not helping. Living for us, for yourself, is!"

Keith stared at him, eyes wide and shocked into silence as his rival cried for him. Lance sniffled and released him, frustratedly brushing the tears from his cheeks.

"Quiznak! And now you've got me crying for you!" he groaned.

Hunk wasted not a second more as he gathered both Lance and Keith into a big bear hug, eliciting an OOF from the two of them. Pidge, Allura, and Mari joined them, tentatively squeezing their former leader.

"Dang it, Keith…a fighter ship versus a particle barrier?" Pidge said, her voice thin and quivering. "I don't even think that would've taken it down."

"Man…don't — don't do that!" Hunk bawled, making the whole group tremble. "I don't know what we'd do without you!"

"The Blade of Marmora can go on without you, Keith, but we…we cannot," Allura chimed in, her soft tone only a little scolding. "I meant it when I first told you that, and I still mean it now."

"You're lucky I don't smack you. …You promised me you wouldn't die," Mari muttered, her voice thick with emotion. She held up her ring to him, reminding him of all it meant. "Don't you dare think about breaking it again."

Keith stared at it and then at her, regret cracking his hardened expression. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as he mulled over their words and the weight they carried. "…I'm sorry, everyone," he finally apologized, sounding small but honest. "Really."

"Just promise you won't try to do it again," Lance ordered, and Keith sighed.

"I won't try to do it again…I promise," he relented.

And that was good enough for them.


Like kids at a summer camp, the paladins, Mari, and Keith spent the next hour or so sitting in a circle on the hangar floor, exchanging stories of the adventures they'd had in the last several weeks that they were separated. There wasn't much Keith could share — most of his missions were top secret, even to Voltron. Besides, the infiltration missions Kolivan had been planning to track Lotor had been put on hold when Zarkon returned and dubbed him a criminal. And now that Lotor was in Voltron's possession, it was unknown whether or not they even needed to conduct them.

Mari's stories weren't too eventful either. Besides training and helping with base construction, she hadn't done much adventuring yet. In the end, it was mostly Lance who shared stories about their trips across the coalition planets as they performed in the Voltron shows.

"That show was garbage and I'm glad it's done and over with," Pidge said matter-of-fact, and Allura, Mari, and Hunk nodded in agreement.

"What? It was amazing!" Lance pouted. "I, for one, enjoyed playing Lover Boy Lance."

"We know," the other paladins chorused.

Keith raised an eyebrow at them, doubtful if not amused. "You guys really took the shows to a theater level?"

"Yeah. Blame Coran and his brain worm for that," Pidge said and Lance shivered in discomfort. "Why? You didn't see any of it?"

Keith shook his head and Hunk let out a relieved sigh. "Good. It was degrading." He slouched forward, and Allura patted him consolingly on the back.

"Watching it gave me second-hand embarrassment," Mari groaned. "Why was my character so lame?"

"I don't know. But you and Allura are being shipped together now," Pidge said, a tiny smile gracing her lips as she tried to stifle her giggles.

A light blush rose to the princess's cheeks as she glanced at Mari. "Pidge has, um, recently informed me that this 'shipping' is when fans, er…romantically pair two characters," she explained rather awkwardly.

Mari dragged a tired hand down her face. "I know what shipping is, Allura."

"Oh. Yes, of course." The princess fumbled for her next words. "I just wanted you to know that while you are a very kind and lovely person, I cherish our friendship the way it is now."

"I know, Allura. And I do too. We're just friends," Mari promised her, and she visibly slumped with relief. "You don't always have to listen to what the fans say. It's your life."

"I agree," Pidge chimed in. Her eyes glinted with mischief as she grinned. "You should see some of the fanart we got though. Boy, some of it needs to be rated eighteen plus."

Allura covered her face in shame and Mari and Keith's faces scrunched up in horror. The real question was why the youngest paladin was still holding onto said artwork.

"You guys got fanart?" Hunk asked instead, unaware of their mortification.

"Ah no, no, no, no, Pidge!" Lance quickly intervened. "They don't technically ship Mari and Allura. The princess has nothing to do with this ship, actually. No, no, no, the fans are actually shipping Mari with our Lone Wolf Ke — MMPH!"

Faster than lightning, Mari had slapped a hand over his mouth. "Try to finish that sentence and I cut your tongue out," she warned darkly, and Lance couldn't help but laugh nervously beneath her fingers.

"Oh man, I've gotta show you the recordings sometime," he giggled, wiggling free and scooting closer to Keith. "It's television gold, I promise. Since you weren't here, Coran had Allura play yo — AUGH!"

Using all her might, Pidge had shoved him over, sending him sprawling on his back. "The artists drew Allura's likeness, so it still counts as Marllura fanart. Or Alluri," she said, casually pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

Allura pressed her lips into a thin line of disapproval before turning to Mari. "How are Ellosh and her people?" she inquired, hurrying to change the subject before anyone could say any more about Mari x Allura. "The arena's been fully restored, right?"

Mari nodded, appreciative of the shift in conversation. "Everyone's doing great. They're planning on having their mating rituals pretty soon," she explained. "Ellosh wanted to restart the tradition after the base was completed, so I guess I'll have that to expect soon."

"Oh, it must be so romantic," Allura sighed dreamily. "I'm sure she's excited."

Pidge's face contorted in disgust, now on the receiving end of the discomfort. "Ugh, a bunch of lizard people rolling around the sand and having sex? Gross."

"What? No!" Lance sprung off the floor in adamant disagreement. "It's the circle of life, a revered consummation! Babies are cute and beautiful!"

"More like whiny and stinky brats," Pidge grumbled and he made an offended sound in the back of his throat.

"How could you say that? All babies are precious," he cooed, making her cringe. "When I get married, I'm gonna have as many as I can!"

"Easy for you to say when you're not the one who's gonna be carrying them for nine months," Mari replied flatly, and he glowered at her.

"I actually like the sound of having a big family," Allura admitted. "I never had siblings. Once this war is over, I think it would be nice to have so many children running around the Castle."

'Nice' wasn't the word Mari would use in such a situation. She couldn't imagine so many wild youths scurrying about in a crazed blur. "More than two and they outnumber you," her mother had always told their neighbors, and for once Mari agreed with her.

"I think I'd go nuts having that many kids," she noted, leaning back on her hands and Lance whirled on her.

"Lemme guess, you're a baby-hater too?" he drawled and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't hate babies. But can you seriously see me being a mom?" she laughed humorlessly. "I'd rather not mess that kid up for life, thank you very much. I'll stick to babysitting."

"I can see it, actually," Lance argued, stubbornly vying for the last word. "You'd be a better parent than Keith, probably."

Keith scowled, but couldn't dispute him. "She'd be better than you, too, probably," he retorted.

"Debatable, actually," Mari admitted and he shrugged.

"Well, I think we can all agree that the best parent out of all of us would be Hunk," Pidge said, patting the Yellow Paladin's knee. "He's funny, a great chef, smart, patient, and he gives the best hugs."

"Absolutely," Allura smiled.

"No doubt about that," Keith said.

"Duh," Mari nodded.

"Hunk would be the perfect dad!" Lance exclaimed.

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck and granted them a bashful beam. "Aww, thanks you guys."

A comfortable silence settled over them. For the first time in a long while, they'd had a fun and normal discussion, one that wasn't related to battle strategies, conspiring enemies, and the almighty strength and power of Voltron. It felt like they were normal teenagers again, chatting about normal things like ships and fanart and shows and the future they hoped to have.

But they weren't normal. They'd just gotten done with a critical battle that had almost killed all of them and they were worn out. It would be time to go back to work soon. They couldn't stay in their peaceful bubble forever. Mari hated to end the camaraderie, but Scarlett, Ellosh, and the others were waiting for her, unsure if she was dead or alive or if Voltron had been victorious.

"I should probably head back to Vurelle now," she said, disrupting the calm and quiet atmosphere of the hangar. She stood and brushed off her butt, numb from having sat on the cold floor for so long.

"What? You're leaving already?" Hunk frowned as he and the others stood.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a night to rest?" Allura asked, the sadness in her eyes evident as she looked at the human girl.

Mari smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, but…I need to get back and make a report to Te-freya," she gently turned the princess down. "Gotta see how her team did on the ground."

"I should be getting back to Kolivan and the Blades too," Keith piped up, quickly taking the opportunity to dismiss himself. "There's still a lot of cleanup to be done."

"Keith…" Allura said, her brow knitting together, but she couldn't find the words to convince him to stay a little longer.

"Tell Shiro and Matt I said bye," he said, curt and formal. "I'll see you guys later."

He turned to head towards his Galra fighter, and Mari gave her old teammates one last small wave. "If you get Lotor to talk, let me know if he says anything useful," she said before heading for the Kintsugi.

She climbed into the cockpit and started her ship's engines. The Galra ship across from her glowed to life, but made no move to leave the hangar.

"Ladies first," Keith prompted over the comms, a smirk in his voice.

Mari flexed her fingers around her controls, her ring glowing steadily in the dim light of her ship. A wry smile pulled at the corners of her lips. "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you."

Keith made a tsking sound that was neither irritated or amused and she swallowed the urge to laugh. He took off out the hangar doors and the Kintsugi followed, both crafts splitting apart as they headed in different directions. With heavy but determined hearts, the paladins watched and waved as their friends disappeared into the vastness of space.

When they were well out of sight, Pidge grinned. "I totally ship it," she said and the others groaned and rolled their eyes.


**Check out my tumblr to see some cool art: pufftheninja