"I'm gonna go ahead and follow Allura. Just to be safe rather than sorry. Coran, are you coming?"

"Of course," he replies, and they leave together. Pidge and Hunk are next--with Hunk grabbing another bowl of food goo for the road, and Pidge stating she needed check out an upgrade in her lion--and that left Keith, and Lance, alone.

"I thought you were good with kids," Keith says, looking unimpressed. Lance scowls.

"I am good with kids! I was the one who caught her!"

"Shebityou, and she was shooting you death glares the entire time."

Lance scoffs. "Excuse me? She was sendingyoudeath glares the entire time. Or maybe it was both of us. Whatever, just becauseonekid is a brat doesn't mean I'm bad with kids."

Keith rolls his eyes and heads for the door, frowning when he notices Lance following him.

"Where are you going?"

"To the training deck, where I know you're headed." he answers simply. Keith lets a small smirk play onto his lips as he scoffs.

"Fine."

By now, Lance had gotten pretty good at hand-to-hand against Keith. Keith almost always still won, but it was a lot closer now-- and a lot more intense, by the end.

At this point, Lance can't even remember why he started doing this at all. He wasn't exactly one for exerting extra effort when it wasn't required, but it probably started to try and keep up with Keith. For, you know. Their rivalry.

Yeah. "Rivalry".

(Lance can come to terms with feelings. Sometimes. It mighttakeawhile, but itcanhappen.)

Keith takes advantage of Lance's brief space-out as he gets caught up in his own thoughts, sweeps his feet out from under him and pins him to the ground. If this were a real fight, and Keith had his knife? Lance would bedead.

(That probably shouldn't be ashotas it is.)

Keith doesn't get up right away, on top of Lance and catching his breath and when their eyes meet, for a moment, Lance almost makes some kind of stupid joke just to getsomethingout there. The atmosphere was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Fortunately, before Lance can get out anything idiotic, Allura's voice comes over the Castle intercoms and breaks the silence.

"Paladins, please reconvene immediately."

Lance grins up at Keith, cocky smugness back. "You only won because I'm handicapped at the moment." he weakly lifts up the arm where he was bitten earlier, and Keith rolls his eyes as he stands back up.

"Get over it. The kid didn't even leave a teeth mark."

"Hey, I'll have you know that it still hurt! Jeez, dude," Lance climbs to his own feet and sends a wounded look toward Keith. Keith ignores him. "Man. I'm all gross and sweaty. Think Allura would be mad if I took a shower first--"

"No," Keith snaps, reaching over and tugging at Lance's shirt. "I am not letting this meeting get postponed just because you don't smell enough like Old Spice."

Dramatically, Lance sighs and hangs his head.

"Fine."

When they all meet back up, Allura looks…

Conflicted.

Specifically, despite the way her gaze follows Lance and Keith as they walk in together, she all-out avoids looking at them when she begins speaking.

"We might have a slight problem," she starts out, and Lance thinks Shiro might be the only one who isn't groaning internally. Theyalwaysseem to have a problem. "This situation is a bit more complicated than we initially realized."

Lance raises an eyebrow, but Pidge is the one to question that. "Define complicated."

Allura takes no more time beating around the bush, finally settling her gaze on where Keith and Lance stood next to each other. "Well, I received a transmission. Keith and Lance--from the future, that is--would like to have their daughter back."

Lance chokes on his own spit. He wheezes, thumping a fist against chest as all of the other paladins turn to face him--them, really--and, to his credit, Keith doesn't seem to react at all.

Man, what Lance would give to get inside that guy's head sometimes.

"Ex-cuse me?" Lance says, catching his breath. His eyes dart to the little girl's figure next to Allura, and she pointedly ignores his gaze, looking down at her shoes instead.

His…Daughter?

"She's from thefuture?" Pidge asks, voice both incredulous and curious. "Is that even possible?"

"It's complicated," Allura hurries out, before any more questions can be thrown at her, "I thought the technology was lost for good on Altea, but perhaps in the future we found some way to recover it. They figured out a way to contact me by transmitting a video message, but I'm afraid it's one-way only."

She moves slightly to the side, and taps a button on the ship's control panel. A blown-up image of Lance's face appears--although older. It's hard to put an exact age, but he'd probably guess 30 or so.

(Lance would probably be impressed with how well he's aged, if he wasn't already such a strange mixture of utterly confused and vaguely flustered.)

The playback starts.

"Hey," the Lance, on the screen,future Lance, begins. "So, Pidge says we can't transfer a whole lot of data this way--some technical nerd junk--"

"Hey!" a voice offscreen interjects. Future-Lance ignores it and continues,

"-- But hopefully this goes to the right place. Uh, Allura." he pauses awkwardly. "If you're getting this, that's good! I'm sure you're looking very youthful." Lance winks. "Not that you don't look youthful now. It's a joke. Anyway, so I think--Ihope, you have my daughter somewhere in the Castle of Lions. Aboutyea-high, dark hair, broody pouty face. She learned that from her other dad, big surprise there."

He's using a lot of hand-gestures to exemplify his points, and he seems cheerful enough, but his voice still sounds slightly strained. It's such a bizarre experience, watching his future-self talk, that Lance can't quite wrap his head around it.

"You'll know her if you see her. Probably the only kid around for miles--"

He's interrupted again, but this time Keith's face comes into the frame. And man, future Keith would be a sight for sore eyes if he didn't look so damn exhausted. Dark bags aside, Lance thinks his hair might even be a little bit longer than it is now--but it's tied back, so hard to tell.

"Lance, you're rambling." Future Keith says, scooting Lance over so he can be more in-frame. Despite the way he looks like he hasn't slept in days, there's no snap behind the words. Just exhaustion. "Allura. Pidge and Hunk got together a list and some instructions, soyourPidge and Hunk can recreate the device that Corrinne used to get there. If you follow them, you should be able to use it to get her back to this date." there's a pause for a moment. "Please."

He sounds so desperate, there's almost a crack in his voice. Lance has the urge to look away, but can't seem to tear his eyes from the screen.

"Pidge says we're running out of time, but Cora," Future Lance speaks up again, "If you see this, we love you! And we miss you, and--"

"Be good." Keith cuts in. "We'll see you again soon."

And for the first time since he's been on the screen, future Keith smiles. "Love you, Cora."

The transmission ends.

No one says anything for what Lance feels is an entire eternity. Corrinne sniffles, and shuffles behind Allura's dress to hide it. Lance sneaks a look at Keith, because he's been weirdly quiet this entire time--and oh.

He was red. Really red, like the color of his jacket or his lion, and chewing on his lip like he always does. He's so red it almost makesLancestart to flush.

Shiro is the first to break the silence.

"Did the instructions come through?" he asks, and Lance is glad that Shiro is the voice of all reason because he really, really doesn't have any words himself right now. Allura nods.

"Thankfully, yes. Though looking at it--it looks very complex. This might take a while, not to even mention that some of these components needed to make it may take us several Earth-weeks to obtain."

"I bet we can do it," Pidge says, tapping Hunk on the back. "I mean, then both KeithandLance will owe me big-time. Even if it's just future me, and that's totally worth it."

She sends them both a teasing grin, but neither of them are in the mood. Hunk nods, dragging the attention back to he and Pidge.

"I just don't ever want to see Keith like that again," Hunk replies. "Never thought I'd be building a time-machine to take Keith and Lance's daughter into the future, though..."

"Well, I'd have bet you'd never thought you'd be on a flying ship with giant robotic lions, either!" Coran interjects. Hunk nods again, thoughtfully this time.

"I mean. You aren't wrong there."

Allura clears her throat.

"Anyway. If you two will take a look at the instructions, I can set our destination for the nearest planet that has some of the items on the list." she nods toward Hunk and Pidge, before turning her attention back to Corrinne. "We'll get you home soon, okay?"

Corrinne nods, and Lance thinks he sees her wipe at her eyes like she's hiding tears. His heart hurts a little, for her--missing home is something he can relate to--but before he can think any further on it a hand pats his shoulder.

"Well, congrats, you two!" Coran says, cheerfully, and Lance feels his face go red as he realizes Coran's other hand is on Keith's shoulder. They're still standing next to each other. "Isn't it neat to know what the future has in store?"

Not really, is all Lance can think as he can't even bring himself to look at Keith.I thinksomethings should be left as a surprise.

Corrinne sleeps with Allura in her room that night. She really onlytalksto Allura, besides to answer direct questions--and even then, the little girl usually just nods or shakes her head. She isn't very talkative. Lance doesn't know whether it's from her being shy, or just from so much happening in one day.

Despite the fact that this is possibly the weirdest situation he's ever been in, and probably no one else will ever experience, Lance finds himself sort of… Fascinated by her. He'd probably try and talk to her, if she didn't constantly act like she was totally freaked out just by thepresenceof either Keith or Lance. Allura tries to get her to come out of her bedroom for dinner, but apparently, she just shakes her head.

"I think she's a bit shaken up," Allura explains, over dinner, as she sets aside a bowl of goo for Corrinne. "She went through a lot today, but I'm sure she'll open up more tomorrow."

Besides that, their dinner is eaten mostly in quiet. Without Lance to be noisy, the tension is thick and everyone else seems deep in thought. (If you had told Lance a week ago that having a kid on board the ship would have made thingsquieter, he would have never believed you.)

A couple of times, Lance thinks he sees Keith look over at him--but everytime he looks up, Keith's gaze is elsewhere.

Finally, Keith finishes and excuses himself early, and Lance heads to bed.

Neither of them talk about it.

Pidge always stays up late--and, not that she would tell anyone this (especially not Shiro) but sometimes doesn't even sleep at all. It's not a big deal.

Some people need more sleep, some people need less, and some people are just completely screwed up. Pidge falls in that last category. Hey,it happens.

The screen of her computer lights up her face in the dark as she looks over the instructions for the device to send the kid back home. Some of it makes sense, some of it seems totally foreign, but she'd figure it out. She always did.

Pidge always stays up late--and, not that she would tell anyone this (especially not Shiro) but sometimes doesn't even sleep at all. It's not a big deal.

Some people need more sleep, some people need less, and some people are just completely screwed up. Pidge falls in that last category. Hey,it happens.

The screen of her computer lights up her face in the dark as she looks over the instructions for the device to send the kid back home. Some of it makes sense, some of it seems totally foreign, but she'd figure it out. She always did.

Not to mention, she at least has Hunk to bounce ideas off of.

Pidge doesn't look up from her screen until she hears a fainttap-tap, the unmistakable sound of someone who isn't wearing shoes approaching. She looks up, half expecting to see Lance--he walks around sometimes at night, it wouldn't bethatunusual--but instead almost has a heart attack at the child that's peering at her from the darkness.

"Holyshit," she starts, grasping at her chest. It's like a scene from the fuckingShining. Belatedly, she realizes maybe she shouldn't cuss around the little girl. Oh well, too late now.

Corrinne doesn't get any closer, or walk away. She just shifts her weight from one leg to the other, bouncing around like she's nervous. Horror-movie vibe officially ruined.

"Uh," Pidge starts, because she should probably say something, at least. "Aren't you supposed to be in Allura's room? Asleep?"

She stops fidgeting so much when she hears Pidge's voice, and gives a little nod.

Pidge stares at her for a few more seconds, before shrugging and turning back to her computer. What was shesupposedto do, yell at her to go away? She didn't know this kid from adam. … But. This kid probably knows her, Pidge realizes. And yeah, maybe she's not really the best person with children, but… She isn'theartless.

Corrinne is still standing there, hands clasped in front of the little pink nightgown that Pidge can only guess Allura gave her. Where the hell the princess got it, she doesn't know, but that's a detail that can wait for later.

"... You can come sit down, if you want."

Pidge doesn't know if she was waiting for the invitation, but Corrinne scurries over and sits, cross legged on the floor, just far enough away from Pidge that they aren't touching, but close enough that she can see the work she's doing. Pidge raises an eyebrow. This can't be interesting to watch, especially not for a six year old.

… Well, it's not like there's much else to do at this time of night. Pidge shrugs it off and continues working.

"... Your hair is short," Corrinne mutters quietly. Pidge turns toward her in surprise, because that's maybe the longest sentence she's uttered since she came aboard.

Also… It's an interesting one.

"How long is it usually?" she asks, because she isn't sure if the kid has a basic grasp on time-travel or not, but she'll assumenotand avoid saying things like "yourPidge". The little girl's gone through enough confusion for one day.

Corrinne gestures toward her own shoulders, tapping them gently, and Pidge hums. It's about where Corrinne's hair falls, too.

Not as long as it was before, but longer than now. Thatispretty interesting.

"Cool," Pidge says, because she doesn't really know what else to say. Corrinne nods, and then they sit in silence again.

Pidge is the one to break the silence, a few minutes later, because she's already lost her focus and-- if Corrinne was deciding to be talkative, she might as well milk it and find out what she can.

"Do you know where you are?" she asks her, because she genuinely doesn't know if the kid has any kind of awareness about the situation at all. Corrinne nods.

"Castle-ship."

Not quite the answer Pidge was looking for, but… Not wrong, either, and it's good to know she at least knows what she'son. Still, though. "That's not what I meant. I mean…" how to word this. "Time wise."

Corrinne's nose scrunches up in confusion for a moment, before a look of realization crosses her face. Pidge watches this with mild amusement-- maybe she doesn't really have any of Keith'sfeatures, (or Lance's either, for that matter,) but there's no way he could deny this kid when the faces she pulls lookjust like him.

"Um, in the past?"

"Hey, good job," Pidge responds, and that gets a little smile out of Corrinne. Okay, so maybe kids weren't so bad after all. Or maybe it's just this one in particular. "How'd you know that?"

The smile falters from her lips, and Pidge immediately feels bad. "Um… Uh, Uncle Hunk built a machine, and I wanted to go back, to, um, when I was on Earth. To get a present for Papa, but um, uh, I messed up and um. I can't go back, and I think I'm gonna be in big trouble."

Her voice trembles a little bit at that last part, lip pouting a little bit. Pidge stares, wide-eyed, because if she starts crying like she did earlier, Pidge might actually die.

"Uh, hey! Hey, don't look so sad! I bet you won't be in trouble at all. I bet that your Dads just… Really miss you."

Corrinne looks up at her with a sniffle, blinking back tears. "Really?"

"I'm sure," Pidge says, even though she has no way of knowing. But shedoesknow current Lance and Keith, and there's no way they could yell at a kid this cute until they cried.

No way.

Suddenly, she's being hugged. Little arms wrap around her beneath her shoulders, and she's so surprised Pidge doesn't even think to hug back. The embrace is gone just as suddenly as it's there, and Corrinne is back on her feet.

"Um, I gotta go back to bed now," she says, rubbing at an eye, and it's hard to tell in the dark but Pidge thinks her face might be a little red.

Ohyeah, definitely Keith's child. Pidge gives a little wave as Corrinne darts back down the hall toward Allura's room.

Lance knows he's gotta bring it up to Keith. He'sgotta, because there's a little girl walking around the castle all guarded and quiet, like someone somehow grabbed Keith's attitude and ported it directly into a smaller body.

But, still. It's… A unique situation. And sometimes,sometimes, it's easier to just avoid the issue. Yeah, Lance knows that's not the right thing to do, but it sure is easy when the issue is avoiding him right back.

(Boththe issues, actually. Keith isn't theonly onewho's watching him carefully, but looking away when he notices and tries to make eye contact.)

After another silent and awkward meal over breakfast, though, Lance knows he can't take it anymore. Actually, it might even be a problem if they try and form Voltron--and Shiro hasn't said anything to him yet, but he knows it's just a matter of time. The only thing that makes the breakfast bearable at all is the fact that Allura and Coran are chatting normally, and he thinks he maybe sees Corrinne smile at Pidge.

(He hasnoidea what he missed there.)

So Lance resolves himself to go talk to Keith. For, you know, the team.

And also, maybe it kind of really sucks to have Keith avoid him like this.

Lance finds him in his room, because Keith is never that hard to find. If he isn't in the training deck, or polishing up his lion, he's in his room. He's like a programmed NPC from a 90s video game.

:p