Oh hey there, it's chapter twelve! I really did want to introduce Hunk this chapter but it just did not happen- but next chapter, for sure, the sunshine boy comes! In this chapter, someone finally gives Keith the hug he very much needs and deserves, Allura doesn't know what a Texas is, and everyone gets to have some cake. Can't plan espionage and theft without cake.

Until next time!

cosmic dust

chapter twelve

code blue

Her mother and Matt didn't part for what felt like ages, but nobody complained.

When they finally did, her mother held out her arms, a warm smile on her face as her eyes fell on her only daughter. She went without being asked, letting herself be enveloped in her mother's embrace.

It was soft, warm- she hadn't realized how much she'd missed it until she'd already left Earth. Closing her eyes, she let herself lean into it, feeling a sense of home that had eluded her till now.

"It's so good to see you, Katie." Her mother told her when they finally parted, still resting a hand on her shoulder. "You look well."

"It's good to see you too, mom." Smiling up at her, Pidge turned on her heel, flashing a grin towards Keith. "You too, Keith!"

Even without the landing beacons, it would have been easy to pinpoint him in the dark- the glowing eyes were a dead giveaway. He blinked in surprise, like he hadn't been expecting to be a part of this family moment.

She half thought he would say no- but instead he made his way towards them, uncertainty etched into his features. The hug caught him off guard- golden eyes going wide. He went stiff under her mother's touch, hands hovering as if he didn't know what to do with them.

"It's good to see you too, Keith." Colleen told him, drawing away from him, the embrace shorter than either of the two before, as if sensing his discomfort. "You've been eating properly, I hope."

"I-" Keith blinked, before shaking it off. "Yeah, just fine."

"Good." Colleen nodded. "You do look like you've got a bit more meat on those bones of yours. Now, I believe the three of you have someone that you need to introduce me to."

Oh right. If she was going to be honest, she had kind of half forgotten about Allura.

Clearing her throat, Pidge stepped back, indicating the Altean princess with a swoop of her hand. "Mom, this is Princess Allura, of planet Altea. Allura, this is mom."

It was a good thing that she had the foresight to program English into Allura's universal translator. She'd actually nearly forgotten about it, and had to scramble to make the adjustments last minute. From the look of it, it seemed to be working just fine.

"Colleen Holt." Colleen introduced herself, extending a hand. "It is an honor to have you here, princess."

"And it is an honor to be here, Colleen." Allura spoke, her tone possessing a certain elegance to it as she took Colleen's hand. That was a princess for you. "Though I do wish that it might be under better circumstances."

Her mother frowned at that, expression turning more grave. "This has to do with that awful empire, doesn't it?"

"Yes, I am afraid so." Allura told her. "I understand your husband was taken by them."

"He was." Releasing her hand, Colleen turned her gaze back towards Pidge. "Why don't you all come inside? There's dinner on the table."

"That would be lovely, thank you." Allura told her, a soft smile on her face. "But are you certain that no one will be able to see the green lion from here? Forgive me, but I am under the impression that your planet does not exactly receive regular contact from other worlds."

"We're the only house out here for miles." Colleen reassured her. "And you'd be right about that. You're my second alien, after Keith."

"Actually mom, Keith's from Texas." Pidge chirped.

"Wait, what!?" Matt sputtered- oh right, she hadn't shared that with him yet. "Keith's from- you're from Texas?"

For his part, all Keith did was shrug. "Y'all never asked."

And now he was making fun of them- that was a relief, actually. After last night, it was good to see that he was back to his normal self.

To her mother's credit, she barely even blinked. "Out of town, huh?"

"Out of town." Keith repeated, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

(Allura, Pidge thought, looked like she was dying to ask what a Texas was, but was fighting the urge, trying to remain diplomatic.)

"Okay, we can talk about Keith being a Southern Belle later," and she was pretty sure the half-alien in question sputtered at that, before outright glowering at her, "-right now, we've got more important things to discuss."

"And dinner to eat." Matt chimed in.

"That too." Pidge agreed.

With that, her mother escorted everyone inside. Though Allura masked it well, she caught her staring out of the corner of her eye, trying to drink in the unfamiliar environment she found herself in.

"Is this entire house made of wood?" Allura questioned, drawing closer to her side. "How quaint."

"Guessing they didn't have that back on Altea." Pidge observed.

"No, nothing of the sort." Allura said, shaking her head.

"Please, make yourselves at home." Colleen said, pulling out a chair. "Princess, for you."

Allura blinked, before flashing a soft smile towards the woman, taking the seat that was offered to her. "Thank you kindly."

"Think nothing of it." Colleen told her, taking a seat herself. Grabbing one across from her mother, Pidge flashed a quick grin towards Keith, who took the one next to her, her brother taking up the seat next to her mother. She had, in fact, brought out the good china- not to mention that she'd polished the silverware till it shone.

This was nice, she thought.

It would have been nicer still if her father were here... but she pushed such thoughts back. She would find him, she would.

"I can't tell you how much I missed your cooking, mom." Matt told her, clearly fighting the urge to just go ahead and dig right in. "Oh man, it smells so good."

"I made all your favorites." Colleen told him. "I thought there was a fifth coming with you all, though?"

"Coran had to stay back with the castle-ship." Pidge told her.

"Oh, I see." Colleen blinked, clearly wondering what a castle-ship was, but not asking. "Did you change the paint job on your ship, Keith? I seem to recall Katie describing it to me as being red."

Gaze flickering towards her mother, Keith shook his head. "Not mine. Pidge's."

"It's a long story." Pidge said. "And part of why we're here."

"We believe that there is a Voltron lion here, on Earth." Allura told her.

"Voltron?" Colleen asked.

"Oh man, mom, it's totally cool." Matt said, beaming. "It's like... okay, so you've got these five robot lions, and then they combine to form a giant robot?"

"Turns out, I'm the green paladin." Pidge supplied.

"I believe this is a story you need to tell me from the beginning." Colleen said.

"Allura?" Pidge asked, glancing over towards her. "You wanna do it?"

"Yes, of course." Inclining her head, Allura turned towards Colleen. "My father built the Voltron lions ten thousand years ago, using the ore from a comet with unusual properties. The paladins of old became known as the defenders of the universe, using the strength of Voltron to protect peace throughout the cosmos."

Her gaze fell, lips curling into a tight frown. "But after Zarkon betrayed my father, the lions were split up, sent across the universe and sealed away so that he could not obtain them. I was put into cryosleep by my father, and only recently did I wake- thanks in no small part to the efforts of your children, I might add."

There was pride in Colleen's features, as her gaze flickered towards her and Matt alike, and Pidge couldn't help but glow a little under it.

Even if they had only been in on it to make a quick buck. But hey, space pirates.

"So one of these lions is here on Earth?" Colleen questioned. "Keith mentioned something about a blue lion."

"That is correct." Allura told her, nodding her head. "The lions choose their own pilots, otherwise known as paladins. Your daughter is the chosen of the green lion, thus making her the green paladin. Keith was likewise chosen by the red lion. As they both make up the arms of Voltron, I believe that destiny may have conspired to draw them together."

Destiny. Honestly, that was the one part of this that Pidge still didn't know what to make of. She'd never been a big believer in things like fate- so the idea that she might have some grand destiny ahead of her?

Wild.

"We think the Garrison might have the blue lion." Matt observed.

There was a spark in her mother's eye then- one that she knew was that of realization, of a connection forged. "Mom?"

"I may be able to help you." Colleen told them. "Ever since Keith mentioned the Garrison the other day, I've been keeping tabs on their communications, and I overheard something that may be of interest to you."

"You hacked the Garrison feeds?" Keith asked, arching a brow.

"Hacked is such a strong word." Colleen said, a soft smile on her face. "I prefer listened in."

Keith let out a snort, folding his arms in front of him. "Now I see where Pidge gets it from."

"What, you lived with us for like, nearly two months, and never realized?" Pidge asked, nudging him with her elbow. "So much for your powers of observation, Keith."

"Now, now, no fighting, you two." Colleen interjected. "I'm assuming it's called the blue lion due to it being blue?"

"That would be correct, yes." Allura stated, nodding her head. "Do you know something?"

"Possibly." Colleen told her. "There's been some encrypted chatter. I haven't cracked the code just yet, but it would seem that the Garrison is working on a secret project."

"A secret project?" Matt asked.

"Code Blue." Colleen supplied. "That's what they're calling it."

"That does sound relevant." Pidge observed.

"So I guess it's safe to assume the Garrison has the blue lion, then." Keith said, faintly clicking his tongue. "Of all the luck."

"Well, we'll just have to get it back from them." Pidge said. "Mom, you saved the recordings, right?"

"Of course." Colleen told her, inclining her head. "We can go over them after dinner, if you wish."

"I suppose negotiation is off the table." Allura remarked.

"Somehow I don't think the Galaxy Garrison is going to be all that hot on a pair of aliens waltzing up and demanding that they hand over a super weapon." Keith pointed out. "Figure they wouldn't be too hot about Matt here showing his face either, when he's supposed to be dead."

"Can't believe the Garrison just killed me off." Matt muttered.

"We'll just have to steal it from under them." Pidge said.

"Spoken like a true space pirate." Matt said, nodding his head. "That said, I get that this is important and all- but do you guys mind if we eat first?"

"Oh yes." Allura blinked. "Of course."

"Again, not like the Garrison will be able to get into the blue lion." Keith said with a shrug. "Unless they somehow dug up its paladin with it."

"I almost wish that they would." Allura observed. "It would save us a fair amount of time."

"I mean, we're already two for two on human paladins." Matt pointed out. "That's like, two fifths of Voltron right there."

"I'm part Galra." Keith reminded him, barely so much as sparing him a glance. "And the red lion found me in space, so... pretty sure Pidge being human is just a coincidence."

"I would not be so sure." Allura observed, gaze flickering towards him. "For the two of you to be human- or at least, part human, in your case- and for the blue lion to be here, on Earth... there must be some kind of connection."

"Hey, maybe Matt's the blue paladin." Pidge ventured.

"Oh man, that would be so cool." Matt whispered, sounding almost giddy at the prospect. "What would that make me, princess?"

"A leg." Allura remarked.

"A leg..." Matt whispered, almost sounding reverent.

Unable to help herself, Pidge grinned. Fighting alongside Matt? She could get behind that.

It would be ideal, actually. She didn't really get it, but from the sound of it, in order to form Voltron, the paladins would have to link their minds- and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. With Matt and Keith, yeah, she'd be fine... but the idea of trusting her mind, at least a piece of it, to some stranger she'd never met before?

She wasn't so sure about that.

And if she wasn't sure about that- sparing a glance over towards Keith's direction, she fought the urge to grimace.

She could definitely understand Keith's reasons for being so closed off- even to her. Even though he'd opened up to her, last night's events had proven that he still had plenty of walls up. So if she wasn't all that hot on linking minds with someone she barely knew, she could only imagine how Keith probably felt about it.

But that was a concern for another time. They were still two lions and three paladins short, and without those, there would be no Voltron.

Destiny, she thought, should have done a better job.

Code Blue must have been serious, given how thorough the encryption was.

Not that it mattered much. She hadn't spent the past half year in space hacking into alien tech to be tripped up by anything that the Galaxy Garrison could throw at her.

So cracking the Garrison's code? Piece of cake.

(Which, incidentally, her mom had made.)

Once she did, she leaned back in her chair, letting out a low whistle. Because that sure as hell sounded like the blue lion. From the sound of it, their discovery was fairly recent.

"Looks like we're breaking into the Garrison after all." Matt noted, leaning over the back of her chair. "I was considering egging Iverson's car for revenge, but this sounds good too."

"There will be no such waste of eggs on my watch, young man." Colleen's voice was sharp, and she didn't miss the way her brother flinched out of the corner of her eye.

"But you're fine with him breaking into the Galaxy Garrison, huh?" Keith observed, the edges of his lips twitching in a faint smile.

"They do have something that doesn't belong to them. If Iverson is in charge of this project, I doubt he'll give it up that easily." Colleen remarked- and Pidge didn't miss the low hum Keith let out in agreement.

So not only was Keith familiar with the Galaxy Garrison, but he was also familiar with Commander Iverson. Worth noting.

"Do you know where they are keeping it?" Allura asked, peering at the monitor over her shoulder, squinting at the words as if this would somehow cause them to make more sense.

Spoken word was one thing, but written word? That was another. She had created a program that could translate both Common and Galran to English nigh instantly, but she'd never had cause to create one that did the reverse- nor the reverse, but in Altean.

"Looks like it's located somewhere in their main campus." Pidge told her. "Which doesn't actually give us that much to go off of. Their main campus is huge."

"It's not giving us a ton to go off, is it?" Matt asked, frowning.

"They might be keeping most of their communications internal." Pidge remarked. "If we were able to infiltrate the main campus, we might be able to get more information about where exactly they're holding it, not to mention what security measures they have in place."

"How would we do that?" Keith asked. "It's not like Matt can just come back from the dead."

"Aw, but that would be fun." Matt half whined.

"Yeah, until someone mistakes you for a zombie, and shoots you." Keith remarked.

"That sounds less fun." Matt agreed.

"I think I might have a way in, actually." Pidge told them, bringing up the Garrison's official website. "Looks like luck is on our side- they're opening up their campus to prospective students for the weekend. I can pose as a would be cadet, slip away from the tour, and get the information we need."

"I don't know, Pidge." Keith frowned. "Sounds risky."

"No offense Keith, but I'm the only one who could." She pointed out. "You and Allura kind of stand out, and Matt's supposed to be dead."

"Actually," Allura interjected, "-I may be able to assist you."

"How?" Keith asked, arching a brow. "No offense, princess, but you don't look that human."

There was almost a hint of resentment in his tone. Biting her lip, her gaze flickered between the two of them- in a pinch, Allura would pass for human far quicker than Keith would. That had to sting.

All the more so if he'd once looked human.

"Allow me to show you."

Before she could question Allura further, the Altean princess took a slight step back, drawing in a long breath, closing her eyes. She was grateful for it, for in the next instant, Pidge felt her jaw drop, Allura's form changing before her very eyes.

Her pointed ears became round, white hair darkening until it was a dark brown color. Her Altean marks did not vanish, but merely changed colors- from pink to a light brown, several shades lighter than the rest of her. When she opened her eyes, her pupils had changed- black, rather than lavender.

She looked... well, human.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Keith glower, but if he wanted to say something, he instead bit his tongue.

"Alteans," she began, a faint hint of a smile on her face, "-are a chameleon-like people. We are able to blend in with the local populations."

"Whoa." Matt whispered, eyes wide. "That's amazing, princess! What else can you do?"

"Well there are limits. It is not as if I can grow any extra limbs, for example." Allura told him, giving him a soft smile, once more assuming her natural form. "But with this, at least Pidge will have someone to watch her back."

"I'll have to whip up some fake identities for us." Pidge observed. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Then it is settled." Allura said. "We shall go to this Galaxy Garrison, and retrieve whatever information they might possess on the blue lion and its whereabouts."

"We'll need somewhere to set up." Matt pointed out. "Like a base of operations, or something."

Allura blinked. "Will this lake house not suffice?"

"Too far." Matt told her. "The Garrison's like across the country from us."

"I might know a place."

Jerking her head back to look at Keith, Pidge blinked. That she hadn't expected. "Really?"

Keith, for his part, simply shrugged. "I haven't been there in awhile, so I'd have to scope it out first, but I know a place that might work. It's remote enough that you could even bring the green lion."

Exchanging a glance with Matt, Pidge frowned. "By yourself?"

"I don't want to hear that from the person planning on infiltrating the Garrison." Keith told her, cocking a brow. "Besides, I'll be fine. All I need is a way to get there."

"You sure?" Matt asked. "Because you kind of..."

"-you stand out." Pidge finished.

Touche, Keith seemed to mutter under his breath. "I'll manage. I can leave as early as tonight, and be there in time to rendezvous with you this weekend."

"You're always welcome to spend the night, Keith. No need to rush out." Colleen told him, frowning. "I'm sure you must be tired."

Was there ever a time when Keith didn't look tired, Pidge couldn't help but observe.

"The faster we can get the blue lion, the better." Keith told her, shaking his head. "You have anything I can use?"

"There's a hoverbike me and dad were working on before we left for Kerberos." Matt offered. "It should still be here."

"I haven't moved it." Colleen said. "It's out back. I can show you the way."

"Then I guess Keith's leaving." Pidge noted, frowning. Part of her didn't want to let him go- but realistically, she knew there wasn't much she could do to stop him. "Let us know if you accidentally become some dusty town's new cryptid on the way there."

"As fun as that sounds, I'd rather not." Keith said.

"Spoilsport." Pidge said.

"What should I do?" Matt asked. "I mean, I can't just sit around while everyone else is doing something."

"Depending on what we find, we might need all of us to get the blue lion out." Pidge said. "I'm assuming we want to try and attract as little attention as possible."

"Well yeah, we don't want Zarkon paying attention to Earth." Matt said. "I mean, if the blue lion is here, there's a chance he might, right?"

"It is possible." Allura observed, her gaze flickering towards Keith. "Clearly, the Galra had already visited your planet."

"Twice, at least." Keith told them.

"Do you think he is aware the blue lion is here?" Allura asked.

"All I know is that when they found me, they were looking for something else." Keith told her. "But they never said what."

"How long ago was that?" Pidge asked.

"I was fourteen, so-," frowning, Keith's brows knit together, clearly trying and failing to do the math, "I- how old is S- the pilot of the Kerberos mission?"

"Shiro?" Matt blinked, briefly exchanging a glance with her. "He's twenty-five, I think."

"Huh." Keith blinked. "Four years, then. Guess I'm eighteen."

"Wait, you're telling me you didn't know that until just now?" Pidge asked.

"Lost track of time." Keith shrugged, as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"The Galra aren't big on keeping their prisoners on a regular schedule." Matt told her. "I'd pretty much lost track of it too, before Te-Osh rescued me."

"Huh." Pidge frowned. "Makes sense."

What didn't make sense, she thought, was Keith determining time by someone else's age. Did he... was it possible that Keith knew Shiro, somehow?

Come to think of it, he had asked about him, back when she'd first reunited with Matt. He'd passed it off as a question meant to help her at the time, but what if he had a personal interest in finding him?

For a moment, her thoughts flashed back, far back- to the day after she had first met Keith, when he had been looking through her files on the Kerberos mission. She hadn't thought about it in a long time, but she'd definitely heard his breath catch in his throat back then.

What had that been about?

She wanted to ask, really, she did- but later. Right now they had a mission to focus on.

"Well if it's been four years since then, there's a chance they might have decided the blue lion isn't here." Pidge said. "Although the fact that they had scouts at the edge of our system is kind of..."

"Maybe the blue lion was why Keith's mom was here?" Matt suggested, sparing him a glance. "Keith, do you-?"

"No." Cutting him off, Keith's eyes narrowed. "Like I said, I don't know anything about my mother."

"Well," clearing her throat, Allura stepped in, "-we all appear to have things that we each need to take care of. I will contact Coran about our current plans, and let him know that we are likely to be away from the castle-ship for awhile."

"I'll see if I can dig up anything else on Code Blue." Pidge said, gaze lingering on Keith for a moment longer.

"I... actually don't have anything to do right now." Matt admitted. "I'll go wash the dishes."

"I'll get ready to leave." Keith said, turning to Colleen. "Can you show me where the hoverbike is?"

"Of course." Colleen told him, nodding her head.

"You have your com link, right?" Pidge asked, glancing back towards him.

"I've got it." Keith told her, flashing her a faint smile. "You take care of yourself, Pidge."

"You too, Keith."

He caught himself taking a deep breath of air as he stepped outside.

When he had first stumbled out of the red lion, disorientated and confused, it had been the scent of the air that had brought him back to his senses. His sense of smell had always been strong, but there had been something in the scent that stirred a part of him, nostalgic, calming.

Home.

He had gotten used to the scents of the Galra Empire- of the ore their ships were forged of, the metal of their sentries, of sweat clinging to purple fur. The rank odors of the main prison block, where he had spent the early part of his captivity, and the foul odors of the witch's lair, where he had spent the rest- he knew them by heart.

To smell fresh air- fresh Earth air- had cleansed something in him.

(It had only been his imagination.)

The scent of lake air was... he'd been bounced around all over the place, but he'd never been to a lake before. It was new, but it still held that nostalgic scent, the one of home, of safety.

Which was stupid, he thought. He wasn't safe on Earth anymore.

He wasn't safe anywhere.

But even so... the prospect of returning to the desert, feeling the sun beat down overheard, the sand beneath his feet- it filled him with anticipation, as much as it frightened him.

He'd been born in the desert, raised there- but he'd also been taken in the desert. And if the blue lion had been there, the whole time, then...

He almost didn't hear Pidge's mother when she spoke.

"Here she is." She told him. "She's an older model, but they made some improvements to the design, so you should make good time."

Shaking off his thoughts, Keith gave her what he knew was a strained smile. Sometimes he didn't know how to deal with this woman- not because he didn't like her, but because he did.

She was so... so nice, that it almost made him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to people being nice- especially not adults. He hadn't expected it when he thought he was human, and he sure as hell didn't expect it from anyone now. Clenching his fists, he felt the bite of his claws, for a moment, flashing back to that time in the bathroom, nail file in one hand, blood seeping out from the other.

Then he shook it off again.

She never brought it up, so why should he?

"Thanks." Keith told her. "I'll bring it back."

"Don't you worry about that." Colleen told him. "You just stay safe. There should be a helmet you can use around here somewhere. I think you can tint the visor."

His face fell at the comment, knowing what she meant. To hide his face.

"That'll help." Keith told her, forcing back anything that he was feeling. "Thanks."

"Ah, here we are." Plucking it up from where it lay, Colleen lightly tossed it to him, which he caught with ease. He'd always had good reflexes.

They were better, now.

"He will become part of a new breed of soldiers," the witch's voice whispered into his ear, and he had to tell himself it was just a memory, "-better than any the Galra Empire has ever seen."

"You know how to fly one of these, I'm hoping." Colleen said.

"I'm a little out of practice." Keith admitted. "But I've flown them before."

With his father. With Shiro.

Pushing aside those thoughts, he rested one hand on the frame of the hoverbike. He wondered if his dad's was still there, how long it would take to get the dust and sand out of its many parts, to get it working again.

When he'd died, he'd hiked several miles into town, where he'd ended up being picked up by child services. He'd never told them where he lived, where he came from. His father had no registered address. The shack was so remote, it was probably still there.

Part of the reason he wanted to go ahead was to clean it up, to hide anything that might connect it to his past. The other reason... he just wanted to see it again. He needed to see it again.

Maybe there was something there... some clue that his father had hidden, about his mother. Something that would tell him that maybe she wasn't just another heartless soldier of the empire, that he wasn't just another cog of the empire, albeit one too stupid to realize it.

All he had of her was her knife.

Hell of a thing to leave behind for a child.

Swinging his leg over the hoverbike, he got a feel for it. It was a different model than ones he'd flown before, and he was taller now than the last time he'd sat in the pilot seat of one. Not by much- if there was one damn Galra trait he'd actually like to have, it was the height.

"Are you sure you want to leave now?" Colleen asked. "You'd have time to make it even if you left tomorrow morning."

"I'll be fine." Keith told her, tugging on the helmet, crinkling his nose at the musty smell that clung to it. "Better if I travel under the cover of darkness anyways."

For the span of a moment, he almost thought she would let it go.

"You don't sleep, do you?"

Fingers clenching, Keith's breath hitched in his throat. He thought he'd been doing a good job of hiding it, that nobody had noticed- he couldn't do a damn thing about the bags under his eyes, but as long as he pretended to be fine, maybe nobody would pick up on it.

Because he didn't.

He didn't sleep. He hadn't slept in... god, who even fucking knew. It had been a long time. Constantly being awake had fucked with his sense of time more than he was willing to admit.

He wasn't sure why his inability to sleep got to him so much- he could function more or less fine without it, they'd made him that way- but it did. Maybe because it was just one more thing- one more damn thing the Galra had taken from him, not even allowing him refuge in his own dreams.

Not that he'd ever had a dream in his life.

Closing his eyes, Keith let his grip on the controls grow slack. "No."

No point in lying.

"Don't-" he began, drawing in a shaky breath, "-don't tell Pidge."

Colleen frowned, for a long moment, not saying anything- before she placed a careful hand over his, giving it a light pat. "I won't tell her. But you should talk with her at some point. The two of you are friends, aren't you?"

Friends.

He felt something leap at the word- god, he'd never had a friend either. There had been Shiro, yeah, but he was... he was more of a brother, than a friend. But a friend was...

...not something he could have. Not something he could keep.

Don't get ahead of yourself, Kogane.

Sucking in a breath, he forced a smile. "Yeah. I'll talk to her."

She didn't look convinced- at this point, he was convinced that Pidge's mother had some kind of sixth sense for bullshit- but she didn't force the issue either. Instead, she drew her hand away, giving him a nod of her head.

"Good luck."

Boy, could he ever use some of that.

"Thanks. Tell Pidge and Matt I'll see them later."

He meant it- as much as some part of him wanted to take this as a chance to cut and run, to hide himself away where no one could find him.

Maybe someday- but not until he'd helped them find the rest of the Voltron lions. Once they had them all, once they had found paladins for the rest... then he would leave.

As long as he stayed, he'd always be the weak link.