The stars hung distant and unblinking beyond the flat glass that made up the outer wall of the observation lounge. Kurogane's eyes scanned them restlessly, watching for a faint shift of alignment in the scattered lights that would betray a passing ship, a potential threat. Intellectually, he knew that the Castle-ship's scanners would detect any approaching Empire vessels long before his eyes could catch the motion of their lights, but the habit was set too deep in his bones, too ingrained as something necessary for survival, for him to stop easily now.
A brief glance downward reassured him of the presence of Alejandro, whose head was nestled in the crook of his neck as the Cuban dozed against his shoulder. The former red paladin brushed a gentle kiss to the tousled brown hair, smiling as the other stirred and snuggled closer. It was a relief to see his partner resting peacefully for once, especially after such an emotionally trying afternoon.
Kurogane could still feel the weight of the silence that had filled the meeting room on the Long Wind once Alejandro had finally stopped speaking. For several minutes, no one moved except to exchange nervous, uncertain glances. Eventually, though, it was Shiro who spoke, gaze deeply respectful as he chose his words slowly and carefully.
"Thank you. Both of you. I know that must have been very hard for you to do. You've given us a lot to think about." The older Korean followed the black paladin's gaze as it scanned over the wide-eyed, anxious faces of the rest of the team. They were so young, so innocent. They still had so much to lose, and they were only just now realizing it. "I think we should head back to the Castle for the night. Take some time to just...take it all in, and we can continue the discussion in the morning."
There'd been no protests, and the short flight back had been silent, at least in the Black Lion where the two time-travellers braced themselves against one wall opposite Allura and Coran. Upon arrival, though, Lance and Hunk had stepped forward, the blue paladin clearing his throat. "Everyone meet us in the observation lounge we've got set up for sleeping, okay? Everyone." The warning stare he'd fixed at first the two Alteans, then at Kurogane and Alejandro had indicated exactly who the emphasis was intended for. Too exhausted to argue, Kurogane had simply nodded and made his way upstairs, finding an open patch of floor for himself and his partner to settle on.
Behind him, he could hear soft discussions as the remainder of the group arranged piles of pillows and blankets. Lance and Hunk had yet to return, and Coran was off somewhere collecting more bedding from storage, leaving Allura, Shiro, Keith, Pidge and Matt to prepare the room. A glance over his shoulder rewarded him with the sight of the elder Holt resting with his back against one of the couches and smiling fondly at his sister as she fussed over propping his bad leg on a pillow. Kurogane turned away, swallowing hard against a wave of guilt. How could he have forgotten that Holt's brother was still alive at this time, was already on the ship they were allying with? Alejandro, at least, had an excuse, given he'd been badly hurt at the time they'd found out. The Korean, on the other hand, should have known, should have remembered. He closed his eyes, sending a silent apology out to the stars and his dead sister.
A sudden commotion behind him had Alejandro's eyes snapping open and Kurogane's head whipping around, instantly on the defensive before he located the source and quickly relaxed. The two missing paladins had returned, each carrying precarious stacks of boxes that were tottering dangerously. Fortunately, just as Lance's stack was about to topple entirely, Allura stepped in to take part of the load and set them down. "What's all this, Lance?"
The Cuban set down his remaining boxes and turned to assist Hunk with his. "Hunk and I were thinking," he began, just as Coran arrived dragging a large storage crate of bedding, "that after hearing all that, no offense to you two," he nodded to Alejandro, who shrugged and grimaced sympathetically, "there's no way in hell any of us are gonna get to sleep easy. So! De-stressing party! I know most of you aren't really into this kind of stuff, but trust me, it helps." He crouched down next to the pile of boxes and began pulling them open. "Nail polish, facials, mani-pedi supplies, hair trimmers...Whatever you guys feel like doing."
There was a pause as the others exchanged uncertain glances, then Pidge sighed. "You know what? What the hell. If you think it'll help, let's give it a try." Seeing Lance's stunned expression, as though he hadn't actually expected anyone to take him up on his offer, she cackled. "Come on, beauty boy, you heard me. Pamper me up." She held out one hand expectantly.
Kurogane couldn't help but smile as the younger Cuban's face lit up. He knew for a fact that if space hadn't been his first love, his partner would have gone to beauty school, and would have excelled. He didn't miss the longing expression on Alejandro's face, however, as he watched his younger self pull over a few boxes and set to work applying a mud mask to the green paladin's face. They'd lost so much in their war, from their family and friends to the small joys that used to tie them to home. He elbowed Alejandro gently. "You should join them."
The other startled. "What? No! It's been ages since I even handled a nail file. I'll just make a mess of it."
He frowned, prodding a little more firmly. "No you won't. You're a natural at this stuff. It'll be just like riding a hoverbike." Kurogane put one hand on Alejandro's back and pushed. "Get over there."
The blue paladin nearly toppled over with a yelp and shot the Korean a glare. But he did get to his feet and make his way hesitantly over to where Hunk was arranging a fascinated Coran's hand for a manicure. "Need any help?"
Hunk shot him a beaming grin, and Kurogane was relieved to see Alejandro's shoulders relax. "Absolutely! Allura wanted to try a mud mask, so if you can get her started on that, and then see if you can figure out what Keith wants, because I can tell there's something but he won't say." The yellow paladin squinted at his teammate, who reddened and looked away.
Alejandro laughed. "Can do." He shot a smirk over at both red paladins, then continued in a stage whisper, "It's nail painting, by the way. Kurogane loves having his nails painted."
Keith squawked, cheeks flaring crimson, but Kurogane just chuckled. "Guilty. You can do mine after, too." He wiggled his fingers invitingly, and was pleased when the other gave him a thumbs up.
"Or I could do them." He blinked in surprise, turning toward Shiro, who waved him closer. "If you're okay with that, that is." He added, looking suddenly uncertain.
"Uh, yeah, that's fine." Pushing himself to his feet, he picked his way carefully across the blacket-strewn floor to the black paladin, settling himself down cross-legged in front of him. Looking up at Shiro, he studied the Japanese male carefully. He looked so much like the Shiro he'd lost, a little less careworn, a little more hyper-alert to his Galra arm, but otherwise this could have been his brother just hours before they got word of the mission to rescue the civilians of the captured Falling Tree. For half-a-second his vision was overlaid by glowing indigo eyes and a cruel grin lit from below by ultraviolet pink and he shook his head quickly, forcing back the memory before it could swallow him.
Shiro paused in pawing through the box of nail polishes beside him. "Memory?" He asked quietly, tone sympathetic.
"Yeah. Sorry." Kurogane took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose, forcing himself to calm down. "You look a lot like he did, is all."
The Japanese male nodded. "I figured as much. What colour do you want?" He asked, holding up the box for the other's perusal. "He has so many different kinds, I don't even know where to start."
"Surprise me." The red paladin shrugged, holding out his hands for Shiro to work on. He watched curiously as the black paladin gave the box a considering frown as though making a major tactical decision before carefully selecting a few different bottles and uncapping one. Typical Shiro, that, taking even small choices very seriously.
"I guess I understand now why you two don't spend much time around the rest of us." Shiro said quietly, brows furrowed in concentration as he started spreading green polish neatly over Kurogane's left thumbnail. "We look like the teammates you lost, but we aren't them. Not quite, anyway. And that has to be really hard for you."
The observation caught Kurogane off-guard, and all he could do was nod as the other turned his attention to the other thumb. "Not exactly the best way to build trust, I know." Honestly, he was surprised the others had been so willing to listen to them, especially considering their terrible first impression. Attacking Keith and Allura, and admitting to having killed Blue to get there. If it had been him on the other side of the conversation, there most likely would have been bloodshed.
The black paladin paused midway through putting the lid back on the green. "Why on earth wouldn't we trust you?" He sounded genuinely baffled, finishing capping the bottle and opening a black polish, which he started spreading on Kurogane's pointer fingers.
"We did kind of show up out of nowhere." He pointed out.
"Inside the Blue Lion, who didn't seem particularly bothered by it from what Allura said." Shiro countered, switching to the red paladin's other hand again. "Blue's about as subtle with her opinions as Lance is."
Well, he wasn't wrong. "We attacked Keith and Allura."
Shiro's lips quirked. "Who snuck up on you, and you only acted on instinct after the way you'd been living."
Kurogane frowned, quirking an eyebrow. That was true, he supposed, but they hadn't known the details at the time. "We killed Blue. Our Blue, anyway."
"Out of necessity, in order to save trillions of lives." The black paladin responded easily, setting aside the black polish in favour of a bright red that he started applying to the scarred male's middle fingers. "And you certainly weren't happy about it."
Kurogane stared at the other man in confusion. "We showed up in the middle of the night spouting warnings of death and destruction, and you let us send messages to a group of aliens you'd never met before telling them our location. For all you knew we could have been Druid illusions or spies in disguise calling down the Empire on you!"
Shiro sighed, setting down the nail polish and looking him in the eyes. "Kurogane, listen to me. You may look different. You may act different, after everything you've been through. And you may go by a different name. But the core of you, who you are deep down, is still Keith. You're still my brother. I'd know you anywhere. And I trust you."
The former paladin's mind reeled, his chest aching at the words. He'd resigned himself years ago to the fact that Shiro was gone, this time for good. That the man who'd been a brother to him for years, a pillar and an anchor during his teenage years and beyond, who'd helped him learn to trust again after the foster system had left him an angry paranoid mess and who had always stood by him, even at his worst, was dead. And now this timeline's Shiro was looking at him with that same gentle, accepting smile and calling him brother three years after he'd last heard those words.
His breath hitched, vision blurring with tears, and he bowed his head, trying to get his emotions under control. Then there were hands on his shoulders, careful and familiar, and he was being pulled forward into a protective embrace. "Sh, sh, I've got you. It's okay. You're safe." With familiar reassurances in his ears, Kurogane closed his eyes and let the tears spill over.
When he pulled back, his eyes and cheeks were equally red and he looked away quickly, feeling like a teenager all over again as he did so. He wanted to thank the other man, let him know how deeply he appreciated being given back some small part of what he'd lost, but he couldn't find the words, which had never been his strong suit anyway. But Shiro seemed to understand the things he didn't know how to say, just like he always could, because he simply nodded and gave him a pleased smile. "Come on. I need to finish your nails." He held up two more small bottles of polish, one yellow and one blue.
00000000000
Alejandro dipped his fingers into the jar of facial cream and started carefully smearing it over Allura's face, making sure to avoid her eyes and the markings under them. His movements were slow and hesitant; while this was hardly the first time he'd done this for the Princess, it had been a long time since he'd done this at all.
She seemed to sense his nervousness, because she opened one eye and smiled at him. "I have to admit, I had my doubts about this…'mud mask', but it does feel very nice on the skin."
He chuckled, scooping up a fresh glop and applying it to her other cheek. "Wait til you see how it feels when it's off. Trust me, nothing feels better then your face at the end of a skin care routine."
"Man, you said it. Altean skin care products are fantastic." Lance agreed, spreading a metallic green enamel on Pidge's nails. The green paladin was being tag-teamed by both Lance and Matt, one doing her nails and the other brushing her hair. Alejandro swore he could hear her purring in contentment at the attention. Not that Matt was much better-judging by the rapturous expression on his face as he carded the brush through his sister's messy mop, you could have set off an ion cannon next to him and he wouldn't have even blinked.
"Where'd you even get all this stuff, anyway?" Hunk asked, buffing Coran's nails with a soft cloth. "I mean, we've only been to the space mall once, and you spent all your GAC on that game system."
"Storage here on the Castle." The blue paladin explained, setting aside the bottle of polish and blowing carefully on Pidge's fingers to dry them. "I started breaking out because I didn't get to bring my kit with me, and I asked Allura if she had any extra skin care products. Apparently there's tons of stuff stashed away in this place." Testing the nails carefully, he picked up a bottle of gold polish and started drawing thin lines over top of the green with a fine-tipped brush, sticking out his tongue in concentration.
Allura shrugged, nearly making Alejandro poke her in the mouth as he tried to finish spreading cream on her chin. "Sorry. No one else was using it, I figured he may as well make use of it if he needed it. And if it helped one of my paladins settle in, so much the better." She gave the younger Cuban a fond smile, and he paused in painting to grin back at her.
Alejandro laughed softly. "I remember that. It helped a lot, with the acne and the homesickness. Thank you." He capped the jar, staring at it contemplatively. "This is gonna sound stupid, but it's one of the things I missed the most after we lost the Castle." His beauty regime had been a calming ritual in a stressful time, something he used to manage his anxiety, and also a link to the home he'd lost. Losing it had been a double blow in an already incredibly difficult time.
Lance's head whipped around so fast he smeared a streak of gold polish across Pidge's hand, making her yelp. "You haven't been able to take care of your skin since then?" He sounded both dismayed and affronted by the idea of his older self not having any access to beauty products. At Alejandro's cautious nod, he scowled. "That settles it. As soon as I'm done here, you are getting a full spa treatment." He emphasized the statement with brisk wipes of a tissue across the green paladin's hand.
"Sounds fantastic." Alejandro laughed softly, warmth blooming in his chest at Lance's outrage on his behalf. "I look forward to it. Keith, get over here, I'll do your nails while Lance finishes Pidge's. Red or black?"
"Black." The red paladin said promptly, pushing a couple of pillows out of the way so he could scoot closer. Since the Cuban had already exposed his desire to have his nails painted, he wasn't bothering to fully conceal his eagerness as he held out his hands.
"Going full emo, huh Keith?" Lance teased, resuming painting delicate circuit board designs for Pidge, to her obvious delight. Keith reddened, looking away, and started to pull back a bit.
Alejandro shot Lance a disappointed frown, making his younger self flush. "Black's a great choice, Keith. It'll look great with your gloves." He reassured. Keith was always so uncertain when it came to social interactions, a trait that Kurogane had never lost, never quite sure of himself when it came to trying new activities. He was rewarded by the paladin's small, hesitant smile as he put his hands out again, and pretended not to see the way his younger self's eyes widened and his cheeks darkened at the expression on Keith's face. Instead, he set to work, painting the teen's nails in precise, even strokes. They'd get there. And with Kurogane and Alejandro leading by example, maybe it wouldn't even take as long.
Soon enough, Lance was putting the cap back on his bottle of polish. "Alright, make yourself comfortable. It is pampering time." At his direction, Alejandro settled into a makeshift lounger built from pillows, arranging his limbs for easy access while the younger paladin ordered the others around. Apparently his beauty-session was going to be a group project if the blue paladin had anything to say about it, a fact that Kurogane clearly found hilarious judging by his sniggers as he and Shiro rejoined the others. Not that he minded, the attention made him feel better than he had in...years, probably. He relaxed and closed his eyes while Allura started spreading the mud mask on his face and Coran set to work trimming his hair.
"...Shiro, you're gonna help me with his manicure, I'll talk you through it while I do his other hand. Hunk, you're on pedicure duty because seriously, you rock at foot massages."
His eyes popped open, but Kurogane spoke up before he could. "Uh, he...doesn't really do pedicures." The Korean said quickly, glancing down at him with a slightly concerned look.
"He doesn't?" Hunk sounded more than a little confused, glancing between Lance and Alejandro uncertainly as he paused in unlacing his left boot. Alejandro couldn't blame him, mani-pedis used to be one of his favourite treats when he was having a bad day, something that Hunk would be more than familiar with.
Lance was equally confused, brows furrowing as he stared at his older self, box of manicure supplies tucked against his hip. "Since when?"
"Since both of my feet are made of metal now." Alejandro responded, shooting his partner a quick reassuring look. They were going to find out eventually, it might as well be now. And this was his team, or a version of them, he trusted them to take it in stride.
There was a round of astonished blinking, then, "Wait, what?" Lance yelped, fumbling with the box as he nearly dropped it. "What the hell do you mean?!"
Sitting up slightly, the former blue paladin quickly pulled off his left boot, exposing blue-white metal, slightly dulled with wear and tear. He held his foot up and flexed the toes, drawing startled exclamations from several of the group. Coran leaned in, peering closely and making an approving sound. "Prosthetics." Alejandro explained, pulling off the other boot as well. "Up to here," he tapped the middle of his left thigh, "and here," he indicated a spot two thirds of the way up his right shin.
"Dude. Those are wicked." Pidges eyes were practically gleaming as she just barely resisted the urge to ruin Lance's work by grabbing one of the limbs to examine it.
"Those are Icebringer prosthetics. Olkari tech, Altean aesthetics, and H'ress workmanship." Matt realized as he peered closer, adjusting the glasses Pidge had returned to him once they were back on the Castle, much to his relief. "Kurogane mentioned they helped when you were hurt back when you first met them. Are these from then?"
Alejandro nodded, leaning back on the pillows again. "The Castle's pods were damaged and I needed immediate medical attention. The Icebringers saved my life and built my new legs as a sort of trust offering."
Kurogane must have noticed the look of horror on Shiro's face as he stared at Alejandro's metallic feet, because he quickly put a hand on the black paladin's arm. "It's okay. These aren't like your arm." He explained softly. "Totally different interfacing tech. They can be taken off at will, and they don't hurt him any." The other man subsided a little, but still looked as though he felt guilty for something far beyond his control.
"What happened, anyway?" Lance asked curiously, pulling up a cushion and sitting down beside him, passing manicure supplies across to Shiro while Hunk opted to grab his spare toolkit and look over the prosthetics for wear and tear.
Alejandro grimaced. "A fight that went bad, resulting in Blue taking an unpowered fall from the edge of atmo and hitting the ground face first. The cockpit was partially crushed and a lot of the panels buckled. Shiro had to cut me free with his arm." He shot the black paladin a grateful look, who looked surprised at the idea of using his arm in that way.
The younger blue paladin looked horrified, face pale. "That's...geez, that's awful."
"A bit, yeah. I had nightmares for quite a while after, still do sometimes. And being in the dark and unable to move? Just...no."
"I can imagine." Lance swallowed nervously, busying himself filing his counterpart's nails.
"That's not going to happen this time, however." Allura spoke up firmly, drawing the attention of the others. "I promise you, both of you, we will work together to ensure that none of the tragedy you suffered comes to pass in this altered timeline. The sacrifice you and the Blue Lion made will not be in vain." Her vibrant gaze fell on each of them in turn, and one by one they straightened, eyes gleaming with determination and readiness to keep fighting. The revelations they'd been faced with that day had shocked them, yes, but it only made them more determined to keep fighting, to serve their duty as paladins and protect the people of the universe.
Alejandro felt a lump in his throat as he looked up at all of them. They really hadn't changed much at all, had they? "Thanks, guys." He whispered softly.
Pidge grinned, reflexively going to adjust the glasses she was no longer wearing and blushing. "You don't need to thank us. We're a team, all of us. That includes you two. We're all going to work together and kick some Empire ass." She patted his arm. "Nobody fucks with our family and gets away with it, and we apparently have several years worth of fucking to get them back for, so we better get started as soon as possible."
He nodded, feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he gave her a shaky smile. While the time travel had been totally unexpected, being surrounded by younger versions of their family had been difficult, and they had watched the team's painfully familiar dynamics from the outside with an aching loneliness that had been far worse than anything they'd felt since losing the brothers and sisters they'd fought with. And now they were being welcomed into this family, turning a family of eight and a family of two into a single unit of ten.
"I think in the morning we should sit down and talk strategy. Aspects or no aspects, we need to figure out a plan to bring down the Empire as quickly as possible, and that's probably going to mean going on the offensive sooner rather than later." Shiro said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "For now, though, it's late, and we've had a long day. Try to get some rest, okay?"
There were murmurs of assent from the group, and a mocking "yes, dad" from Lance. None of them rushed to settle in, though, silently insisting on finishing Alejandro's beauty treatment, and he couldn't help but share a joyful glance with Kurogane, who looked equally pleased. He held still for the manicure and nail painting, and adjusted his legs on demand for Hunk, who was determinedly buffing his feet with a soft cloth, bringing back some of the shine they'd had originally. Finally he cleaned off the mud mask and breathed a delighted sigh at the almost-forgotten feeling it left in his skin.
"Better?" Lance grinned at him. The younger blue paladin looked completely at ease now, and Alejandro could tell he wasn't just asking about the skin care.
"Tons." Alejandro grinned back, trying to imbue the word with all the gratitude overflowing his heart. From the way Lance's smile widened, he heard it.
Slowly the two of them cleared up the beauty products scattered all over the room, sorting them neatly into their boxes to be put aside out of the way. While they worked the rest of the group set to work arranging pillows and blankets in a circle in the middle of the floor. Pidge was the first to claim her spot, and the others arranged themselves according to some unspoken plan.
Beside Pidge was Matt, the smaller Holt curling protectively around her brother's arm. No one faulted the two for being joined at the hip after so long apart, and Alejandro felt a pang of sadness for the fact that his Holt had never gotten to have this. Shiro was on Matt's other side, watching his old crewmate with a small, soft smile that made the Cuban wonder if there was something else going on there. If there was, the Shiro of his time had never mentioned it, but he hoped if it happened, it would end happy. They'd both suffered enough.
Beyond Shiro was Keith, flopped on his back and examining his nails with a pleased expression. Lance quickly settled into the open spot beside him, whispering something that made Keith's cheeks redden. Alejandro grinned and shot his younger self a thumb's up as he settled down on the other side of Hunk, who was already laying in his accustomed spot beside his best friend. He quietly thanked the yellow paladin for the work he'd done on the prosthetic limbs-he hadn't realized they were having problems until now, feeling the difference after an hour's attention by the talented mechanic. Hunk shrugged and grinned cheerfully, promising him a proper tune-up as soon as they could find the time.
Alejandro felt Kurogane settle in beside him, throwing an arm around his waist and nuzzling into the now-shorter hair that Coran had trimmed for him with a soft purring sound that made the Cuban giggle as it tickled his ear. Behind them both, Coran chuckled, making a comment to Allura about Keith and Lance being a remarkably sweet couple once they stopped dancing around each other like a couple of Yeltshian diverfins trying to court a mate. Pidge snorted loudly on Allura's other side, saying something about statistically unlikely miracles that brought a chorus of laughter from several of the others.
Beyond the glass window of the observation lounge, the stars cast a faint light into the room. Alejandro sighed, snuggling deeper into the soft blankets. The last time he'd slept under starlight like this, it had been on the cold floor of Blue's cockpit, with Kurogane keeping watch beside him and nothing else left of home or family. Now, incredibly, he had both again, as well as something else he'd thought long gone beyond any chance of retrieval.
Hope.