It had been two weeks since the McDonald's incident, as Keith had described it to him. Shiro honestly didn't know whether to laugh or tell Keith to reconsider his life choices when he told of the part where Lance had kissed a boy named Nico di Angelo, mistaking him for Keith. He settled for shaking his head while Adam rubbed his back, barely concealing fits of laughter.
Keith and Lance had invited him and Adam over, saying that they could meet Jason (one of Nico's friends who was allegedly just like Shiro) Nico, and Will who, apparently, were too busy dancing around their feelings for each other to notice that the other was madly in love with them.
"Like you and Lance?" Adam had snorted around a cup of coffee, resulting in a throw pillow to the face from the darker haired boy.
Right now, he and Adam were driving over to Keith and Lance's flat, discussing their plans for the afternoon. Keith had said they were going to watch a movie, order fast food, and order out. There was also going to be alcohol, which Shiro admitted was a nice plus even if he did have a solid rep as Responsible Space Dad™.
Shiro pulled up outside the flat, taking note of the fact that there was a motorcycle parked in the driveway.
Adam, being a gentleman, hopped out of the passenger side and left Shiro to get the car into the driveway without hitting the motorcycle. Typical.
When he finally got the car in the driveway adequately enough so that he wouldn't get a ticket (god, could they give you a ticket on your own property?) Shiro followed Adam inside to be greeted with the sight of a flannel-clad, black haired boy who was almost the spitting image of Keith and a blond boy with blue eyes wearing… were those scrubs?
Shiro shook his head a little. Yep, they were scrubs.
Keith's doppelganger narrowed his eyes at Shiro, then looked back at the boy in scrubs and sighed loudly. "You see, dummy, I told you not to wear scrubs!"
"Well, maybe if you had done the laundry yesterday like I had asked, maybe scrubs wouldn't be the only clean thing I had left!" the blond boy shot back good naturedly.
"Aw, that's not true…" Keith's doppelganger smirked. "This flannel is yours."
The blond's jaw dropped. "Nico di Angelo I swear to whatever fucking deities I believe in these days that is my only clean shirt and you stole it you have like fifty flannels like what the fuck Nico-"
Nico shrugged. "It's warm."
"Dude." Lance said, sipping a pina colada. "Are you two sure you're not together?"
Keith reached over and slapped the back of his head. "That's rude, you dumbass dishcloth."
A guy with closely cropped blond hair walked out of the kitchen, carrying a glass of ice water. The scar on his lip was prominent as he smiled. "Don't worry, I've been asking them that for years."
It was then Keith seemed to notice Adam and Shiro, who were awkwardly standing in the doorway. "Space Dad and boyfriend! Come on in!" Lance interjected before Keith could say anything.
Shiro waved half heartedly and moved to shake hands with Nico, Will, and their blond friend whom he assumed was Jason.
"Hi, I'm Takashi Shirogane. You can call me Shiro or Takashi, either is good. And this is my boyfriend, Adam." he said as he firmly grasped the hand of Keith's doppelganger.
"Nice to meet you two. I'm Nico di Angelo, son of H-" he faltered quickly but picked up again almost immediately. "And this is Will, my roommate and long-time burden."
Will waved loosely. "Don't listen to him. He just pretends to hates me. That's Jason Grace over there. He's basically Nico's older brother, but they're not technically related."
Shiro nodded as Jason approached him upon hearing his name.
"Jason Grace. Pleasure to meet you, Shiro. I've heard a lot about you, all good things of c- Nico, sit down!"
Shiro glanced over at Nico, who was attempting to clamber onto the counter in attempt to reach the bag of paper cups on the top shelf of the cabinet.
Jason sighed. "Sorry about that. My brother is a little hard to control sometimes. Believe me, I've tried."
"Are you kidding me? Keith is just like that. When he was a kid, he was such a midget. At one point he tried standing on a cardboard box filled with bricks to reach a baseball that landed on our roof."
Jason winced. "I'm experienced with bricks. They usually end in concussions for me."
"Brason five-ever!" Nico yelled in a valley girl voice, barely holding back his laughter. "What would Piper say if she knew you were cheating, Golden Boy?"
Jason grumbled but smiled nonetheless. "They all ship me with a brick that someone threw at my head in summer camp. That's where all of us met."
"Riiiiight, so I'ma go now so you can have your no homo bonding time. Keith, stop making out with Lance and help me order food!" Adam screeched at the two boys, who just glared at him.
TIMESKIP TO A FEW HOURS LATER
"So there I am, hiding behind a bush, staking out the camp rivals, and Will comes up behind me with the stealth of a freaking ninja- I nearly decapitate him, and then he goes: 'I just delivered a baby! My hands are still shaking! FEEL THEM.' " Nico rolled off the couch, clutching his gut as he howled out the last part of the story.
"Okay, Death Breath, that was when we were fourteen. I cannot be held responsible for the actions of past me. Besides, at least I didn't design Cabin 13!"
Nico's face paled and he stopped laughing instantly. "Okay. I came out here to have a good time and I honestly feel so attacked right now!"
"Okay, but, like-" Adam glanced at Will questioningly. "What was a fourteen year old doing delivering a child?"
Will glanced at him warily. "We were short some medics. They needed me, so… there I was, I guess. I don't know. At our camp, it isn't uncommon for kids to be doing this stuff. They learn sword fighting and how to use a bow and arrow and that stuff. It's mainly a camp for… troubled kids."
Jason nodded, glasses slipping on his nose. "Most of the kids there have a mom or a dad that are absent from their lives. Special kids. It's a horrible life to have, really." He laughed bitterly.
Shiro decided to change the subject. Looking at them made his 'Space Dad' instinct kick in. They were just kids, but then again, weren't the paladins of Voltron kids when they were fighting Zarkon?
"So… Will, did you ever learn sword fighting or archery?"
A soft smile made its way onto his face. "I used to really like archery back when my brother Michael used to help me with it." Then his expression fell and he winced. He was silent for a few seconds, before whispering, "I don't really enjoy it so much anymore."
Nico's face twisted and he put a hand on Will's shoulder. There was a flash of mottled black and gray, and Will suddenly shrieked.
"Nico, what the FUCK is THAT?" he shook out his scrub top and out fell what looked like an oddly coloured garden hose.
Nico glared at him. "Nibbles doesn't like to be left at home alone! She gets sad. She just sort of… curled up in my flannel on the way out and I… rolled with it."
"Dude, is that a snake?" Keith's face lit up. "I used to have one of those! A ball python, right?"
"Her name is Nibbles." Nico said proudly as Keith examined the snake appreciatively.
"A fine specimen." Keith agreed, letting her nestle comfortably around his neck. Lance yelped and scrambled off the couch.
"Keith, darling, dearest mullet, vermillion, pretty boy, love of my life, I am not getting near you until you give the snake back to its owner. You must choose. Me or the snake."
"The snake doesn't eat all of my Rice Krispies Treats." Keith said without missing a beat.
Lance huffed and stuck out his tongue. "When's the food coming, Adam?"
As if on cue, the doorbell rang and Lance ran to get the door. He threw it open and Shiro saw his face scrunch up with confusion.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Perseus Jackson." a gravelly voice said. "I'm- I'm looking for Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, and Jason Grace. They said they were going to visit a Lance McClain and a Keith Kogane. Are they here? It's- it's important."
The people in question scrambled to the door.
"Percy? What happened?" Jason asked quickly.
At this point, everyone was at the door. 'Perseus Jackson' was a tall man with messy black hair and sea green eyes. And scars. A lot of scars, Shiro thought gravely.
"We need you guys at Camp Jupiter. Now."
"You mean their childhood camp's rival camp?" Keith asked.
Percy ignored him, searching Nico's face desperately for an answer.
"Why? Was there another attack?" Will said worriedly. "Do they need me?"
"Yeah, and it's a- a bad one to say the least. Reyna can't hold off on her own forever. There's a lot of casualties, we need the best healer and fighter the camps have there now. I haven't seen one this bad since the backlash after Kronos." Percy's voice cracked.
Nico's face contorted. "Percy, what happened?"
"I- I don't know, Nico. Reyna sent an IM that was cut short. I was at home and I came straight here to get you guys. I didn't even say goodbye to Mom or Paul or Estelle, I was so worried-" He paused, and then croaked out, "Annabeth- she was there teaching a class in the camp at the heart of the attack and Reyna said she couldn't find her-"
Nico and Will weren't waiting for him to finish. They were pulling on their sneakers and coats at lightning speed.
"I'll get us there. Don't worry, Perce- Annabeth's strong and, more importantly, smart. She'll be fine, I promise you." Nico was sprinting down the steps, beckoning them to follow.
"We're so sorry- it's really important, otherwise we wouldn't be leaving-" Jason explained hurriedly as he stuffed his shoelaces into his sneakers.
"Dude." Lance interrupted, snatching Nibbles from Keith's neck and dropping her in Jason's hands. "From what that Percy guy said, people might be dying from a terrorist attack of sorts. You go. Get out. SCRAM. Go save your people!"
Jason smiled gratefully, and tugged the door shut behind him, leaving the flat in silence.
"Well!" Adam finally said. "That was strange."
Everyone murmured in agreement, but Shiro kept staring at the door where Jason had just been. There was something strange about Will, Nico, Percy, and Jason. Something not quite right.
Something not quite human.
Second chapter as requested by Princess1906! Hope you enjoy it. This is all you guys are getting so far! As promised, I threw in Shiro and Jason and added Adam and Percy just for kicks. I'm playing with the idea of some angst, possibly attempted suicide, but I'm also kinda thinking not because I want to hook up Solangelo in a drunken game of truth-or-dare-karaoke. Read and review, please! Reviews give me life!
Happy reading, all!