AN: So slight spoiler about Keith's dad's profession if you haven't seen season six. Otherwise I guessed what happened with the Kogane family.

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"You're still here?"

Shiro kept his eyes closed as her fingers went through his bangs. "This is my room." He cracked an eye open to see her chin on his chest. "I'm surprised you're not up yet."

"This is my castle."

"So every room is yours?"

"Is it not?"

"I suppose." He let loose a small grin. "But even Coran's?"

She gave him a flat look. "I can see where the team gets their flippant attitude."

He turned them so he could bury his face in her hair.

"It could have started from you."

"Impossible," she primly sniffed. "That is not proper royal behavior."

He chuckled and then sat up. She blinked as he got off of the cot.

"Where are you going?"

He didn't miss the slight pout on her face. It almost made him want to go back into bed and cuddle longer. But alas there were things to do, especially since Pidge was getting closer to deciphering the information from Sendek.

"Coran's teaching me to fly the pod."

He pulled out a clean shirt and switched it from his sleeping one. She averted her gaze with a slight flush. He hadn't changed while she was in the room before. When the rustling of clothes stopped she turned back to him. His messy white bangs made her smile.

"Bed head suits you."

He combed his hair as he eyed her long hair draped on the pillows.

"Likewise, highness."

When he made to leave she cleared her throat.

"You're forgetting something."

"Of course."

He walked back towards her but to grab his vest hanging from the railing. She felt her brow tick in annoyance. Then her eyes widened slightly when his hand tilted her chin upwards. The kiss was too brief for her to respond. He took a second to brush his forefinger along her jawline before withdrawing.

"You're trouble," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

He saw the rosy cheeks and crookedly smiled.

"Good thing you like trouble."

She threw the pillow but it merely hit the now closed door.

When Keith entered the tech lab the last thing he expected was the mess.

"I thought labs were supposed to be orderly."

Pidge's shoulders twitched upwards but she did not look away from her screen. "Don't sneak up on me." Without looking she snagged some orange treat on a stick Hunk made and popped it into her mouth. "If you're looking for Shiro he went down into the main fleet hanger with Coran."

"Not the Black Lion's hanger?"

She shrugged. "Who knows what goes through leader's head sometimes."

Keith frowned slightly. Pidge continued working but then turned her head when she had yet to hear the sliding door.

"You forget where the hangers are?"

"No." He walked over to her work area. He quirked a brow when he had to side step some blue fuzzy thing on a plate. Space mold. If there was one thing that the Garrison taught him it was the importance of cleanliness. There was junk all over his cabin but he'd guarantee not one piece of trash. "How's that energy transfer machine going?"

"Still working on it."

"You said that three days ago."

She looked upwards with unmasked exasperation. "This is new tech Keith. It's going to take time. Besides," she gestured to the tank of floating purple strands, "unraveling Sendek's memories is my priority. Then the quintessence first aid."

He eyed the tank with distaste. "Sendak can wait an hour."

"Shiro and Allura said -"

"Look, I know we need more information. I'm not stupid." Keith put his hand down on the desk to lean in. "But we need this technology. The Princess almost dying should have made that clear."

Pidge completely turned her chair to him. He may be the sword hand of Voltron but she was the shield, their defense. He wasn't the only one Shiro heavily depended on and trusted in the heat of battle. Her eyes narrowed just slightly. It was one thing for him to want to take the lead in duo exercises but his authority didn't extend into her lab. The way he was ordering her around lately wasn't going to fly anymore.

This kitty needs a lesson...

"Fine." She got up from her chair and pulled out a box by the table. "I need someone to help."

"I don't -"

"I can't make any more progress without this test."

He stared her off for a moment before plopping down on a stool. He watched as she set it up by connecting two wires on either side of a metal box the size of his hand. The top of the box had a clear window to reveal a fragment of the Balmeran crystal inside. She handed him an armband that was connected to one of the wires she had connected.

"Strap this on but make sure it touches skin."

He slid off his jacket then put it on. He looked up to see her doing the same thing except her armband didn't have as many wires as his.

"Wait, we're transferring energy already?"

She waved off his concern. "That was the easy part." She pressed something on the box and it began to hum. "The hard part is preventing memory transfers."

He looked at her suspiciously. "Who's the one transferring?"

"You. I need to make sure the receiving is smooth."

"Someone else should do this."

"Scared, mullet?"

Her prod worked predictably. Annoyance flashed in his dark eyes.

"I'm not scared of anything."

"Good." She slipped on a headband from the training room and then jammed one on his head. "We'll use these so we can tell right away if memories transferred."

"Ow!" He glared at her rough handling and then his eyes widened when she was already flipping a switch. "Wait I-"

She grinned evilly when she saw his surprise.

The grin was quick to wane. She felt a surge of electricity as some of his energy went to her. Her eyes were wide as the lab faded from her view. She was no longer Pidge Gunderson, Katie Holt, the Green Paladin. She wasn't even female anymore. She was -

- Scared. Their house was still on fire and his father - He coughed as he stood up. Blood was rushing so fast to his head he was surprised his legs could move at all. He coughed so hard he felt like his lungs were going to come out.

'Dad!'

His knees hit the ground hard as he was by his father's prone figure. He was still. His small hands trembled above the air, frozen. What should he do? He'd never had to look over someone before. He tried to remember what he'd seen on tv, what he'd seen his father do when he was watching him train at the fire station. Nothing was coming to him.

Not a damn thing...

"Move over boy!"

He allowed himself to be pushed aside. He was suddenly aware of the siren sounds. The fire probably caught someone's attention by now. There were no neighbors for miles. The paramedic turned his father on his back and then started checking him over.

"He's not breathing."

The procedure came to him as the paramedic did it. Compressions. Breath. Compressions again. His hands fisted the dirt as his father's eyes were still closed. They were trying to open his shirt to use the defibulater but he already knew it wouldn't work. He felt numb as he looked back at their house. The awful letters were still burning in the yard.

Freak.

The prototype shut off suddenly.

Pidge took in a deep breath. Keith's hand was on the metal box, having slammed a fist on it to get it to stop. He ripped off the armband and headband without a word. She was still trying to make her mouth move when he was already at the door.

"Keith-"

The door slid closed. She took her glasses off to rub her eyes.

Quiznak.

The lasers of the training room sounded out all around them.

Hunk grimaced as he narrowly dodged one. Lance yelped as the Yellow Paladin pushed him forward into the wall of the maze. The exercise did not require them to be invisible but they still gave off a slight shock when touched.

"Watch it Hunk!"

"Sorry!" Hunk's gun sounded out as he tried to aim at some lasers at the top. "Big guy in a narrow space!"

"Bull in a china shop," Lance grunted as he stepped next to Hunk. "I got these. Go lead the way! There's no way I'm letting Keith and Pidge get that flag again!"

Hunk quickly jogged ahead. "It's not really fair though." He paused to shoot at a gladiator. By how quickly it fell he noted that it was a Level One. "They're both small. Smaller people are quicker."

"Come on man!" Lance huffed, "I believe in you."

Hunk turned around with a smile. "Really?"

Lance quickly materialized his shield as Hunk's bayard shot at him.

"Seriously?!"

"Sorry! So so sorry!"

Above the training deck Shiro stood in front of the windows with his arms crossed. He shook his head as Lance blocked another shot from Hunk. As sad as it was, he was surprised the friendly fire hadn't happened earlier in the exercise. At least Hunk's getting better about that. The Legs of Voltron were getting stronger with each exercise. He could tell the difference each time they transformed. A smile appeared on his face as Hunk's shield blocked a laser headed for Lance. In turn, Lance kneeled and took out the robot sniper.

Good. As for the Arms...

He looked over at the other end of the maze, seeing a flash of red and green. He expected to see well coordinated attacks but ended up frowning. They weren't working together, that much was clear. It was almost like they were each going solo. They were still making better progress through the maze than the other two but the disjointedness had him concerned.

A Gladiator appeared.

Keith slid under it, leaving Pidge behind. Shiro's arms uncrossed in surprise. That's a Level Three. Pidge could just barely beat a level two on a good day. She ducked and shot out her bayard to swing above it but the Gladiator's staff was quick to knock her off in mid air.

Pidge yelled out as she landed awkwardly. The Gladiator's staff was swinging down -

"End sequence!"

Shiro ran out as soon as the maze faded away. By the time he got down to the training deck Hunk and Lance were by Pidge's form on the floor. Keith hovered a distance away.

"Pidge! Are you hurt?"

"M-My ankle." She tried to get up but quickly fell back down. Hunk caught her before she hit the ground. "I think it's twisted."

"Lance, tell Allura to meet us in the med bay."

Shiro lifted Pidge up. She protested a little but not for long. She knew she wouldn't make it to the infirmary with one busted foot.

"Keith."

The Red Paladin's shoulders stiffen at Shiro's tone.

"We'll talk later."

"...Fine."

Lance was about to mock him but Hunk was quick to elbow him.

It wasn't the time.

"You abandoned your teammate."

Keith kept his gaze on the window. Funny how he had snickered when Lance had a scolding session set up with Shiro. It was the same room too. Why would he choose such an open area to chew us out?

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

The teen's hands clenched. This wasn't his first lecture from Shiro, not by a long shot. But he hadn't sounded so severe before. Was that why he was hesitating in looking at him? His eyes closed. What's wrong with me?

"Keith," Shiro's tone eased just a bit, "You're better than this."

Keith opened his eyes and turned towards him. Shiro's brows furrowed as he saw so many emotions swimming around, but most notably guilt. He sighed long. Keith's eyes widened as Shiro stepped up and put a hand along the back of Keith's neck.

They were head to head.

"I won't lie, I'm beyond disappointed," Shiro murmured. "I don't know what's going on but it needs to stop. A team needs to be able to look after one another."

Keith closed his eyes and then lifted his head away. Shiro allowed him the space.

"It won't happen again."

The teen walked off. Shiro called out to him before he went through the door.

"I'm still here for you."

Keith inclined his head and then left.

"You're quiet tonight."

Shiro looked away from the holoscreen Allura had up. Their intel on the Galra empire was pitifully bare.

"How's Pidge's foot?"

"Sprained. She opted for the healing salmute instead of the cryopod." Allura changed the screen back to the map of the known universe. "She declared not wanting to lose a tick of time in deciphering Sendek's memories."

"Pidge," he fondly shook his head.

"Did Keith tell you what happened?"

"No. But I know he won't do it again."

She leaned against the control panel to look at him.

"How can you be so certain?"

"I've known Keith since he was a kid. I can tell when he's bs-ing and when he means what he says."

"You would know better than me." Pause. "I saw you were sparring with Hunk and Lance."

He half smiled. "And?"

She shrugged. "I've seen better fights." She turned around to the holo-map. "But you weren't exerting your full strength."

He stepped up behind her. She felt his nose tickle the back of her exposed neck. She squirmed a little but he put his arm around her waist to keep her in place.

"Stop that," she half heartedly protested.

He leaned his chin on her shoulder. "So what did Pidge say?"

"Why do you think she told me anything?"

"You prod," he murmured in her ear.

She sighed. He was learning how to read her a little too fast.

"...She saw a private memory."

"Of Keith's? How?"

"They were testing out the quintessence first aid device."

"That's not all of it." He released her waist so he could look at her properly. "Keith wouldn't hold that against Pidge."

"She manipulated him to assist."

"...That'll do it," he sighed.

"What will you do?"

"Nothing else. They'll have to sort it out."

"Is that best?"

"I know them. They're both aware of being in the wrong."

"...I envy them."

He quirked a brow. "I don't see why."

"You know them so well and they you."

"You're getting to know me now."

"Just a little."

It was his turn to lean against the control panel. "What do you want to know?"

"...Truly? When before you used to evade my questions?"

"I'm not ready to answer certain questions," he half shrugged. "But I'll try to."

"What changed, I wonder?"

His eyelids lowered as she leaned into him.

"Beats me," he played along.

"A mystery."

She brushed his mouth briefly before withdrawing. He pulled her back for a proper kiss. She responded by angling her mouth a little.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty five," he murmured against her mouth before breaking away. "Why?"

"I overheard the others say you were only six deca-phoebs."

He sighed long as his forehead dropped onto hers.

"The joke has to do with the day my birth fell on..."

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AN: I'm sure that wasn't what he thought she'd ask. Stop picking on Space Dad you guys. XD