Krolia sat on the front porch of the McClain's family farm. It had been a tiring day, but she didn't feel like entering the house yet. She felt the soft ocean breeze and she closed her eyes. The door creaked open and Krolia turned her head to look. She was surprised to see Maria McClain stepping out of the house in her nightgown. 'I'm sorry if I woke you', Krolia said, but Maria waived her off. 'I came down for a glass of water', she said. 'Are you all right? Today must've been hard for you.' Krolia looked away, opting to gaze at the stars instead. 'It was bearable', she said at last. Maria sat down next to her. 'If you need someone to talk to', Maria said, 'I'm right here.'

'Thank you for your offer', was all Krolia said. The two of them sat in silence for a long time, just looking at the stars. 'I've heard your story', Maria said eventually, her voice barely above a whisper. 'Things haven't been easy for you. You're a strong woman, but I can see you struggling, even if the others may not. It's hard to be strong all the time.'

'What do you know about being strong', Krolia said, harsher than she intended to.

'I may not know what it's like to make tough life-changing decisions on a daily basis,' Maria said, 'but I'm a Cuban woman with four children, living in a foreign country with my family. The choices we make might not be the same, but I know that we're both trying to do what's best for our family. It's hard to keep your poker face up all the time. Sometimes you just need to let it all out.' It was quiet again. 'I've let them both down', Krolia said eventually. 'I promised to protect them by continuing my missions with the Blade, but all I've done was abandon my family and leave my son to fend for himself when my husband died. Now my son's fighting a war I never wanted him to even know about and we've brought Earth in danger just by bringing Voltron to this planet. I have failed them all.' Maria was a good listener. She didn't once try to interrupt Krolia when she was talking, and she didn't express her pity, which was the last thing Krolia wanted. 'I'd always hoped that I could return here one day and be reunited with them', Krolia continued. 'It was the only thing that kept me going while I was undercover in those Galra bases. I used to dream about our reunion. Keith wouldn't be a small child anymore and my husband would've aged, but none of that mattered to me. I dreamed that they'd welcome me back with open arms and that we could spend the rest of our time together as a family.' Krolia could feel the tears well up in her eyes. 'Reality is harsh. My husband died a long time ago and I couldn't even be here for him in his final moments. I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most and I've missed all the important moments of his life: his first words, first steps, first fight… I don't deserve to be his mother.'

'Don't', Maria said, placing a hand on top of Krolia's. 'Don't convince yourself that. You did what you thought was right. It was a tough call, not everyone could've done that. But you did. You did what you thought was best for your family and that alone makes you a great mother, Krolia. As someone who has been left behind, I can tell you that knowing that the other is out there doing something important and great helps. But the best way to cure that gaping hole in our hearts is to have the other back again. I've only just met Keith, but I can tell he's changed. He's nothing like the boy Lance used to tell me about.'

'The red paladin talked about Keith?' Krolia asked, surprised at this new piece of information. Maria chuckled. 'All the time', she said. 'Our boys have been in the same class for years. Lance had always been an outgoing person. He wanted to make friends with everyone. He got frustrated when Keith shot down all his attempts at befriending him. According to Lance, Keith was an emo lone wolf who never spoke a word to anyone else or paid attention in class. But he still managed to be the best at everything he did and he got to hang out with the Takashi Shirogane.' Krolia smiled, picturing a small red paladin complaining to his mother about Keith. But then he pictured Keith and her heart broke all over again. 'Keith has changed', Maria repeated. 'He has found his place in the world- or universe, and he has found a sense of purpose. But more importantly, he found you. He's happy now, I'm sure you've seen it too. You can't change the past, Krolia, but you can shape your own future.'

'Thank you, Maria', Krolia said. 'For everything.'

'You're welcome', she answered. 'Just remember that we're all here for you if you need us.' Krolia nodded. 'I have one last question', she said. 'Why are you doing this?'

Maria smiled. 'I can never turn down anyone who needs help', she said. 'Besides, a family takes care of each other.'

'But we're not family', Krolia said, confused by her words. 'Not yet, you mean', Maria corrected. 'We might not be family now, but seeing our boys dancing around each other, it probably won't take long before we are.' Krolia laughed. Maria was right. It was hard to miss the tension between the two boys. She felt better after having this talk with Maria. Krolia might have lost a part of her heart and family, but being accepted into this one might not be so bad after all.

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Colleen quietly slipped out of bed and headed to the restroom. On her way back she passed Matt's room. Through the open door, she could see her son lying spread out like a starfish on his bed. She chuckled lightly to herself when she heard Matt's loud snoring. Colleen decided to go check on Katie –Pidge, she reminded herself- as well. She was surprised to see light coming out from under the door. Colleen knocked before she entered. Pidge didn't even look up from the computer. She cleared her throat. 'Pidge?' They didn't even react, though Rover and Pidge's floaty alien pets did. Colleen sighed and stepped closer to her child. It was almost impossible to grab their attention when they were busy, a trait they'd inherited from their father. Colleen placed her hand on Pidge's shoulder, startling them. 'Mom!' They said', readjusting Matt's old glasses. 'It's late, Kat-Pidge', she said gently. The smile on Pidge's face when she corrected herself warmed her heart. Colleen had missed them all so much when they were gone. 'It's time to sleep.'

'But mom', Pidge pleaded. 'I'm almost done. I just need to solve this problem. Five more minutes, please?' They looked up at her with their huge puppy dog eyes. There was a time when Colleen couldn't resist that look, but now she'd trained herself to say no. 'You said that-' she looked at the clock- 'three hours ago. It'll do you no good to stare at that screen all night. Get some rest, the solution will come to you in the morning. I promise.'

Pidge sighed in defeat. 'Okay, mom.' Colleen led Pidge to their bed and tucked them in. Rover took their place at the end of the bed while the floaty clouds landed around Pidge. Colleen placed a kiss on Pidge's forehead. 'Goodnight, sweetie', she whispered.

'Goodnight mom', Pidge yawned. They were asleep before Collen even left the room. She made her way back to her own room and slipped under the covers. Sam's arm found its way around her waist and Colleen snuggled closer to her husband. Her family was home. They were safe. She slept better than she had for the past years.

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Lance was awoken by the sound of someone rummaging through the drawers. 'Oh my god, mullet! It's early in the morning, can you keep it down?!' Lance buried his face into his pillow. 'It's not my fault I can't find a shirt because my old ones don't fit anymore', Keith muttered. Lance tried to block out the noise and fall back asleep but it was too late, his mind was already awake. Lance groaned as he sat up in bed. He threw Keith a stink eye before stepping out of bed and grabbing the gift bag from the desk. He shoved it into Keith's hand before sitting down on the side of the bed. 'Souvenirs from Paris', Lance told Keith. He watched as Keith glanced down curiously at the bag. 'Well? See what's inside', Lance urged. 'The bag isn't the gift, you know. Though I totally understand your fascination wi-' He was cut off by a pillow thrown at his face. 'Hey!'

'Oops', Keith said innocently. Lance wanted to throw the pillow back at Keith's face, but quiznack that smile was cute. Keith pulled a black, skin-tight, synthetic shirt out of the bag. He pulled a face. 'Is that-'

'Yup', Lance answered. 'That's the Eifel tower made out of pink rhinestones. And? Do you like it?' He asked jokingly. The look on Keith's face as he tried to find a response that wouldn't insult Lance was hilarious. Lance couldn't help but laugh. 'Don't worry,' Lance wheezed, 'I bought that just to mess with you. There's another one in there.' This time, Lance was prepared for the shirt that was thrown at him. 'What does it say?' Keith asked as he held up a red shirt with 'Je suis allé à Paris' on it.

'Uhm, I don't think it's appropriate….'

'Lance!'

'Just kidding', Lance snickered. 'God, it's so easy to mess with you. I thought it said 'I've been to Paris' or something. Veronica told me, but I forgot.'

'Whatever', Keith huffed, changing into the shirt. 'Wanna go spar before breakfast?'

'Wow, you really haven't changed at all', Lance said, earning himself an eye roll. 'Give me ten minutes to go through my skincare routine and I'll meet you outside.'

Ten minutes later, the two paladins stood in front of the house, stretching and warming up. 'So how are we going to spar?' Keith asked, bending forward to reach his toes. 'It's not like you guys have training swords lying around and you can't spar with a rifle.' That's when Lance remembered that Keith hadn't seen his new sword yet. 'We'll just start and see what happens', Lance shrugged, smirking mentally. He couldn't wait to see the surprise on Keith's face.

'Hey, I thought that shirt was my gift', Keith said, looking at the shirt Lance was wearing.

'Well since you weren't going to appreciate it as much as I do', Lance said, 'I thought I could be the one to put it to good use.'

'I don't think you understand how gifts work, Lance', Keith said mockingly. Lance smirked. 'Well, if you want it so badly, I guess we can switch.'

'Oh shut up and grab your Bayard', Keith grumbled. He activated his Bayard and it transformed into his usual sword. Lance looked directly into Keith's eyes as he activated his Bayard, willing it to take the form of an Altean broadsword. Lance loved to see the surprise on Keith's face. 'What- when did- how?' Keith sputtered.

'Dunno', Lance shrugged. 'I was training one day and it just turned into this sword.' Keith stepped closer and reached out a hand. 'Can I?' Keith asked.

'Yeah sure.' Lance held the sword out so Keith could admire it better. He made sure to hold on to it so the Bayard wouldn't deactivate. 'Allura said it's an Altean broadsword', Lance told Keith. 'She also said that it's like the one king Alfor used.' Suddenly, a voice called from the house. 'Lance! Stop showing your sword off to Keith! I don't care how long it is, there are children present!' Lance jumped back, his sword clattered onto the ground, transforming back to its usual shape. 'What the quiznack, Veronica?!' Lance called back, feeling the blush creeping up on his cheeks. 'You can't say things like that!'

'You don't want to ruin little Marco's innocence now, do you?' Victoria smirked, throwing an arm around Marco's shoulders. 'Besides, whatcha gonna do about it? Tell papá or mamá about showing your sword to Keith?'

'Ay, mija, stop teasing your brother', papá said, stepping out of the house. 'Besides, you know how sensitive your brother can be when it comes to his sword.' Lance was blushing furiously while Keith was doubling over from laughter. 'You wanted to train, Kogane?' Lance called, picking up his Bayard. 'Then bring it.' Keith straightened himself and tightened his grip on his sword. 'I won't go easy on you', he said.

'That's my line', Lance retorted. 'You're going down.'

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A black car showed up after breakfast. Lance was greeted by a tall dark-haired man in a garrison uniform when he opened the door.

'Lance McClain?' The man asked. His face was blank, and his voice was just as monotonous.

'That's me', Lance answered, flashing the man a smile.

'I'm Sergeant Miller', the man said. 'I'm here to escort you, Keith Kogane, and Ms. Krolia to the airport.'

'Right, we're almost ready', Lance told Sergeant Miller. 'You can come in if you want.' The Sergeant decided to stay outside while Lance walked back to the living room. 'Sergeant Miller is outside', Lance told the others. 'He'll bring us to the airport.' He turned around to look at Keith and Krolia. 'Are you guys ready? Lance asked. Keith looked at Lance and pointed at his own paladin armor. 'Are you ready?' He asked. 'Of course I'm ready, why wouldn't I- ooh.' Lance had forgotten to change into his armor. 'I'll be back in a tick.' He dashed up the stairs and changed into his armor in record time. He grabbed his Bayard from his nightstand and went downstairs again. 'Okay, now we're ready to go', Lance announced. He kissed his mother goodbye and promised to be back as soon as possible. The rest of his family wished them luck before they left the house.

'Hey serge', Lance said when they were seated in the car. It was a spacious car with two rows of backseats across each other. 'Can I call you that?' Lance asked.

'You may not', the sergeant answered sharply. Lance shrugged. 'We're going to the airport right? Do I need to bring my passport?'

'Did you bring your passport when you went to Cuba or France?' The sergeant asked dryly.

'Yeah, okay. Never mind.' Lance muttered. It was a quiet ride since apparently, the sergeant didn't like to listen to music in the car. Krolia was the one to break the silence. 'Have you both memorized what the princess sent?' She asked. Krolia was speaking Galran, choosing not to use her communicator. But Lance could understand her thanks to his connection with Red. 'There wasn't anything new', Keith answered. 'Most of it was just the usual procedure.' It took Lance a few seconds to realize that Keith responded in Galran. 'You learned Galran?' Lance asked in surprise.

'Yeah, learned it when I joined the Blade. It's useful in situations like these. The Serge is definitely trying to gather more Intel by listening to our conversation, so I think it's the best if you just nod or shake no.'

Lance rolled his eyes. 'You're not the only one who learned a new language, Keith', Lance answered in accented Altean. Keith blinked, he seemed surprised. 'You know Altean?' Keith asked.

'Yes, for a matter of fact, I do', Lance answered. 'Coran taught me the basics during our cleaning sessions.' Lance wasn't going to admit that he originally wanted to learn Altean to impress the princess before he realized that his crush would never lead anywhere. But at least he got to impress Keith with it, which sorta made up for the fact that he'd spend hours being chased by holographic monsters while trying to learn the language. They continued their conversation in Galran and Altean, but there was only so much Lance could've learned in a year. So every time he didn't know or forgot a word, he'd use the Spanish word and hope that Sergeant Miller didn't bother to take Spanish in high school.

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They met up with the others in front one of the Garrison's private planes. 'Wow, I'm really not used to airplanes anymore', Hunk said as he sat down on one of the luxurious leather seats. 'I know right?' Pidge said. 'Compared to the spaceships, airplanes are just so…primitive.'

'Yeah', Hunk agreed. 'It takes like three hours to get to New York. Three hours. We could've flown to the Balmera and back in three hours.'

'You'd like that wouldn't you, big guy', Lance teased. 'A nice trip to the Balmera to visit your girlfriend.'

'Shay's not my girlfriend', Hunk muttered, his cheeks turning red.

'And Keith doesn't have a mullet', Lance said. 'Stop lying to yourself. You like her.'

'Speaking of Keith', Pidge said deviously, adjusting their glasses with a sly smile. That little gremlin!

'Who wants to watch a movie?' Lance called, changing the subject as fast as possible. 'We've been gone for a year, there's a lot to catch up on.' That's how Pidge, Hunk, Keith, and Lance ended up watching Moana while the rest continued to prepare for the meeting. But eventually, they couldn't resist the Disney magic any longer and they all watched the movie together.

'That's officially my favorite Disney movie', Hunk declared after the movie ended.

'Guys', Lance said. 'There's still time before we arrive. You know what this means.'

'DISNEY SING ALONG!' Hunk, Matt, and Pidge cheered. Lance pulled out his phone because obviously, he downloaded all the Disney songs on his phone the moment he had access to the internet again. Pidge and Matt started off with 'Make a man out of you', using bottles of water as their microphones. Hunk and Lance followed with 'Love is an open door', and after lots of persuading from Shiro, Keith joined him in singing 'A whole new world.' Lance's mind stopped working when he heard Keith sing. Hunk had to give Lance a hard nudge for him to pick his jaw up from the ground. Lance didn't waste another moment to grab Hunk's phone and recorded the rest of the duet. Everyone was having tons of fun. Eventually, it turned into a competition: everyone had to perform in the most dramatic way possible. Pidge dared him to sing 'I won't say I'm in love'. Their eyes glanced over to Keith for a second. 'You're on', Lance whispered. Lance sang and danced while Hunk, Pidge, and Matt sang the part of the muses. Lance had to work up some courage, but he draped himself dramatically over Keith during the first chorus and winked when he stood up again. He allowed himself a second to freak out before continuing with the rest of the song. Lance caught Pidge's eye roll and stuck his tongue out at them. They moved on to 'Zero to hero' afterward, but they changed 'Hercules' into 'Takashi' and 'Herc' into 'Shiro'. It was incredibly funny to see Shiro laughing and blushing throughout the song. They continued to sing for the rest of the flight. Even Coran joined in sometimes when he recognized a song, since Lance always liked to sing Disney song while cleaning. When they finished belting out 'Let it go', the pilot announced that they'd be landing soon. The atmosphere turned serious again, but Lance did feel a bit more relaxed that he had been before.

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They were led through multiple security checks before they finally stood in front of the door that would lead them to the world council. 'Remember', Allura said, 'this is just another diplomatic meeting. It's going to be all right.' The door opened and they were led to a long table in front of the entire council.

'I am princess Allura of Altea', Allura said, her posture as regal as ever. 'Today we represent Voltron, the Blade of Mamora, and the Galactic Rebellion. We're here to invite Earth to join the Voltron Coalition.'

'And what exactly is the coalition, princess Allura?' A man with a British accent asked.

'The Coalition is a resistance force against the Galra Empire', Allura explained. 'We, as Voltron, are dedicated to our cause to free the planets enslaved by the Galra.'

'And what is the Galra exactly?' Another woman asked. 'You can't believe us to join without understanding everything there is to now.'

Allura gave Coran a subtle nod and the man walked over to the center of the room. Coran activated the hologram. Within a second, the room was filled with a holographic map of the universe. With the help of Pidge, Allura showed explained the situation with holographic pictures and videos. They went on for hours, answering questions about Voltron, the rebellion, and space.

'What about the Kerberos crew?' A man asked. 'What exactly happened to you?'

Shiro cleared his throat. 'We were attacked by the Galra on Kerberos. They brought Sam and Matthew Holt to the labor camps while I was sent to the Colosseum to fight for their amusement. They took my right arm and replaced it with a bionic arm made of Galra tech. But the one that I have now is made by Pidge Holt after I lost my other one in battle.'

'Do you have proof?' A voice asked. Suddenly, everyone was asking all their questions and shouting their opinions at once. 'Can we really trust the words of these teenagers?' 'You're warning us about the Galra, but that woman is standing right next to you!' 'Footage can be faked, aliens don't exist. That woman is wearing a costume. They're just pulling our legs!' The council wasn't giving them a chance to explain and answer their question. They had just spent the past few hours explaining everything, it was as if they hadn't listened at all! Lance had enough. They weren't being taken seriously.

'ENOUGH!' Lance yelled, standing up from his chair. It was quiet. 'We might seem like a bunch of naïve children to you, but we've faced dangers much worse than you could ever imagine. We're not asking you to join the fight, we're only seeking permission to set up a temporary base on earth until we have rebuild or ship. As Allura said before, it's a peaceful coalition with tons of merits. Earth can build relationships with other planets that are part of the coalition, trading and exchanging information with them. The Galra are a real threat, you've seen the footage, you know what the Galra can do. All we're asking is a chance to protect Earth from falling into their hands.'

'I think that has been enough for today', someone said. 'We shall consider your offer. Thank you, we will contact you once we've made our decision.' They were led out of the room by a couple of security guards and escorted back to the cars that would bring them back to the airport.

'I'm sorry', Lance said once they were on the plane. 'I lost my cool and pissed them off.' He sunk deeper into his chair. He hated diplomacy.

'On the contrary, my boy', Coran said, twirling his mustache. 'I've got the feeling that your words got through to them.' Lance glanced up. 'You think?'

'Coran's right', Allura said. 'You did well. You all did.'

'And besides,' Pidge added, 'you got us out of that hellhole. Did you see that one creep with the glasses who kept looking at Allura as if he was trying to undress her with his eyes? He was whispering shit to his friends or something when everyone was shouting. I would've tasered him if you didn't start talking, Lance.'

'Yeah, I saw it too', Hunk agreed. 'I know that most of them have probably been working non-stop for the past two days, but I thought they were supposed to be at least a bit more professional.'

'It doesn't matter now', Shiro said. 'All we can do now is rest and wait. We have to be prepared in case of an emergency.' They all agreed with Shiro, it had been a long day. They decided to watch another movie on the flight back, but most of them fell asleep halfway through. The airplane landed when the sun was just starting to set. Everyone was being led to different cars again. But before Lance stepped into the car, he remembered something and dashed over to Coran. 'Hey, Coran!' Lance called.

'What is it, my boy?' Coran asked.

'So I had this idea…'