SH
SH
SH
"Sound off. Keith here."
"Allura here."
"Pidge here."
"...You guys think there's any waffle mix? Maybe with some candied pecans, little powdered sugar, topped with a fluffy dome of whipped cream in the middle..."
The team groaned. Lance sighed with some amusement.
"You just need to say your name Hunk. It's not rocket science."
"Which isn't as hard as people think," Pidge chirruped.
"Of course not," Allura laughed. "Why would you say it is?"
"It is hard," Keith and Lance flatly said.
"Jinx!" Lance quickly yelled out. "You owe me a soda!"
"Where in the quiznak am I going to get soda from?"
"Not my problem. And you're not supposed to be talking until I get my soda. Respect the Jinx rules."
"Hunk here," the Yellow Paladin finally responded. "Lance, it's your turn."
"He doesn't have to answer," Pidge laughed, "clearly he's fine if he's arguing with Keith."
"No, everyone has to answer." Lance could practically see the frown on good ol' leader's face. "Routine makes discipline."
"So I should follow the rules?" Lance innocently asked.
"For Sound Off." Keith easily smelled the trap. "Not your stupid kid games."
"Quiznak."
"...Lance?"
The Red Paladin opened his eyes suddenly. He was in his family's room in the Garrison. He slowly blinked at the large dip in the above bunk bed. Apparently his tio still didn't believe in laying off on the carbs. That old man was sure stubborn. Lance felt a half smile form on his face.
"Lance."
He turned to look across the way. Veronica was sitting up in bed with a plain white t-shirt on. He looked down on his left, seeing that his mother was still asleep besides him. Her dark wavy hair was piled up in a messy bun on top of her head. He lightly moved a stray lock out of her face before turning back to his sister.
"What's up?"
"You tell me." She crossed her arms. "That's the second time you've said something out loud."
"Really? Didn't notice."
Her demeanor relaxed a little, seeing her brother's listlessness.
"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."
"Huh?"
She half smiled. "Just visit every once in a while that way ma doesn't put out another missing child alert."
"...Did she really -"
"And posters."
Lance's eyes closed tight. He never wanted to hurt his family. But Voltron -
"...It's not that I don't want to stay. I just -"
"It's fine, Lance. Really."
He felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. "You're the best."
"I know."
Pidge arrived at the door with several pillows.
She looked around her tower to see Lance with blankets.
"You too?"
"Yeah." Lance gave her a sad smile. "Especially after seeing the wall."
"...yeah."
"I'll knock."
"Forget it." She put the pillows down to pull out a keycard. "Dad had a copy. Said he had a feeling I'd need it."
"Good ol' Science Dad."
"Please." She swiped the card with a quick flick. "Sci-Dad."
Morning came.
James stood just a little behind Veronica as they waited for someone to answer the door. Keith pulled it open and then proceeded to continue buttoning his orange and white cadet over shirt. James' eyes widened upon seeing the packed room with people in various stages of changing then flushed when he saw Romelle shrugging into her top, her distinctively teal earth bra slowly being covered.
He averted his eyes. Then couldn't help but notice that the couch had been pushed aside and stripped of all its pillows. The bunk beds along the walls were just the metal frames. Right smack in the middle were the cot mattresses, pillows, and several blankets.
"Did you all sleep in here?" James blurted out.
"Yes." Keith calmly turned to Veronica. "We're almost ready."
"That's fine. We'll wait out here."
"Ok."
The door closed. James turned to Veronica with disbelief.
"They all slept in there."
"Apparently." Veronica smiled with a bit of mischief. "You mean you don't have non-mission sleepovers with your squadron?"
"Never."
She lightly laughed. "Every team is unique."
"I guess."
But he had a feeling this wasn't exactly normal.
"Are you certain you do not require more rest?"
"Yes." Shiro watched the coffee level rise in his cup. "That's good."
Allura lifted the pot up to stem the flow. She took a sniff, flooding her senses with a new scent...yet her mind seemed to recall its taste yet she knew she never had it before. She eyed Shiro as he poured in some white liquid and stirred. Creamer. She frowned at knowing the word then relaxed.
Another side effect.
"You want to try it?"
She put the pot down on the counter to take his mug. He watched her take an experimental sip and then tipped the mug back some more. He chuckled a little.
"This is almost as good as those milk-shakes."
He lifted his hand up when she made to give it back. "I'll fix another cup."
He pulled out another mug from the rack. She poured more coffee with one hand while sipping with the other. She lifted the pot up according to the level of fullness he had last time. When he was ready with his new mug they walked back to their table. Their lunch rations were small portions but it was enough to sustain them until late dinner.
"How's Sendak's memories going?"
"We've found them again but transcribing will take too long."
"And the admiral is running out of patience," he muttered into his mug.
"A dangerous thing," she murmured quietly, "especially during war."
"Do you have to transcribe all of it?"
"It would be better to instead of picking and choosing sections." Pause. "Unless -"
"Hey." Both turned to look at Keith. "Anyone seen Hunk?"
"Not since this morning," Shiro answered. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"Not physically. But emotionally...Maybe."
Shiro and Allura shared a smile. Watching Keith grow into his leader role was too much sometimes.
"Follow your instincts," Allura smiled reassuringly. "Though you may no longer be the Red Paladin that quality is still strong within you, Keith."
"What Allura said," Shiro amusedly replied.
"Ok." Keith lowered his voice a little. "Is your head still..."
"It's better. The full soul/body absorption takes a while, apparently."
"I can see that happening. Let us know if anything feels off."
"Sure."
Keith glanced at Allura. She gave him a small nod. Satisfied with that, he left the table. Shiro eyed Allura with suspicion. Keith had been around him all morning. And now it was Allura in the afternoon.
"Are you two babysitting me?"
"Of course not Shiro." She lifted her mug up calmly. "You're hardly a child."
"Then why do you know what the word 'babysitting' means?"
"Your memories."
He didn't look away yet. "I've never babysat in my entire life."
"Not even when Keith was younger?"
"I looked after him. That's different."
"Yes." Her eyes softened a little. "It was."
"...Don't give me that look Allura."
"Fine. We are." She smoothed her face over. "Let me guess, you want us to stop."
"...No."
"Truly?"
He gave her a flat look. "As if you would if I asked."
She let out a hum. "We wouldn't. But we would try to make it less visible."
"Cameras are worse."
She put her mug down. "It's alright to want company."
"..."
She primly wiped her mouth and then stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to test out an idea." She half smiled. "We'll meet again later."
He half closed his eyes, remembering the comfort he felt waking up with his team surrounding him. All of that body heat had woken him sooner than he had wanted but it was a small sacrifice to pay.
"I'd like that."
The paladins had first use of the training rooms and simulators.
With fuel being limited the pilot training was mainly the simulators. Then it was the MFEs turn. James couldn't lie, he didn't like having to follow them in anything. It only made the preference that more stark. In the locker room he dug out a clean shirt and put it on with little patience.
"It's like we were just warming the bench for them," he muttered under his breath.
Kinkade heard it and snorted.
James sighed. This isn't what he was supposed to be doing. As the leader of the MFEs he was supposed to be setting the example, despite whatever his feelings were. He made sure not to slam his locker closed.
"We need more information."
Kinkade continued doing up his boots. "Upper command is working on it."
"Not on the Galra. The Paladins."
His teammate slowly looked up at him.
"No one sits next to them during meal times, no one besides upper command approaches them. They even stay together in one crammed room even though they don't have to and -" James ran a hand through his hair. "I don't pretend to understand. And I don't like that feeling."
"They're in their own world."
"But half of them are from Earth. They're human and yet we don't treat them like that. Why?"
Kinkade shrugged. "Does it matter?"
"Yes...Maybe." James put a hand over his face. "I don't know."
Kinkade stood up. "You care too much Grif."
"And that's why I'm foolhardy," he darkly finished as he shot Kinkade a half glare. "You've only said that a thousand times."
"It's still true." Pause. "But maybe...that's why you're the MFE leader."
'You're an MFE fighter pilot of Earth. Act like one.'
"...And we are the fastest adapters. Capable of change..."
Kinkade raised a brow but shrugged off Griffin's mumbling as another one of his quirks.
"Thanks!"
He slowly shook his head but lifted a hand up in acknowledgement.
SH
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AN: More paladin focused rather than James' point of view but I really wanted that in there. XD
To me, it seemed like Shiro wasn't completely at his top thinking speed until later so I figured it had to do with grief but also because of the adjustment to the new body.
