**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
CHAPTER 39: BEGINNINGS
Despite Honerva's defeat, their mission to bring peace and stability to the universe was far from over. The Voltron Coalition became the Galactic Coalition, led by Shiro and the representatives from each of their allied planets and territories. Hunk assisted in their negotiation meetings, cooking up delicious meals for warring groups to bond over. Allura, Coran, Romelle, and Lance had departed for new Altea, taking the rest of the Altean colony with them to begin rebuilding their civilization. Pidge, Scarlett, Mitsubishi, and the rest of the Holts returned to Earth to continue establishing the heart of the coalition and begin constructing the aircraft and vehicles for their projects: Vehicle Voltron and The Titan Class Initiative. And Mari, elected as one of Earth's representatives for the new coalition, kept herself busy traveling the universe with her team and bringing more people to their cause.
As for Keith, he had his own beast to conquer: determining what to do with the Galra Empire. With the help of Krolia and Kolivan, they had brought the remaining Galra back home to the newly returned Daibazaal and had begun rebuilding their cities. They wouldn't have to worry or fight over territory and resources any longer. They could leave behind the violent ways of Zarkon's reign. But there was still the problem of who to lead them. There was no more emperor or empress. No next in line for the throne. Many wondered if they should hold another Kral Zera to determine a new leader. Even more were looking to him for leadership, content with simply appointing him as their new sovereign.
New ruler. King. Emperor. The words the commanders threw around in their meetings made Keith's head spin. Being the leader of Voltron, of a team of five, was one thing. Being a monarch of an entire race, of an entire planet, was something completely different. That was way too much power. Way too much responsibility. Way too much pressure on his shoulders and too much spotlight in his eyes. As much as it honored (and surprised) him that the majority of the Galra trusted him and respected him enough to choose him for such a grand position, he couldn't accept it. Besides, the empire had ended. They didn't need a new emperor. And he had his own home to return to, his own goals for the future to follow through with.
On Feyiv, the sacred coronation grounds of the Galra, Keith met with the leaders of the Galra. Lotor's flame had long been snuffed, the ancient pyre forever to remain unlit. With Krolia, Kolivan, and Kosmo by his side, he stood on top of the steps and addressed them as a whole, broadcasting his decision back to the citizens of Daibazaal.
"With the return of Planet Daibazaal, the Galra Empire is at a crossroads," he began carefully, but more sure than ever of himself and the choice he'd made. "For too long, the people of this extraordinary civilization have been manipulated by a dictatorship that placed a misguided sense of self-preservation above all else. It was a tragic, unfortunate series of events that led us down this dark, never-ending path of power and greed. But now we, the citizens of the Galra Empire, have an opportunity to make right all of the injustices set into motion by our forefathers. With the sacrifice of Voltron, we have been given a second chance to come together in rebuilding the Galra Empire by joining the Galactic Coalition and ushering in a new era of peace across the universe."
To his relief, he wasn't met with fighting ex-warlords, commanders, and soldiers. No one tried to reach for the fire and charge up the steps to light the flame. Rather, they grinned, cheering and clapping and raising their fists in agreement. They were ready for peace, ready to move forward from their violent pasts and living each day in fear. Keith smiled, glad to see it.
"I propose an election on Daibazaal for the Galactic Coalition's Galran representatives," he continued once their hollers had died down. "Together we will right the wrongs of our past and bring unity to the Galra and all our allies across the universe."
Another round of fervent cheers ensured. Kolivan nodded in approval, and Krolia cast Keith a small smile, more than proud of the son who had changed and grown up so much right before her very eyes in just a few years. He hadn't given up on his people, refusing to choose one over the other. He was Galra just as much as he was an Earthling, and he wouldn't be abandoning either half of himself, no matter how horrible and cruel each race could be. Had been. He'd put them on the right path, on the road to achieving a shining future for all.
"I can't tell if you've become incredibly wise or have just gotten stupider," Immea hummed after his speech. She watched as the other commanders headed for their respective ships to return to Daibazaal. "To think you would decline ruling the all-powerful Galra."
Keith rolled his eyes at her. "Not like me being a king would make you listen to me, anyway," he replied dryly, and she smirked.
"But you would be a great king!" Penibrae, one of the young Thoh cadets and new Blade of Marmora recruits pouted at him, her arms crossed indignantly over her chest. "You could have made your human a queen."
"Ooh! Fancy! She'd look nice in a crown," Ezor beamed, leaning against Zethrid.
Keith didn't respond, watching as Zucksar, another ex-Thoh cadet and new Blade member, petted the now horse-sized Kosmo – it was almost scary how much the cosmic wolf had grown in the year since Honerva had been defeated. He tried to imagine it, Mari as an empress. For one, if he had become emperor, they'd have to get married for her to even be granted that title, and a relationship milestone as significant as marriage wasn't even on Keith's radar. She'd be tied down to one spot as a ruler, reigning over an alien people on an unfamiliar planet. She'd have to learn Galra customs, culture, and traditions, and perform in royal ceremonies. She'd have so many duties not even he could fathom, and he grimaced at the thought of it all.
"I don't think it would suit her," Acxa said finally, a sure frown tugging at her lips. She glanced at Keith, adding, "Neither does it suit you. You made the right choice."
He managed a smile, unable to agree with her more. "Thanks."
"So, if you won't take over the Galra, what will you do now?" Zethrid huffed.
"You're a pretty boy," Ezor drawled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You could become a model! Veronica gave Acxa some neat magazines full of silly Earth stuff. She says the humans on the covers are 'attractive' by Earth standards, but you look waaay better than them."
"They all look ugly to me," Zethrid grumbled. "Humans are too small and scrawny."
"That's why we're going by Earth standards," Ezor reminded her. "Even if they are ridiculous and don't make any sense."
Keith was absolutely not going to model. His life as a paladin may have been over, but there was no way he was going to sit around and do nothing while there was still work to be done for the coalition. And he already had a few ideas brewing on what he could do next. With the end of the empire, the Blade of Marmora was no longer needed, at least not in the same way they had been operating. There would always be those in need throughout the universe…maybe the Blade could still help them. He'd consider it more after the election. But for now, he and Kosmo had somewhere to be.
"Right now, I'm going to Altea," he said. And with that, he excused himself to head to Coran's Celebration of Voltron, their first anniversary dinner of Voltron's sacrifice.
In the dim lighting of the second Castle of Lions' observation deck, Keith stared at his phone, the group photo Hunk had taken after dinner filling his screen. He'd sent the picture to each of them, a memento of their progress to cherish forever. Keith smiled and fondly ran his fingers over the display.
Beside him, Mari's foot tapped against his and he stashed the device, averting his gaze to her. She was watching him carefully, her short hair a dark and unkept halo around her head. They were sprawled out on the floor on top of a pile of blankets and pillows they'd placed next to the window, watching the sparkling scenery of Altea's starry night sky while Kosmo dozed behind them.
"Whatcha thinking about?" she asked, her voice just soft enough not to disturb the quiet atmosphere between them.
"Nothing," he said. "Just thinking I want to print out that picture next time we're on Earth."
"You never did like digital stuff," she mused.
"I like the physical stuff. It feels more real when it's on paper and I can hold it in my hand."
His fingers intertwined with hers and she smiled. They laid in silence for another long moment, content just to be in each other's company. She absentmindedly played with his hand, gently tracing his fingers and going over every callus, scar, and line. Her touch was soft and soothing, her skin warm against his, and the heat rose in Keith's chest.
Mari sighed. "Is it weird if I'm nervous about tomorrow?" she wondered finally.
Keith almost chuckled at that. "Why are you nervous?" he asked, casting her a small smirk. "You're not the one being crowned the queen of an entire planet."
"I know, but it's just…I've never been to a celebration as grand as a coronation." She kneaded his hand, taking her nerves out on him. "Allura becoming a queen is gonna be a big change. I feel like after this, it's just gonna be harder and harder for all of us to see each other again."
Keith couldn't disagree with her there. Shiro was busy leading the coalition and captaining the Atlas. Hunk was building the foundation for his own culinary empire. Allura would be a queen to her people, with Coran working right by her side as her advisor. Pidge was an engineer for the Garrison while Scarlett was inventing for their cause. Lance was helping with his family's farm, speaking for the coalition and spreading their message, and he was spending more and more time with the princess on Altea, preparing to establish a Galaxy Garrison base and program for aspiring Altean cadets. Mari was one of Earth's representatives, traveling all over the place for conferences and negotiations. And Keith was still busy handling things with the Blade of Marmora and the Galra on Daibazaal.
Now that Voltron was gone, now that the paladins were no longer needed in the same way, their connected path in life had already started to split. They were no longer traveling together, no longer working towards a unified goal as simple as defeating Zarkon. So much had changed. They had changed. But Keith supposed this was all a part of growing up, an unavoidable truth of life.
Nothing was meant to stay the same.
But it was just as Coran had said earlier after dinner: no matter how their paths changed, no matter what the future had in store for them, the nine of them would always be family. No matter how much time passed, no matter how great the distances between them, nothing could ever change that fact.
"We'll be okay," Keith said, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. "We always are."
She hummed, unable to dispute him. Another minute of comfortable silence passed before she said with a wry grin, "Guess I should be glad you're not becoming the Emperor of Daibazaal. I don't know how I would've handled that."
Keith cracked a smile. "Me neither."
"Oh, but you'd go down so wonderfully in intergalactic history," she drawled with a dramatic flourish of her hand, and he rolled his eyes. "You'd be a paladin, a great savior and peacemaker of the universe, and a mighty Galra emperor from the nowhere planet of Earth. How crazy would that be?"
Keith snorted at how ridiculous it all sounded, and he nudged her. She laughed, nudging him back, the delightful sound of her giggles filling the air and making his core burn even hotter. She sighed, relaxing back into the cushions again.
"I still don't know if you could pull off the purple, though," she added as a final tease, only to squeak as he suddenly rolled over.
Placing his hands on the floor on either side of her head, he hovered over her, trapping her against the mess of pillows and blankets at her back. She froze, their noses just inches apart and his bangs threatening to tickle her forehead. Keith's heart was hammering inside his chest, the heat expanding and moving to every inch of his body.
"I think I can handle it just fine," he murmured with absolute certainty, and her cheeks instantly reddened.
She tentatively lifted a hand to his face, cupping his cheek in her palm. Her thumb moved across his scar, impossibly tender and oddly stimulating as she drew small circles. Keith leaned closer, pressing against her and letting her bring his face down closer to hers. Just as the soft and energized flesh of their lips brushed against each other, Kosmo stirred and the door to the observation deck opened with an infuriating SWISH.
Keith practically threw himself off Mari just as she shoved him over, the two of them struggling to regain their composures. Faces scorching and hearts racing, they turned to face whoever had come here this late at night.
Decked out in their pajamas, Lance stood in the doorway with Allura, pillows and blankets clutched in their arms and their expressions scrunched up in mortification. Pidge, Hunk, Scarlett, and Shiro waited behind them, ignorant of the scene the other two had stumbled upon.
"What the quiznak! Why do I always gotta find you two canoodling?" Lance hissed, marching right up to them. "There are other spots on the Castle, why do you have to hog this space?"
Mari huffed, her brow furrowing at him. "Why do you always gotta ruin the moment?" she grumbled, indignantly crossing her arms over her chest.
"This isn't your castle, Lance," Keith scowled as he plopped his stuff down next to them.
"Not yet, at least," Pidge muttered and Scarlett wiggled her eyebrows at the blushing princess who refused to make eye contact.
"Yeah? Well, it's not yours either, Mullet," Lance fired back, reclining across his body pillow.
Keith sighed heavily as the others followed suit, making themselves comfortable. So much for having a private moment. They all stared out the window, the awkward air gradually clearing.
"So, what made the rest of you guys come here?" Mari asked, unamused.
Allura shifted, restless as she frowned at the ceiling. "I cannot sleep, I'm afraid," she admitted.
"Me neither," Hunk piped up.
"Same here," Pidge agreed, and Scarlett nodded.
"Tomorrow's a big day," Shiro pointed out, giving them a helpless smile. "It's normal to be anxious."
"Yeah! And what better way to ease the nerves than having a slumber party?" Lance grinned. "It's been forever since we had one like this."
Pidge folded her hands over her stomach and crossed her legs at the ankle. "You remember the first time we had one? We were so exhausted after taking the Castle back from Sendak, we sorta just passed out here," she recalled with a fond smile.
"Yeah, you guys had it without me," Lance noted flatly.
"Hey, we included you in the next one," she shrugged, unbothered. "That was when we had Mari's intervention."
Mari dragged a hand down her face, her embarrassment flaring. "Ugh, don't remind me of that," she groaned.
"Ha ha! We were all still so green around the edges back then," Hunk chuckled. "Do you still have that stone? The, uh…Geez, what was it called…The Puta – The Petra – …The Peterram Crystal?"
"Putaverunt," she corrected him. "I do. It's sitting on my dresser back home."
"Wow. Such a place of honor for such a cherished relic," Scarlett huffed and shook her head in disappointment.
Mari rolled her eyes. "I remember when we first found out you could read minds," she said, smoothly changing the subject away from her. "You were such a little gremlin back then."
"Oh my gosh, that was so freaky!" Lance shivered and hugged his arms at the memories, eliciting an innocent grin from the Utearen. "You almost outed my crush on Allura, like, a million times."
"And yet you still took forever to confess your feelings to her," Keith muttered, and Lance made a miffed sound in the back of his throat.
"It's alright," Allura chimed in, coming to his defense. "Lance was very silly back then. I couldn't see him for who he truly was under his mask of bravado. I wouldn't have taken him seriously if he had tried courting me earlier." She paused, her smile fading. "But, he's not the only one to blame. I was scared to give him a chance, even though I realized how wonderful he is. We were so different…I was scared to admit that I was falling in love with him."
Lance gingerly took her hand in his in an unspoken understanding. Her eyes brightened and she held him tight, her joy and warmth returning. "But I'm so glad that I did," she continued, an unmistakable sincerity overflowing in her words. "I'm happy, more than I've ever been in a very long time. I'm so glad to have met you all. I cherish the time we spend together."
The others smiled in agreement. A beat of silence passed before Shiro spoke up again.
"You've all come a long way," he reflected, quiet and content. "Even through the darkest moments, none of you ever gave up hope. None of you lost sight of what was really important. …I couldn't have asked for a better team."
He took in each and every one of them, the light in his gaze thoughtful and proud and nostalgic. He'd watched all of them grow up, had watched all of them change into better people, into the individuals they were today. And in turn, they had gotten to experience and learn from his never ending patience and kindness and guidance. They supported him just as he supported them.
"We couldn't have asked for a better leader," Keith said, and the others nodded, inching closer to reward Shiro with dazzling grins. "We couldn't have done any of it without you, Shiro."
Shiro looked at him, surprised. Then he let out a startled "Oof!" as Pidge glomped him, prompting Hunk and then the rest of them to envelop him in a giant bear hug. Shiro blinked, the controlled mask he often wore falling as the tears pricked. He smiled, accepting the warmth of their embrace and all their unbridled appreciation. He loved his family, and they so dearly loved him.
"Thank you," he whispered, more grateful than words alone could ever express.
As they all pulled apart, Keith leaned back against the pillows, his attention drifting to the stars and the city lights outside. A new chapter of their lives began tomorrow. And an unending series of new beginnings would only follow.
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